SUNBEAM FREE KINDERGARTEN

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28604, 5 June 1958, Page 2

SUNBEAM FREE KINDERGARTEN

Appeal For Funds To Rebuild The Sunbeam Free Kindergarten, oldest in Christchurch, is planning a new building. Extensive deterioration, reported recently, would have cost at least £750 to repair so the committee advised, by the Education Department, has decided on rebuilding. This will require £2OOO in local funds, the rest being provided by Government subsidy. A house-to-house canvass of the kindergarten’s district will be made on Saturdays in June and an appeal is also being made for support to all former pupils. Free kindergartens are prohibited by legislation from making any charge and they depend on parents’ voluntary contributions to meet routine maintenance, apart from salaries. At Sunbeam last year, these expenses were only £3 less than the contributions of parents; so there has been little opportunity to accumulate a building fund.

The Sunbeam Kindergarten was opened in 1899 and operated under the Children’s Aid Society for six years. From 1905 to 1910 it was maintained by private subscription. In 1911 it was taken over by the Christchurch Free Kindergarten Association as its first venture. From 1914 till 1936 all kindergarten teachers were trained there. Plans for a new building have not yet been drawn. These will depend on the response to the appeal. The Education Department has advised the committee to consider another site in case the present one is further restricted by the widening of Cornwall street, St Albans.