Belgian Gardens contains 3 Long Day Care centres (265 places) and 1 OSHC facility (150 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population appearing favorable compared to national benchmarks, and above the Regional Qld average. With no preschool/kindergarten services observed in the area, only long day care, the ratio of children per place for the under 5 age group is 0.4 - placing the area among the top 20% nationally for supply per child. With projected population growth of 1.0% between now and 2041, and 11.5% in the under 5 age group in particular, 75 new places will be needed to maintain today's ratios. As well as this projected growth, other drivers of note in the area are high female labour force participation of 63.6%.
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 28.0 per 100 residents with 578 enrolments across primary and secondary institutions. This notably elevated rate of school supply suggests many students travel to the area from beyond the immediate surrounds, typically amplifying local childcare demand given school-run proximity. Additionally, the level of school places per child care place (LDC+PSK) is moderate. Out of school hours child care provision is similarly strong, with 150 places serving the 5-12 cohort. Assessment shows low level of commercial activity in the area and assessment of local working populations which suggest many of the local population commute elsewhere for work with nearby services potentially taking some pressure off local child care centres.
3 school catchments intersect Belgian Gardens (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 1,634 children aged under 5 reside, served by 1,810 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 0.9 children per place, with limited variance in this ratio.