Coast closure leaves parents confused and concerned

Parents accessing the long day care (LDC) aspect of Coast Community Connections service offering in Woy Woy have been left confused and concerned after learning the service would cease due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

Families using the service received an email on the afternoon of Friday, 18 October, advising them that effective Monday 21 October the LDC program would no longer be available at the centre, but that before and after school care and vacation care would continue as normal. 

The 42 families accessing the LDC offering were described by parent spokesperson Ivona Rose as being ‘blindsided’ by the decision, which was communicated by Coast Community Connections Executive Officer Stephanie Wallace.

“The families affected are exhausted, grief stricken and angry,” Ms Rose shared with local news source Coast Community News. 

“Enrolments for next year have mostly been completed in an area where there is already a shortage of early childhood education, and we are left without immediate care of our children.”

“How are we to continue working and providing the services society requires of us under these circumstances?”

A number of parents who use the service, including clinical psychologist Melanie Cooke, have appealed to local MPs and councillors for intervention.

“As you can imagine this has caused immense distress and concern for all families affected,” Ms Cooke said, speaking not only from her own perspective as a user of the service, but also as a mental health professional engaged with families in the community. 

“The closure of this centre disrupts the wellbeing of the families I work with, and interrupts the capacity of many essential workers, including teachers, nurses, doctors, builders, and supermarket staff, who are now unable to access reliable childcare,” she said.

“It is essential that we explore legal and ethical responses to ensure that families are not left without options and that essential services in our community remain uninterrupted.”

Provider responds

Speaking on behalf of Coast Community Connections President Sharryn Brownlee confirmed the long day care service closure, effective immediately. 

“Following the successful transition of aged care services and an organisational focus on offering Early Learning and Outside of School Hours Care across the Central Coast, an investigation on service operations was conducted,” Ms Brownlee confirmed in communications with The Sector. 

At the conclusion of this review it was determined that the option to educate and care for children from birth to five years of age at the Woy Woy site was no longer tenable under current regulations and government funding arrangements.

“Yesterday, Coast Community Connections management and staff met with the Department of Education and we are working closely together to explore operational viability options for families with children aged 0-5 impacted by the closure,” Ms Brownlee continued. 

“We sincerely appreciate the Department’s assistance and are hopeful that a viable solution can be found to support these families during this time. During the meeting, the Department confirmed that all obligatory notifications from Coast Community Connections were received as required.”

On behalf of the provider, she offered a sincere apology to impacted families saying “we understand the significant inconvenience this has caused, especially considering the current challenges of securing childcare on the Central Coast.”

In closing, Ms Brownlee asked the community to “consider the impact of the personal attacks directed towards our staff and board members,” pleading for understanding as the team, many of whom have worked for the provider for close to 20 years, work through the matter. 

“We remain committed to ensuring the safety and care of those we support across our services,” she said. 

It is understood that the provider is seeking to expand its early learning footprint on the Central Coast, and has engaged architects and builders to work on a new centre on land owned by the organisation at 89 and 91 McMasters Rd and 2 Ross St, and that outside school hours care and vacation care remain unaffected by the changes. 

Access the local media coverage of this story here. Image sourced from Change.Org petition page.