GOOLOOGONG RALLIES FOR ANSWERS ON LOCAL CHILDCARE OPTIONS

Working families in Gooloogong are being forced to cut back on work and travel long distances for care, as the town continues to wait for certainty regarding early childhood education and after-school services.

The local P&C says families feel they have been ‘strung along’ after three years of working in good faith with the NSW Labor Government without a clear outcome or commitment.

Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, said the community had waited long enough for answers.

“What they’re looking for is really simple and straightforward,” Ms Cooke said.

“They need a preschool and before- and after-school care. It’s not rocket science, and quite frankly, this community deserves better.”

Ms Cooke said families were deeply concerned about the long-term future of Gooloogong Public School if support services were not delivered.

“Not too far from here, we've seen two schools close in the last 18 months. It is not unreasonable that the community here would be very concerned about the future of their own school,” she said.

“What we’re seeing at the moment is parents having to pull their kids out of school or not enrol them to begin with, because they end up taking their child to a larger centre that meets the working requirements of their parents.”

Local parent Marissa Tedder is among those local parents forced to make difficult decisions due to the lack of childcare options.

“I recently had to go to my employer of eight years and say to them, I actually cannot continue working here because I can’t do the daily travel, and I can’t do the hours that you require me to do due to the lack of daycare,” Ms Tedder said.

She added that Gooloogong offered an incredible lifestyle for her young family, but essential services were missing.

“We have everything we need right here, and we can make it successful if, if we’re allowed to,” she said.

Fourth-generation local farmer, Phillip Gray, who attended Gooloogong Public School himself and now has young children of his own, said reliable childcare and after-school care were critical to keeping families in town.

“I’ve been in the community all my life, brought up here, went to school here,” Mr Gray said.

“It was challenging to have kids at school and at daycare [in another town], and then with work to try and fit it all in. In regard to dropping the kids off, there's always a time constraint to be able to get back and finish off the jobs you had planned for the day.”

Mr Gray said the school and wider community were central to keeping the town strong into the future.

“We want the kids to be part of that community,” he said.

“It’s a nice place to live in. People are nice. Opportunities are here, so it’s a great spot.”

Gooloogong Public School P&C President Emma Marr said families had spent three years working constructively with the Department of Education to secure a sustainable childcare model that would support both local children and working parents.

“What we’re after is a sustainable model,” Ms Marr said.

“We’ve really been trying to work with the department in trying to achieve a facility that provides care for those children that are not yet at school, as well as after-school care for school-aged children.”

Ms Marr said the uncertainty was exhausting families and placing pressure on the school’s future.

“We’ve very easily lost over a quarter of our children to school buses,” she said.

“Just last week, we had an inquiry from a family for enrolment to the school, and because we don’t have after-school care, they’ve now gone to Cowra.”

“We need the department to stop stringing this along. Our families are exhausted.”

Ms Cooke said the community had already demonstrated its willingness to work together and deserved support from the government.

“Small communities’ matter, and so do the schools that make up the beating heart of these communities,” Ms Cooke said.

“This community has got solutions. They’re very self-sufficient. All they need is a green light from the government to stand up this level of care that they want to offer their own children.”