‘Desperate’: Falls Creek Primary School parents say lack of care options threatens their future

Parents say the future of a small south coast primary school could be at threat if before and after school care is not organised. The NSW Education Department says it’s ‘unviable’.

A family who left the hustle and bustle of Sydney at the start of the coronavirus pandemic for a sea change say the small school their new small school is under pressure without out of school care.

Freelance TV producer and former national head of broadcaster McCann Australia, Colin Tuohy, moved to the small community of Falls Creek near Huskisson with his partner and daughter when the pandemic struck.

Given the high demand of parents on shift work as essential workers and working from home, he says the future of the town’s local school of around 38 students could be under threat without before and after school care.

“Kids are leaving the school,” Mr Tuohy, a school P & C member, said.

“Once you arrive you realise there’s no service, and it really should be offered.

Falls Creek's Colin Tuohy with his daughter Maple and partner Michael Boyd.

“We are losing kids to private schools in Nowra, and that’s not ideal for all parents because they can’t all afford to do that.”

He said the department forces families within the catchment zone to send there kids to the school, as a way to keep numbers up, but a full-time teacher must be employed for outside hour care.

“We don’t want teachers doing a 13 hour day, so they need to sort something out. We don’t have other childcare services available here,” Mr Tuohy said.

“The ideal situation would be that the school is heard, and we can have before and after school care for those who need it.

“Essential workers leave early in the morning, and parents like us have to work busy jobs at home until late.

“So, where do we put these kids?”

While the school has been attempting to negotiate with the education department for the past two years, he said he feels the department has put the idea “at the bottom of the pile”.

Supplied Editorial Falls Creek Primary School pupils in the classroom. Picture: Facebook

A NSW Department of Education spokesman said after a recent statewide parent survey “to understand demand for before and after school care services”, it has decided not to provide the service to the school.

“Falls Creek Public School has low levels of demand, which make a stand-alone service unviable,” they said.

“The department is now considering a joint tender with a number of existing services that will include Falls Creek Public School, to incentivise a response and to ensure that before and after school care services in the region are viable and sustainable.

“The department is in the early consultation phase with schools in the region.

“The department is also offering establishment grants for new services, which Falls Creek will be eligible to receive.”

Colin Tuohy left Sydney for scenic Falls Creek at the start of the pandemic.

Mr Tuohy said his daughter Maple “loves” the school, and the community deserves better.

“We are in desperate need, and without it the school cannot grow and as a result families are leaving,” he said

“What makes it more frustrating is that if you live in the catchment area the education department dictates the school your child attends but then they don’t factor in the need for before and after school care.

“My daughter loves how family oriented the school is, and they are all allowed to call the teachers by their first name, so it’s really nice.”

Mr Tuohy said the school doesn’t have its own bus, meaning kids finish the school day at 2.40 in the afternoon so they can be dropped home early to allow the bus to do a wider route for other schools.

“The kids finish in the middle of the day, which means families have to have work part time to ensure that they make pick up,” he said.

“This causes a financial strain on house hold incomes.”