FEL

The Flooding of Friends’ Early Learning saw the entire centre emptied for renovations. Photo: Fiona Zinn.

The School has successfully relocated our FEL children to temporary locations accross the School. Photo: Fiona Zinn.

On what was, for most of us, a normal Thursday night in late August, some water was escaping a pipe at an alarming rate inside the Friends’ Early Learning Centre.

On Thursday 26 August a pipe burst in our Friends’ Early Learning Centre, flooding the whole building and causing the emergency closure of the Centre the following morning. The School had to quickly contact the affected families to let them know of the closure, and get an idea of the extent of the damage.

An initial assessment from a flood contractor suggested that the Centre would not be operational for several weeks while repairs were undertaken. With early childhood education and care at a premium around Hobart and many families relying on these services, the School knew that they had to find an alternative solution for these families quickly.

Running a safe and compliant care centre for children isn’t just a case of moving children to a different space and taking their equipment with them. There are strict regulations in place to ensure child and staff safety. Our Head of School - Early Learning to Year 6, Mark Febey, and Deputy Head of School (Early Learning - Year 1), Fiona Zinn, were quick to meet with the early learning sector regulators the Education and Care Unit (ECU) to seek advice on a range of options for the temporary relocation of Friends’ Early Learning (FEL). During this meeting they visited possible sites that could be reallocated to FEL children, aligned to children’s ages, considering their wellbeing, developmental and routine requirements. This was to ensure that any temporary spaces met the licensing requirements of the National Law and Regulation for Early Childhood Services.

Following a report from the ECU, staff around the School sprang into action to get the alternative arrangements up and running. By Monday 6 September FEL families were able to return to the School as part of a staged reopening (some families returning on the Monday, others on the Tuesday) using alternative venues for their children’s care.

The extensive repairs for Friends’ Early Learning are currently underway, with the hope that FEL families will be able to return to the centre soon. The staff, students and parents of The Friends’ School community have been very accommodating and supportive during this difficult time and we thank everyone for their continued support.