Kahibah contains 1 Long Day Care centre (99 places) and 1 OSHC facility (75 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population aligning with national benchmarks, though above the Regional NSW average. With no preschool/kindergarten services observed in the area, only long day care, the ratio of children per place for the under 5 age group is 1.8 - placing the area around the national average for supply per child. With projected population growth of 10.3% between now and 2041, and 18.9% in the under 5 age group in particular, 21 new places will be needed to maintain today's ratios. As well as this projected growth, other drivers of note in the area are high female labour force participation of 64.1%.
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 11.7 per 100 residents with 306 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. Proximity analysis saw distances of local residents to their nearest child care centre being shorter than average.
5 school catchments intersect Kahibah (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 3,659 children aged under 5 reside, served by 2,344 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.6 children per place, with limited variance in this ratio.