One childcare placement for every four kids in Geraldton, new research finds

More than 95 per cent of Mid West residents are in a “childcare desert”, according to a landmark report into childcare accessibility in Australia. The Victoria University research released this week showed just one childcare vacancy was available for every 4.31 children under the age of four in Geraldton. Drummond Cove and Port Denison have one place for every 6.09 and 2.79 children respectively. Across the Mid West, 95.8 per cent of the population is living in a “childcare desert” — an area described as having a childcare demand which exceeds available placements. The new data suggests these “deserts” are disproportionately located in rural and regional areas and where there are higher proportions of children and families on lower incomes or below the poverty line. With her maternity leave coming to an end, former Geraldton resident Kayla Quinn started looking into childcare options in December when her son Elijah was three months old. She said most centres had waitlists of up to 12 weeks, but the family was fortunate to be awarded a placement. “Geraldton daycare was extremely hard to get into and we just got really lucky,” she said. “We managed to get into Early Learning just off Flores Road, who got us in straight away as there was a mess up with the original daycare we were supposed to go to.” With Ms Quince and partner Jay Suckling in full-time employment, Elijah went to Early Learning every weekday until early February, when the centre had a place for him only on Fridays. Now in Perth, Ms Quince said it had been much easier to access childcare in the city than in Geraldton. “We still stuck with the Early Learning chain and got Elijah in full-time the third week we were (in Perth),” she said. Kidz Retreat manager Courtney Gould said her centre had some vacancies, but places were not always compatible with the needs of parents. “At the moment I don’t have a huge waitlist, but it depends on what days parents want as well. If they want a specific day and I’m fully booked then there’s nothing I can do, but I might have availability on another day,” she said. Mrs Gould said it could be particularly difficult to access childcare outside of peak intake periods in Geraldton. “Usually the beginning of the year and even the end of the year are good times to get children into care. But it can be tricky after that because you’re fully booked and once you’re fully booked, you can’t take any more children,” she said. Bambi Child Care Centre commercial officer Jaimee Alger said the closure of several local family care facilities had led to a spike in enquiries. She said the centre’s baby and toddler rooms were near or already at capacity, with priority for places given to families in greatest need of support. “There has been times in the last few months where I have to discuss with parents who are not working changing their days and things like that to fit in bookings for working families,” she said. Mrs Alger said the centre had limited vacancies but options to expand capacity were now being explored. “Children and families that are needing enrolling are generally in the zero to two-and-a-half years old (age group). That’s the catchment where I think a lot of services are full,” she said. Mrs Alger said several new childcare centres were expected to open this year but staffing more facilities could be difficult.