Thomastown contains 6 Long Day Care centres (535 places), 3 preschool/kindergarten facilities (128 places) and 5 OSHC facilities (275 places) on a resident basis — though likely far tighter supply once significant daily workforce inflows to the area are considered. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 1,139 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.7 - placing the area slightly above the national average for supply per child on a resident basis, though closer to ~1.9 once estimated daytime workforce inflow is factored in. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 2.1 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 535 places across 6 facilities serving 673 children while preschool supply is constrained with 3 facilities providing 128 places (3.5 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Melbourne average of 2.6). With projected population growth of 27.4% between now and 2041, and 11.9% in the under 5 age group in particular, 91 new places will be needed to maintain today's ratios. As well as this projected growth, other factors worth noting are lower female labour force participation of 43.8%, 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 10.6 per 100 residents with 2,203 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 relatively in line with national benchmarks.
19 school catchments intersect Thomastown (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 8,508 children aged under 5 reside, served by 6,134 LDC and preschool places. The overall demand-to-supply ratio across these catchments is 1.4 children per place, with moderate variance in this ratio.