NEWS that two new childcare centres are slated to open in Orange in the next two years is sure to bring a smile to the face of parents of young children.
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Lack of childcare has long been an issue for local parents with wait lists sometimes more than a year long.
While finding a place is difficult, finding a place that’s near where you live is another thing.
Often people are forced to drive to the other side of town to put their child in daycare because the centres near their homes are packed to the rafters.
However, one of the biggest problems when there’s a childcare shortage is a lack of flexibility.
The Central Western Daily spoke to young mum Casey Challacombe this week who told us that when her employer changed her working hours she was forced to pull her 14-month-old daughter out of the childcare centre she was enrolled in and find an alternative place for her to go.
The childcare centre just couldn’t accommodate her new needs.
It would be a shame if a lack of childcare placements and flexibility led to more and more women being forced to leave the workforce and stay home.
Waratahs Early Learning Centre director Kelly Doulin confirmed her centre was operating at capacity and her wait list was also full.
She too has welcomed news there will soon be a new childcare centre in Orange although is unsure the city needs two of them.
Let’s hope the provision of extra childcare centres may see Orange reach a stage where parents have more choice about where they send their child, when they send child and, thanks to the extra competition, how much they pay.
