A second childcare worker at Kardinia Early Learning Timboon says staff have been left in the dark as parents face a two-year wait list for other facilities.
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The staff member, who asked not to be named, joins another who reached out to The Standard about the centre's scheduled closure on June 28, 2024. About a dozen employees were told they were unlikely to be offered jobs at the provider's three other branches.
As the mother of a child also enrolled at the day care, and with another about to start, she said the sudden announcement on March 27 hit her twice as hard.
"Now what?" she asked.
"I asked the director there if I could get a spot in Geelong to be closer to my dad because he's got stage four cancer, and I've heard nothing back at all.
"I asked last week. I've heard nothing back whatsoever.
"It's also been two weeks since we were given notice of the closure and we're being kept in the dark."
The Standard has contacted Kardinia for comment.
In the meantime, she said she'd had no luck securing a spot for her two children at another facility.
"I emailed Goodstart Early Learning last week and they said the earliest they could do was 2026," she said.
"Warrnambool has a two-year wait list. I told them I was also looking for a job and they said they didn't need any more staff.
"There's going to be heaps of staff looking for other jobs, some are staying positive but they've only got two months to find another provider and that's not a lot of time.
"So I'm in the process of trying to get my own family daycare centre up and running at my home. I've gone through another provider that can help me set it up and they're willing to do it for this community to help."
She said Kardinia's closure in Timboon would be devastating to the town's growth.
Eight blocks are for sale through Corangamite Shire Council's Unlocking Housing Timboon project which aims to position the town as a future key service centre to the Great Ocean Road for housing, tourism, accommodation, commercial and industrial opportunities.
"At the moment there's houses getting built for people to live in, the community's only going to get bigger and having no childcare centre is only going to get worse," she said.
Jessica Greenan
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering both Moyne Shire and Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering both Moyne Shire and Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
