Viewbank contains 1 Long Day Care centre (110 places), 2 preschool/kindergarten facilities (76 places) and 1 OSHC facility (100 places), with overall provision relative to the local child population aligning with national benchmarks, though below the Greater Melbourne average, with certain cohorts and service types experiencing tighter provision. Combined service provision across long day care and preschool/kindergarten services, and the approximate 237 children in the cohort, sees a ratio of children per place of 1.9 - placing the area around the national average for supply per child. Looking at long day care specifically against the under-5 population, the ratio is 3.2 children per place (lower quintile supply). 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 110 places across 1 facility serving 208 children while preschool supply is strong with 2 facilities providing 76 places (1.8 children aged 3-4 per place compared to the Greater Melbourne average of 2.6). With projected population growth of 37.8% between now and 2041, and 22.8% in the under 5 age group in particular. 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 30.3 per 100 residents with 2,119 enrolments across primary and secondary institutions. This notably elevated rate of school supply suggests many students travel to the area from beyond the immediate surrounds, typically amplifying local childcare demand given school-run proximity. 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.
8 school catchments intersect Viewbank (note; school catchment data provided for public schools only), in which a combined 3,676 children aged under 5 reside, served by 3,503 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. Meanwhile, the discrepancy in this ratio between Viewbank and the intersecting school catchments highlights the need for a catchment based approach for specific site assessments.