Girraween contains 1 preschool/kindergarten facility (78 places) and 1 OSHC facility (145 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population appearing favorable compared to national benchmarks. With no LDC services observed in the area, only preschool, the ratio of children per place for the under 5 age group is 1.4 - placing the area among the top 30% nationally for supply per child. With projected population growth of 12.6% between now and 2041, and 0.0% in the under 5 age group in particular. Other factors relevant to demand worth noting are high female labour force participation of 75.3%, as well as upper 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 19.4 per 100 residents with 366 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.
3 school catchments intersect Girraween (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 1,456 children aged under 5 reside, served by 1,218 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.2 children per place, with moderate variance in this ratio.