CABONNE families are facing growing pressure to secure childcare, with demand for Family Day Care places now exceeding available supply.
Cabonne Council’s Family Day Care service has been recognised with three nominations in the NSW regional Excellence in Family Day Care Awards, but the recognition comes as the service manages a substantial waitlist.
The service has been nominated for Service of the Year, Coordinator of the Year and Educator of the Year, with regional winners to be announced in September.
Hosted by Family Day Care Australia, the national awards recognise outstanding achievements across the family day care sector and acknowledge educators, coordinators and services making a difference to children and families.
A Cabonne Council spokesperson said the three nominations reflected the “dedication, professionalism and commitment” of its staff and educators.
However, the spokesperson also confirmed demand for Family Day Care has increased and is now consistently outstripping the number of places available.
“Family Day Care currently maintains a substantial waitlist, with demand consistently exceeding the number of available places,” the spokesperson said.
Babies appear to be facing the greatest difficulty securing a place.
“Based on enquiries received and wait list data, children aged from birth to one year appear to experience the greatest difficulty accessing care,” the spokesperson said.
The shortage is being compounded by difficulties recruiting and retaining educators, which directly affects the number of childcare places and sessions that can be offered.
Cabonne Council currently has eight registered Family Day Care educators, although only two are located within the municipality.
The Shire also operates six out of school hours services in Molong, Cudal, Nashdale, Clergate, Mullion Creek, and Blayney, with most of those services currently having capacity available.
The are no council-run centre-based long day care services.
For families seeking care, the challenge isn’t over when a place becomes available.
Parents may need to find care on particular days, close to home or work, or at hours that fit around changing work schedules.
A Cabonne Council spokesperson said families in smaller rural communities could also be required to travel outside their local area to access suitable childcare.
“The biggest challenge is the limited availability of childcare places, particularly for younger children and in smaller rural communities,” the spokesperson said.
Workforce shortages, educator-to-child ratios and the viability of operating services in smaller communities all contribute to the difficulty.
The council spokesperson said additional childcare capacity was needed across many rural and regional communities to support local families and workforce participation.
“Sustainable and reliable government funding is critical to support childcare services in rural and regional communities,” the spokesperson said.
Council staff have also identified attracting and retaining educators, reducing barriers to entering the sector, and supporting flexible service models as areas that could help improve access.
“Regional communities often face unique challenges, including smaller populations and higher operating costs, which require targeted policy and funding responses to ensure families can access quality childcare close to where they live,” the spokesperson said.
For now, Cabonne’s Family Day Care educators are receiving recognition for the quality of the work they provide, while the demand for their services continues to grow.
Regional winners of the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards will be announced in September, with national winners to be announced in November.