A new early learning centre specialising in Aboriginal culture and identity opened late last year in Lalor, with the support of the City of Whittlesea, the Victorian Government’s Department of Planning and Community Development, and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
Bubup Wilam for Early Learning is operated in partnership between Council and the community and provides culturally appropriate early years education for the municipality’s growing Aboriginal population.
Bubup Wilam means “Children’s Place” in Woiworung language. The centre is a kindergarten for three and four year old Aboriginal children.
The City of Whittlesea has the fourth largest Aboriginal population in metropolitan Melbourne.
Bubup Wilam aims to provide strong foundations for lifelong learning, health and wellbeing. It emphasises the child’s cultural, emotional, educational rights and needs.
The curriculum taught at Bubup Wilam includes Aboriginal culture, such as the significance of Elders, the relationship with the environment and the use of art work and identity.
