Teesdale contains 1 Long Day Care centre (102 places), 1 preschool/kindergarten facility (33 places) and 1 OSHC facility (30 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 192 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.2 - placing the area among the top 30% nationally for supply per child. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 1.6 children per place. 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 102 places across 1 facility serving 100 children while preschool supply is moderate with 1 facility providing 33 places (2.0 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Regional Vic. average of 2.0). With projected population growth of 60.1% between now and 2041, and 60.4% in the under 5 age group in particular, 111 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 65.7%.
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 10.1 per 100 residents with 255 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 longer than typical nationally while fees are notably lower than national averages. 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.
6 school catchments intersect Teesdale (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 1,356 children aged under 5 reside, served by 1,392 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.0 children per place, with moderate variance in this ratio.