'We don't want to close': Childcare centre responds to angry parents

"The safety and well-being of the children in our care remains our highest priority. Please consider the impact of the personal attacks directed towards our staff and board members."

In just five brief, sterile sentences, Melanie Cooke’s world came crashing down. 

The childcare centre that anchored her daily routine - like many other Central Coast families - had abruptly abandoned her. She received a terse, 48-hours' notice in a mere 120 words.

“It was exactly 4:05 PM last Friday when the email from Coast Community Connections in Woy Woy arrived,” the mother-of-two told Kidspot.

The message read: “There will be no care for 0-5 children accessing long day care on Monday, 21st October 2024.”

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"At risk of losing their jobs"

Cooke, whose two sons, aged two and five, attended the centre, was left "shocked and confused."

“The email was sent on a Friday afternoon, giving us barely two hours to make arrangements,” she said. 

It wasn’t long before other impacted families took to social media to voice their outrage. The company has since closed all its Facebook accounts.

Cooke says that now she and 41 other families have been scrambling for alternative care, which she says is "severely stressful" given that enrolments for 2025 are already full.

“Many families, especially single-parent households, are now at risk of losing their jobs and homes due to the lack of childcare,” she explained.

Desperate for help, Cooke reached out to everyone - from the Federal Government to the Department of Education - but has been unsatisfied with their response.

Image: Melanie Cooke

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Kidspot contacted the Department of Education for clarification, but since the centre is not government-run, they stated their hands are tied.

Local MP Dr. Gordon Reid said in a statement that he has “made urgent representations to the Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education about this closure and is seeking the Minister’s assistance.”

"Could not continue under current arrangements"

As for the centre, Sherryn Brownlee, the Chair and President of Coast Community Connections, explained in a written response to Kidspot that "an investigation into service operations found that the room for 0-5 children could not continue under current regulations and funding arrangements."

The statement added:  "We sincerely apologise to the 29 families affected. We understand the significant inconvenience this has caused, especially considering the current challenges of securing childcare on the Central Coast.

"We are currently working with consultants to develop a purpose-built, new facility that will expand our children's services that are planned for opening in 2025."

Brownlee confirmed that services for children aged five to 12 would continue and all staff previously working with the daycare cohort had been "provided alternatives to work within our services".

She asked for understanding and for the community to "consider the impact of the personal attacks directed towards our staff and board members".

Brownlee previously told Coast Community News that this decision was the only way the organisation could proceed if it wants to remain viable.

"We do not want to end up closing, as several other Central Coast community organisations have done recently," she told the outlet.

She revealed some old buildings at the Woy Woy location had been demolished and shared plans to build a new centre on the Peninsula, buy new land and keep expanding.

"We are looking to grow our Early Learning Centres across the Central Coast," she added.

"To that end we have demolished some old buildings at Woy Woy and are looking to get architects and builders started on a new centre on the Peninsula."

"Safety and well-being of our children is priority"

When presented with the responses, Cooke said she was still struggling to understand not only the reason for the closure but also how such a large organisation, like Coast Community Connections, lacked a proper contingency plan for emergencies.

“We’ve been through COVID,” she said. “Surely a business of this size should know how to support families in situations like this.”

She added, “Regardless of the reasons, the entire situation has been poorly managed. There were so many other ways they could have handled this.”

The centre, however, maintains that the situation was managed appropriately, emphasizing that “the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care remains our highest priority.”

Originally published as 'We don't want to close': Childcare centre responds to angry parents