Grovedale contains 6 Long Day Care centres (623 places), 5 preschool/kindergarten facilities (357 places) and 4 OSHC facilities (240 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population appearing favorable compared to national benchmarks, and above the Regional Vic. average. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 828 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.0 - 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 1.6 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 623 places across 6 facilities serving 595 children while preschool supply is similarly strong with 5 facilities providing 357 places (1.1 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Regional Vic. average of 2.0). With projected population growth of 50.9% between now and 2041, and 67.3% in the under 5 age group in particular, 391 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 14.6 per 100 residents with 2,052 enrolments across primary and secondary institutions. This above-average concentration of school places suggests the area serves as something of a destination for educational services, which typically supports elevated childcare demand through school run convenience patterns. Additionally, the level of school places per child care place (LDC+PSK) is lower than average. Out of school hours child care provision is similarly strong, with 240 places serving the 5-12 cohort. 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.
7 school catchments intersect Grovedale (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 13,476 children aged under 5 reside, served by 12,847 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.0 children per place, with limited variance in this ratio.