The Bruce Early Childhood Centre will be demolished to make way for a new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Centre of Excellence. Photo: Bruce Early Childhood Centre, Facebook.
More than 40 children will have to start at different early learning centres across Belconnen from Monday (12 May) after the ACT Government ended the lease on the Bruce Early Childcare Centre.
Located on Bassett Street, the centre has been run by non-profit community organisation Capital Region Community Services (CRCS) as one of its varied programs that also includes outside-school-hours care, community transport and aged care.
But earlier this year, it fell victim to the government’s plans to further develop the nearby Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) campus.
A statement from CRCS in early March said the building would be “repurposed” to accommodate the transition of the CIT’s Yuruana centre from the Reid campus to Bruce and, as a result, the Bruce ECC would cease operations on 9 May.
Yurauna is CIT’s dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Centre of Excellence, providing “tailored Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander courses and study support”.
The government says the new “purpose-built” Yuruana centre, to open in 2026, will include art rooms, meeting spaces, childcare facilities, quiet rooms and “areas for activities like sewing, dancing, storytelling, and learning languages”.
CRCS said it was “disappointed” by the news, but it would work to “ensure a smooth and supportive transition for the children, families and employees impacted by this news”.
“Our primary focus now is to provide the best possible support to the tight-knit community affected by the closure, including the 49 children enrolled at Bruce ECC and our 12 dedicated educators,” the statement read.
A render of the CIT’s new Yurauna centre in Bruce. Photo: ACT Government.
Families have been offered places in its sister centres, the Ginninderra Early Childhood Centre (GECC) in the Belconnen Town Centre and the Bruce Ridge Early Childhood Centre (BRECC) next to the North Canberra Hospital.
Staff have also been invited to transfer to these centres, or to CRCS outside-school-hour care programs at the nearby Florey Primary School and Charnwood-Dunlop School.
“The closure of our centre marks the end of an era. For over 40 years, we’ve provided education and care to thousands of Canberra children, making this a significant loss to Capital Region Community Services and the wider community,” CRCS CEO Mandy Green said.
“We know this news will bring great sadness to many.”
CRCS communication and engagement senior manager Amy O’Dell said negotiations with CIT began in 2023, when the government’s initial plan was to construct a new childcare centre on the site of the future Northside Hospital and allow the Bruce ECC to relocate there.
The timeframe then “sped up”, so another idea was to erect a temporary structure to accommodate the Bruce ECC alongside the new Yurauna centre until the hospital was built, but this was later “deemed not feasible” and CRSC was told the lease would end in June 2025.
“CRCS explored every option and alternative to avoid this decision, but once it was clear that there were no more solutions, we made the decision to inform our families and educators,” Ms O’Dell said.
“We are deeply disappointed by this outcome and had hoped for a different resolution.”
Families were given seven weeks’ notice of the closure, and information sessions were held at both of the alternative centres, “giving families and children the opportunity to meet educators, learn about the curriculum, and explore the indoor and outdoor learning environments”.
“This, along with the transfer of familiar toys, books and play equipment, will provide continuity and comfort for the children, helping ease their transition.”
CIT Bruce campus. Photo: CIT.
Ms O’Dell said CRCS remains in talks with ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith and hopes to operate the new Northside Hospital childhood centre. Construction on the hospital is expected to wind up in 2030/31.
A CIT spokesperson told Region the Bruce ECC had been operating under a “month-to-month peppercorn lease” since March 2023.
The spokesperson said Yurauna will include its own on-site childhood centre that will provide “crucial wraparound support for students who are parents or caregivers”.
“The ACT Government is actively working with CRCS to explore alternative arrangements, and CRCS has developed a comprehensive Transition Plan to ensure that every child currently enrolled, including sibling groups, will be offered a place at one of the sister centres.”
