Gawler East contains 2 Long Day Care centres (175 places), 2 preschool/kindergarten facilities (126 places) and 2 OSHC facilities (180 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population appearing favorable compared to national benchmarks, and above the Greater Adelaide average. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 306 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 1.9 children per place. 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 175 places across 2 facilities serving 202 children while preschool supply is strong with 2 facilities providing 126 places (1.1 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Adelaide average of 2.8). With projected population growth of 34.5% between now and 2041, and 23.5% in the under 5 age group in particular, 36 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 12.4 per 100 residents with 777 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 lower than average. 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. 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 Gawler East (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only - primary school data only available in SA), in which a combined 1,500 children aged under 5 reside, served by 1,279 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.