Central Coast childcare: Flood of 600 places to ease ‘desert’ shortage

A flood of more than 600 childcare places will become available on the Central Coast in the next 18 months. But will it be enough to make the region’s childcare ‘desert’ bloom?

Almost half of the former Wyong Shire Council area and a third of the former Gosford LGA are deemed a childcare “desert” where there is more than three kids for every place available.

But the desert could spring with new life with more than 600 childcare places set to come online over then next 18-24 months with plans lodged with council to open more than half a dozen new centres across the coast.

A report from the Victoria University affiliated Mitchell Institute shows there are 2.44 children for every available space in the former Gosford area and nearly three children, or 2.96, for every spot in Wyong.

Nearly half of Wyong, or 45.1 per cent, is deemed a childcare ‘desert’ where there are three or more children for every place available while nearly a third, or 30 per cent, of the former Gosford area is considered a childcare desert.

Milestones Early Learning Wyong director Amy Clouten said the centre was completely full and did have a waiting list.

However she said the length of the wait depended on families’ individual circumstances.

“We do get inquiries when parents are pregnant they’re looking around and planning ahead,” she said.

“We do have children enrolled in that July/August period. It depends on what’s available.”

Ms Clouten said parents would travel to put their children in care and often looked at centres around where they worked.

Image of the approved $2.3 million, 90-place childcare centre at Long Jetty by Brisbane based company Eden Academy. Picture: Supplied.

Artists impression of a proposed new childcare in Holgate.

It comes as 608 places are expected to come online on the coast with six brand new centres, in various stages from under construction to in the planning phase, before Central Coast Council.

These include a 90-place centre at Long Jetty, 120-place centre at Erina Heights, 103-place centres at Holgate and Wamberal, 100-place centre at North Gosford and a 92-place centre at Wyong.

The northern end of the coast and Lake Macquarie region hope to be in a similar position in the near future as new development continues across the both regions.

The report reveals that there are 2.42 children for every available space in the Lake Macquarie’s eastern side and 2.82 children for every spot in Lake Macquarie’s western region.

More than 30 per cent of both areas are classified a childcare `desert’.

Owner of Active Littlies in Warnervale Cheryl Stokeld said “it’s the busiest it’s ever been”.

Active Littlies Child Care Centre owner/director Cheryl Stokeld said the Warnervale centre was fully booked with a waiting list.

“A lot of places are in the same position, especially with all the new development and new families currently moving to the area,” she said. “It’s the busiest it’s ever been.”

Mrs Stokeld said while their waiting list wasn’t “too big”, once a family started at the centre “they are pretty much settled”.

“Other families have to wait until children go to school, so there’s usually a few positions that come up at the end of the year,” she said.

She said the story was similar across the Warnervale area and the construction of a new centre nearby, which was recently delayed, would see it “full in no time”.

Dr Hurley’s report argues that the privatised childcare sector isn’t opening new facilities in areas of demand.

A report from the Victoria University affiliated Mitchell Institute reveals some three million people in NSW are living in what it qualifies as ‘childcare deserts’, where there are more than three kids for every childcare place available.

The geographical divide is stark, with suburbs in the inner city having a range of childcare options, while parents in the southwest and western suburbs, along with regional NSW, have to compete for very few places.

The report’s lead author, Dr Peter Hurley, argues that the privatised childcare sector isn’t opening centres where the demand is highest, but where the owners can charge the highest fees.

“Our research shows that the most expensive childcare in Australian cities are also in suburbs with more childcare places, suggesting there is an incentive for providers to open in wealthier areas where families can afford to pay higher fees,” Dr Hurley said.