Ashfield contains 11 Long Day Care centres (561 places), 2 preschool/kindergarten facilities (117 places) and 3 OSHC facilities (219 places). Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 1,007 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.5 - placing the area above the national average for supply per child. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 1.8 children per place. Further breakdowns by age, to help in identifying the most in-need services, show moderate LDC provision across the infant and toddler cohort (<3yo) with 561 places across 11 facilities serving 601 children while preschool supply is strong with 2 facilities providing 117 places (3.4 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Sydney average of 8.3). Projected population decline of 4.1% in the under 5 age group between now and 2041 suggests a reduction in demand for childcare services. Socioeconomic performance in the area in the way of income and employment figures, including female workforce participation, are broadly in line with national averages.
In assessing child care markets local school supply is a particularly important factor, given school-run convenience, and enrolment vs child care place analysis can provide useful insight into capacity both for parents seeking child care options and child care operators assessing opportunities in an area. The catchment sees a level of school enrolment relative to population of 9.4 per 100 residents with 2,378 enrolments across primary and secondary institutions. A lower-than-typical rate which suggests pressure might be taken off local services somewhat by school hubs in nearby areas. Additionally, the level of school places per child care place (LDC+PSK) is moderate. Proximity analysis saw distances of local residents to their nearest child care centre being shorter than average while high fees are observed despite adequate supply suggesting premium positioning or quality differentiation.
17 school catchments intersect Ashfield (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 20,089 children aged under 5 reside, served by 20,223 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.0 children per place, with limited variance in this ratio. Meanwhile, the discrepancy in this ratio between Ashfield and the intersecting school catchments highlights the need for a catchment based approach for specific site assessments.