Enfield contains 1 Long Day Care centre (84 places), 2 preschool/kindergarten facilities (80 places) and 2 OSHC facilities (102 places), while overall provision relative to the local child population appears limited compared to national benchmarks, and is below the Greater Adelaide average, though with certain cohorts and service types experiencing tighter provision. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 589 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 3.3 - placing the area among the bottom 30% nationally for supply per child. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 6.4 children per place (lower quintile supply). Further breakdowns by age, to help in identifying the most in-need services, show an undersupply of LDC places across the infant and toddler cohort (<3yo) with just 84 places across 1 facility serving a total of 321 children while preschool supply is moderate with 2 facilities providing 80 places (2.7 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Adelaide average of 2.8). To meet the Greater Adelaide average 190 new places would be required (LDC+PSK to service the under 5 age group). Meanwhile, with projected population growth of 31.8% between now and 2041, and 30.9% in the under 5 age group in particular, not considering current depressed supply, 72 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 11.6 per 100 residents with 947 enrolments across primary and secondary institutions. This middle-of-the-road rate of school supply suggests most local students are residents within the immediate area. 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 shorter than average while fees are notably lower than national averages.