Further to the closures in Corowa in November, families in Howlong are now also frantically seeking child care as more services are cut.
Delivered via email on April 5, close to twenty families were informed that, as of April 25, they would no longer have access to Before and After School Care (BASC) for their children.
For five years, the family-owned Little Ones Early Learning Centre has provided BASC services to working parents in the town.
The purpose-built facility was opened in 2019 and provided much-needed day, before and after school care for the community however, the changes to BASC are being made by Guardian Childcare and Education, who took control of the facility in November 2023.
With no clear reasons or alternative solutions offered to dampen the blow, a number of parents have taken to Facebook in a desperate attempt to source avenues that will allow them to retain their employment.
“Oh no, everyone will be looking now, what are we all going to do?” one concerned parent said.
“It will definitely have a big impact on everyone,” another replied.
Of the 160 plus centres that Guardian own and operate all except one have ceased offering BASC, and though staff at the Howlong centre have indicated that the reason for the change is due to an inability to employ staff, members of the community are not convinced.
“Have they been looking for staff? Advertising?” One community member on Facebook questioned.
Causing further consternation are the reasons cited by employees at the company’s head office.
“They are also closing others,” one Guardian employee said.
“There is only one service still operating as it is attached to a school but otherwise, before and after school care are just not a part of their business model.”
With the company growing at an extraordinary rate and acquiring a further 17 new centres in the coming months, there is also speculation among the community that they had never intended to offer the BASC services long term.
“From reading the Guardian Childcare profile, I believe none of their centres offer before or after school care,” a concerned resident commented.
“This happens when a local is bought out by a national organisation.
“Honesty is always the best policy.”
Corowa families were provided with advance notice in October 2023 regarding the need for them to source other arrangements for the 2024 school year.
The organisation involved also took an active role in helping affected families to negotiate potential arrangements with local schools.
Families in Howlong, however, have been left to fend for themselves with just days to scramble for alternatives.
Many are now reaching out to other providers in the hope that they can convince them to initiate a service at Howlong Public School with TheirCare, who operate BASC services in surrounding areas, offering some hope.
“Companies like that, that are able to partner with schools for BASC are probably the parent’s best hope,” a Guardian employee at the Howlong centre said.
“They have a different funding model to us and a larger pool of resources.”
In the midst of the worst cost of living crisis the current generation of parents has ever experienced, households are, now more than ever, reliant on two incomes to survive.
“It’s really terrible for these families,” the head office employee said.
“Parents are struggling to get their kids into childcare, but they need to get back to work.
“We receive calls from mums all over Australia crying on the phone because they can’t get in anywhere.
“Some parents are waiting two to five years and many are now putting their kids on waiting lists before they are even born.
“Guardian are trying their best to help these families, our acquisitions team are looking for new centres all the time, but often it will be Government Service Agreements that will hold up a centre’s opening,” she concluded.
Whether it is staffing, service agreements, or simply that BASC services are not a viable offering, one critical factor remains; the effects of such closures not only have a dire impact on the families in need of care but, ultimately, the community as a whole.