The council said Bales Park OOSH,which has operated in North Willoughby for more than four years,was no longer financially viable but parents were surprised by the timing and are having trouble finding a suitable replacement.
Fiona Morphett’s two children are enrolled at Bales Park OOSH and she doesn’t know where they will go once it closes.Dylan Coker
In a letter seen byThe Sun-Herald,the council said “low usage rates and high level of competition from other services” necessitated the closure from July 1.
Fiona Morphett,who has two children at Bales Park OOSH,said there was nothing in the surrounding area that could suitably replace the centre.
“There’s not a comparable service with availability …[one service] is much bigger and louder,and for one of my kids that doesn’t work as they have some auditory sensitiveness,” she said. “One of the other ones doesn’t have availability on the days I need,so I’ve got to adjust my work.”
“It seems like an odd time to close it – parents are just being asked to go back to the office ... there’s a childcare shortage at the moment.”
Fiona Morphett,whose children are enrolled at Bales Park OOSH
Council documents showed Kids House,one of three alternatives services it suggested,only had three places available. Another,Inspire,does not operate on Fridays.
While Morphett conceded Bales Park OOSH was operating at a loss,she believed it would become profitable again as parents went back to work,and questioned the lack of consultation.
“It seems like an odd time to close it – parents are just being asked to go back to the office … there’s a at the moment,” she said.
Katrin Klinger,who started a well-backed petition against the closure and has two children at Bales Park OOSH,also felt the suggested alternatives would not match their current experience.
“They’re just not in the same category;I’m not sure which of the three to pick,” she said.
Documents tendered by the council showed a previous forecast deficit of $17,000 for 2021-22 calculated three months ago has now increased to $43,000.
In a statement toThe Sun-Herald,Willoughby Council cited financial viability,similar emerging providers and the ability to strengthen other facilities as reasons to support the closure.
It said the utilisation of the service had reduced steadily from 98 per cent in 2017 to 39 per cent in 2022,with most children attending one or two days.
The council statement also said there had effectively been a seven-week notice period as families were notified on May 26,and the first day that services would not be available was July 18 when school resumed for Term 3 after the two-week school holiday period.
It said it has been working closely with families to find alternative services.
Pauline O’Kane,the CEO of school-age care peak body Network of Community Activities,believes that while the pandemic has been difficult for OOSH services,it remains one of the fastest growing education sectors in Australia.
“Many services before COVID weren’t able to meet their demand. Now,with COVID,a lot of services are now able to revisit their waiting lists and offer places to parents that they wouldn’t have been able to offer before,” she said.
Instead,O’Kane said the real problem was finding enough qualified staff.
“Getting educators to operate[OOSH] services has been the biggest impact from COVID,” she said.
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