Kinder call on growth

Jessica Benton
KINDER operators have called for increased services for the region’s growth areas amid high demand for three and four-year-old programs.
Growing demand has forced Bellarine Peninsula towns Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads to increase 2009 programs to ensure children can attend kindergarten.
Barwon Heads Kindergarten committee member Kristen Dillion said next year’s intake had doubled on this year.
“Usually we have about 40 students for the four-year-old programs but we’ve had 76 enrolments for next year and the three-year-old program has doubled to 40,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we’re having to offer more people half the normal services because we believe that no child should miss out on kinder.
“We could have said no to more children but, because we’ve accommodated the children, the government won’t acknowledge there’s a problem.”
Ms Dillion said the enrolments surge had forced the kinder to employ extra staff and plan building upgrades.
“We even looked at running the three-year-old program off-site but this all came with added costs.”
Surfside Kindergarten’s Sally Wilkinson said Ocean Grove needed a new kinder because the town was a designated “growth corridor”.
“Over the years the housing population has increased and more young families have moved here,” she said.
Ms Wilkinson said the looming shortage threatened to force parents into finding alternative kinders in other towns.
City of Greater Geelong family services manager Robert Were backed the calls for more facilities.
He said an increasing birth rate would put further pressure on services in the next few years.
The City would need an additional 12 kinder groups in 2010 to meet demand, he said.
“Labor promised an additional 260 children’s centres. So far I think they’ve rolled out seven, two in Victoria, and they’re both child care centres, not kindergartens.
“Another challenge is the government plan to extend hours of care to 15 per week by 2013. This could have a big impact on three-year-old programs because four-year-olds will get preference and if there’s not adequate facilities and services then some kids might miss out.”
A Department of Education and Early Childhood Development spokesperson said 325 kindergarten places were still available in “the local area” for 2009.