Update on Edenhope childcare service
Published on 26 May 2022
The Federal Government has given the greenlight to a new childcare service at Edenhope.
Council staff have been working with Edenhope parents on a new pilot program for childcare in the town.
Council had to apply to the Federal Government to be able to administer the Childcare Subsidy Scheme.
Council Chief Executive Officer David Bezuidenhout said the government had now approved the service.
“This is fantastic news for us and we can now move forward with getting the service up and running,” he said.
“Families can also start their childcare subsidy process to claim on childcare fees, if they haven’t done so already,” he said.
Families wishing to access the Childcare Subsidy scheme can go to https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy
Enrolments and child bookings will start from Monday 30 May.
The program will have a staggered start with the current family day care enrolments and over 3-year-old childcare, including before and after kindergarten care, will start on June 6.
The additional enrolments for the under 3s room will begin June 14.
Buses will not be available for child care enrolments.
Mr Bezuidenhout said Council had been successful in recruiting staff for the Edenhope centre so far.
“The recruitment process has been very positive,” he said.
“We are fortunate to have received suitably qualified applicants, with a range of experience.”
Council staff have also been investigating establishing a family day care service at the Goroke Kindergarten, which would operate two days a week.
“Staff have made moves on this project, but it is still in very early days of the submission process,” Mr Bezuidenhout said.
He said staff hoped to get the Edenhope childcare centre open as soon as practical.
“We originally hoped to have the service open by April 26, but that was dependent on the staff recruitment process and government approvals,” he said.
“There were no guarantees of that start date, and we thank everyone for patience and understanding.”