Ludo expansion sees sixth Early Learning Centre up and running

By Josh Low

The Ludo Early Learning Service has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2021, culminating in the official opening of the sixth and final Ludo Early Learning Centre.

An early learning service embedded in selected Catholic schools around the state in a partnership between CatholicCare and Catholic Education Tasmania, the newest addition is now six months into operations and is located at St Cuthbert’s Catholic School in Lindisfarne.

Originally scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2022, delays in the building process and service approvals meant the centre at St Cuthbert’s was only able to open in September last year.

Despite the delays, Ludo State Operations Manager Theresa Blizzard said the response from the community was incredible, and a show of trust in what Ludo provides to children and families.

“We needed to make sure that we were compliant before we could open up our doors and invite families to come and play with us,” she explained.

“When we finally got to be open, we had a ‘welcome and thank you night’ for our families who had been so loyal.

“They had been waiting for nine months to be able to start in care with us – and to their credit, they had all waited on that waitlist,” she said.

“They could have stayed with their current providers [at the start of the year] and later in the year said, ‘You know what? We’re already close to the end of the year’.

“But they didn’t, they were really keen to use the St Cuthbert’s Ludo service.”

Now six months in, Ms Blizzard said the positive relationship between staff and families has greatly benefitted the children in the Early Learning service.

She added that parents have expressed their appreciation for the Ludo service providing experiences for their children that are “challenging them, keeping them engaged and providing new interests for them.”

“All our Ludo services share the same philosophy and mentality around what we know is best for children and how we can support them.

“At St Cuthbert’s, we were able to get feedback from our families on how they wanted the early years’ philosophy to be incorporated.

“They were able to write down their hopes and dreams for their child in Ludo.

“It’s just been overwhelming really with the amount of support from the families, who have said they were glad they were patient in the end,” she concluded.