Nappy Valley families face a frustrating shortage of childcare, reports Andrea Jutson
Waiting lists at Dannemora's early childhood centres are more than 200 names long.
Demand for childcare in the booming suburb means that Dannemora Kindergarten had a long waiting list before it opened in November 2003.
Children cannot get into the kindergarten
before their fourth birthday, and neighbouring kindergartens are also full.
Some overflow is sent to Cascades Kindergarten at Lloyd Elsmore Park.
``Just when you think the number is going down, more will come along,' says manager Christine McGill. The kindergarten may be popular because of its low cost - $5 per session, as opposed to up to $33 per day at a private daycare centre.
However, Lollipops Educare owner Ali Corstorphine says its Botany Town Centre site is bursting at the seams.
Lollipops is building a second centre at Botany Junction, opening in July.
However space for babies is scarce - only eight at one time.
These numbers may be why between 98 and 100 per cent of school-age children attend new entrants classes in the area, well above the national average, according to the Ministry of Education.
The ministry says it is aware of the shortage, and that several new centres will open soon.
A centre has been proposed for Baverstock Oaks School in Flat Bush, and there are plans for another at the new Jeffs Rd school to open in 2009.
Resource consent has also been sought for a private daycare centre at Willowbank Cottage, the area's first school, catering for 30 children.
However, another 40,000 residents are expected in Flat Bush over the next decade.
McGill says that unless more public kindergartens are built, new centres will not be enough to meet the demand for low-priced childcare.
She also says parents and grandparents at her kindergarten often don't have transport, so any new centre would need to be within walking distance of where it is needed.
``One in Flat Bush is not going to be much help to us.'
