Ashlea Robinson usually sends her son Nixon to Wyndham Early Learning two days a week, but has chosen to keep him at home for the next month.
“We have taken him out of daycare for a month or so as the COVID-19 cases in Shepparton were getting a little high for us to still feel comfortable sending him,” she said.
“(The extra days) will make a huge difference to our family and family budget, as it means we won't be out of pocket for the days that our son has not been in attendance.
“This takes a lot of pressure off in a time of many other pressures, and we are extremely grateful for the assistance Wyndham Early Learning has provided in these circumstances also.”
Even through parents have been taking their children out of childcare, Wyndham Early Learning centre manager Emily Thorp said staff had felt supported by the government's measures to keep childcare centres operating throughout COVID-19 restrictions.
These supports included JobKeeper during the first lockdown until July 13, and a transitional payment thereafter to ease providers back onto the Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
“I’m sure due to the lockdown in Melbourne, it may be difficult for centres, but for us as a centre in regional Victoria we have felt supported by the government,” she said.
“Across both stage three restriction periods, because of the support, we were able to keep our full educator group and maintain all shifts for permanent staff.”
Miss Thorp said these measures and the centre voluntarily waiving the gap fee, have allowed parents who could not afford childcare, or who had decided to keep their children at home, to keep their enrolment.
“We have waived the fees for parents who are choosing to keep their children home for the duration, which has helped support our families financially and helped the centre keep enrolments high,” she said.
“We continue to be at almost capacity of enrolments.”
And there's always a silver lining; Miss Thorp said the centre was more prepared for this lockdown, and was able to offer more days for vulnerable families, as well as opportunities for staff.
“Parents are dropping their children off in the foyer and educators are bringing them to the foyer on pick-up, and the children have adjusted to this well and have had some fun guessing who is the next to be picked up,” she said
“We also continue to help those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged by being able to offer more days for these families, and we have been able to provide educators with professional development opportunities.”
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