Bendigo Church of Christ is seeking approval from the City of Greater Bendigo to relocate from its centrally-based location on Short Street to Maiden Gully.

Pastor Andrew Colquhoun said the church had a formal arrangement with an education provider who followed the Montessori model. 

“It would be an early learning centre accommodating 99 children that would be open to the general public,” Mr Cameron said.

“There aren’t any other Montessori education providers in Bendigo, so we think it would be a good fit for us and would match our ethos to provide opportunities for a different style of early learning that would allow kids to be a little more creative.”

Montessori Australia Foundation’s Victoria Marshall-Cerins said Montessori was “the original individual learning program”. 

“Our early learning program has a highly specific curriculum, but it is very individualised so that each child engages at their own pace and according to their own interests,” Ms Marshall-Cerins said. 

“The educational materials we use are designed so that a child progresses according to their development and by achieving particular milestones, rather than by age.”

She said Montessori had “absolutely no religious affiliations”. 

Pastor Colquhoun said the early learning centre would cater for children from two-years-old through to school age. 

He said the next stage of the church’s plans was to build a stand-alone child care centre on the nearly 2 hectare block of land on Marong Road.

“We’ve been looking at ways which we can sustain the church into the future and also ways we can be an active part of the community,” Pastor Colquhoun said. 

“Child care was one of the ways in which the facilities would be used by the community, not just on a Sunday, but everyday of the week.” 

He said plans for hall space, a community garden and sporting facilities would also see the church reach out to the community. 

“We want this to make this a hub for people to come to,” Pastor Colquhoun said. 

“So there’s the potential for cafe at the front and we’ll have a worship centre for around about 350 people and another big space which would hold another 300 people.

“So if there are schools which need facilities to hold concerts or different community groups which need the space, well, being a church we would make sure they could come and use the venues for free.”

A representative for Prop Corp – which is the Church of Christ Properties’ trustee – Colin Cameron, said the church was seeking an update on a lapsed approval from council. 

Mr Cameron said the church was ready to build as soon as they were given the green light. 

“It should only be about a 12-month build,” he said. 

“It will be a very contemporary-looking building, with an approximately 1500 square metre total area.” 

Montessori schools made international headlines earlier this year when Prince George was sent to a Montessori nursery. 

Ms Marshall-Cerins said the approach was not just about education but also human development.

“So the programs we run aid children in their own development,” she said. 

“Rather than teaching children, we provide a carefully prepared learning environment that meet childrens’ needs, both their physical and psychological needs.

“Each stage of a child’s development is matched to a learning environment that changes as the needs of the child changes and the children teach themselves by interacting with learning material. 

“The teachers’ role is to carefully observe the child to see what it is they are interested in and how they use materials, and watch for a child's signs of readiness to move to the next material in sequence.” 

Pastor Colquhoun said the learning centre, and new church, would culminate years of work. 

“It is a very exciting project that has been five years in the planning,” he said. 

“We’re passionate about the local Bendigo community and our role in it.”