Campbellfield contains 1 Long Day Care centre (102 places) and 1 preschool/kindergarten facility (30 places) on a resident basis — though likely far tighter supply once significant daily workforce inflows to the area are considered. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 339 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 2.5 - placing the area below the national average for supply per child on a resident basis, though closer to ~4.7 once estimated daytime workforce inflow is factored in. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 3.3 children per place (lower quintile supply). 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 102 places across 1 facility serving 201 children while preschool supply is constrained with 1 facility providing 30 places (4.5 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Melbourne average of 2.6). With projected population growth of 37.0% between now and 2041, and 13.3% in the under 5 age group in particular, 18 new places will be needed to maintain today's ratios. As well as this projected growth, other factors worth noting are lower female labour force participation of 33.9%, as well as lower quartile employment and income performance.
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 2.7 per 100 residents with 142 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. As expected, the level of school places per child care place (LDC+PSK) is also lower than average. Fee analysis shows fees are notably lower than national averages.
13 school catchments intersect Campbellfield (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 9,297 children aged under 5 reside, served by 7,554 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.2 children per place, with limited variance in this ratio. Meanwhile, the discrepancy in this ratio between Campbellfield and the intersecting school catchments highlights the need for a catchment based approach for specific site assessments.