Doncaster contains 10 Long Day Care centres (948 places), 3 preschool/kindergarten facilities (83 places) and 3 OSHC facilities (219 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population appearing favorable compared to national benchmarks, and above the Greater Melbourne average. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 1,180 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.1 - placing the area among the top 20% nationally for supply per child. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 1.2 children per place (upper quintile supply). Further breakdowns by age, to help in identifying the most in-need services, show strong LDC provision for the infant and toddler cohort (<3yo) with 948 places across 10 facilities serving 699 children while preschool supply is constrained with 3 facilities providing 83 places (5.6 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Melbourne average of 2.6). With projected population growth of 33.1% between now and 2041, and 17.0% in the under 5 age group in particular, 191 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 52.9%, as well as lower than average employment 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 9.1 per 100 residents with 2,609 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.
11 school catchments intersect Doncaster (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 5,322 children aged under 5 reside, served by 5,933 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 0.9 children per place, with moderate variance in this ratio.