The Robins Rd preschool opened a new classroom in what was previously the Language Schools NZ campus building two weeks ago, boosting its roll capacity to 58.
The new room is designed to cater for up to 20 children aged between 18 months and 3, and Queenstown Montessori owner Guy Hughes says ECE shortage is no longer a problem in Queenstown.
"As our centre has ... grown and another centre has opened up, the desperation has gone out of the early childhood situation in Queenstown. People now have a choice about where their children can go instead of just taking whatever is available." While the new class is not yet filled, Mr Hughes said he was "in favour" of any competition that may arise in the Queenstown ECE sector, as it would ensure higher standards of care.
The preschool was opened in January last year by Mr Hughes when he could not get his daughter into a playschool in town, and the roll quickly expanded from 20 to 38 children aged 3 to 5, by October.
In December, Mr Hughes relocated the next-door Language Schools New Zealand campus to the top floor of the O'Connell Shopping Centre, allowing Queenstown Montessori to expand into the neighbour-ing site and create room for 20 more children.
Set in 0.2 ha of mature trees, the preschool includes a play area with a viewing glass set into a wooden fence for children to watch ducks and trout in Horn Creek.
The fourth stage of development will see another room developed upstairs in the old language school space, resulting in a total of four "pods" with total capacity of 73 children, but Mr Hughes said that was unlikely to happen until October.
