Salisbury contains 3 Long Day Care centres (301 places), 2 preschool/kindergarten facilities (90 places) and 2 OSHC facilities (180 places). Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 588 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.4 - placing the area above the national average for supply per child. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 1.8 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 301 places across 3 facilities serving 332 children while preschool supply is moderate with 2 facilities providing 90 places (2.5 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Adelaide average of 2.8). Projected population decline of 2.6% in the under 5 age group between now and 2041 suggests a reduction in demand for childcare services. Other factors relevant to demand worth noting are lower female labour force participation of 41.8%, as well as lower 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 10.9 per 100 residents with 1,002 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. Proximity analysis saw distances of local residents to their nearest child care centre being relatively in line with national benchmarks while fees are notably lower than national averages.