Hopetoun early years centre to close

Hopetoun Uniting Early Learning Centre will close indefinitely next month due to staff shortages, an issue affecting childcare centres across the region.

Uniting Vic.tas senior manager of early learning Paula Clarke said it was an unfortunate situation.

“As we will not have the necessary ratio of staff to operate the service, it will need to close indefinitely from April 1,” she said.

“Since a change of circumstances of the centre’s two educators in December, we have kept affected families informed about the staffing challenges.

“Despite actively trying to recruit for months and with the support from Yarriambiack Shire Council, early learning training institutions and the Victorian Department of Education, we’ve been unable to find suitable candidates to fill the two qualified educator roles at the centre.

“We remain committed to supporting local families and will continue our recruitment campaign while exploring alternative options so children are able to continue receiving quality early learning education and care.”

Yarriambiack Shire Council mayor Kylie Zanker said despite relentless dedication of Uniting staff to attract suitable candidates, the organisation was unable to fill crucial positions.

“This situation is further complicated by a widespread shortage of certified professionals holding either Certificate III or Diploma qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care,” she said.

“The rural location of Hopetoun compounds the difficulty in recruitment efforts. The geographical challenges faced by rural communities make it inherently challenging to compete for qualified professionals, especially when contending with similar shortages in large regional centres and metropolitan areas.”

Councillor Zanker encouraged qualified Early Childhood professionals, both locally and beyond, to consider joining the team at Hopetoun Uniting Early Learning Centre.

“I strongly encourage individuals with a Certificate III, Diploma, or working towards a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care to reach out to Kate Farlow, program manager for western Victoria at Uniting

Wimmera, and discuss the job opportunity,” she said.

“Hopetoun is a beautiful community, surrounded by an abundance of natural assets to explore, such as Lake Lascelles, and Wyperfeld National Park being within close proximity.

“The community has an active arts culture, operating from Hopetoun Powerhouse, and an abundance of sporting and recreational activities on offer.”

Huge waitlists

By Five Wimmera Southern Mallee Early Years Initiative is a community collaboration committed to ensuring every child and family has access to consistent, quality early years services.

By Five executive officer Jo Martin said there was an estimated 300 children on childcare waitlists across the Wimmera and southern Mallee.

“The estimate is only with places that have a list, so if a town doesn’t have a service, there’s no list to be on,” she said.

“We think there could be in excess of 400 children needing childcare places across the Wimmera and southern Mallee.”

Mrs Martin said early childhood education and care centres were critical.

“It’s important for early childhood development, as 90 percent of a child’s brain develops in the first 2000 days,” she said.

“Early learning helps with emotional regularity, helps with lots of learning, and childcare for vulnerable children is very important.”

Mrs Martin said staffing was one of the most significant reasons for the region’s childcare shortage.

“There’s little doubt we’re a long way away from having enough staff to meet the demand,” she said.

“It’s tricky in rural areas to recruit full stop, but even harder when you also have an industry that is not renumerated well to do a pretty important job.

“A Certificate III childcare worker earns about $8 an hour less than a Certificate III aged care worker, so we’re not paying people with qualifications at a rate similar to their peers and that needs to be rectified immediately.

“The conditions in which these people work need to be improved so when they do have qualifications, workplaces can support them. We don’t blame providers because they are under enormous pressure to try and deliver services on very thin budgets.” Mrs Martin said a lack of facilities was also a challenge.

“Early childhood education and care centres are often retrofitted into kindergartens, so facilities sometimes cannot enable the growth a town or community might demand,” she said.

Mrs Martin said there was a flow-on effect on the community when it had no childcare or a shortage of places available.

“You don’t have to go far to have an employer who is desperate for staff,” she said.

“I was speaking to the hospital in Horsham and they said they would have staff who would take up roles but they can’t get childcare, so therefore they have to decline positions.

“The lack of supply has a child development impact, but it also has a huge impact on employers to recruit and for women in particular to be able to return to the workforce in a capacity if they chose to.

“It also makes some of our towns a really hard place to move to if you don’t think you can get childcare. It makes a town less liveable if you don’t have those basic services.”