Black Hill contains 1 preschool/kindergarten facility (25 places) and 1 OSHC facility (60 places), while overall provision relative to the local child population appears limited compared to national benchmarks, and is below the Regional Vic. average. With no LDC services observed in the area, only preschool, the ratio of children per place for the under 5 age group is 4.8 - placing the area among the bottom 20% nationally for supply per child. To meet the Regional Vic. average 53 new places would be required (LDC+PSK to service the under 5 age group). Meanwhile, with projected population growth of 28.0% between now and 2041, and 39.8% in the under 5 age group in particular, not considering current depressed supply, 9 new places will be needed to maintain today's ratios. 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 19.2 per 100 residents with 401 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. Rather unsurprisingly, out of school hours child care - serving school age children - was found to be much more abundant than other service types in the area. Proximity analysis saw distances of local residents to their nearest child care centre being longer than typical nationally. Another finding worth noting is the 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.
5 school catchments intersect Black Hill (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 2,170 children aged under 5 reside, served by 1,783 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.2 children per place, with significant variance in this ratio. Meanwhile, the discrepancy in this ratio between Black Hill and the intersecting school catchments highlights the need for a catchment based approach for specific site assessments.