Agenda of Community and Culture

Georges River Council – Community and Culture Standing Committee Meeting - Monday, 13 November 2017 Page 5

Committee Reports

Item: COM030-17 Georges River Children's Services Strategic Plan 2017-2020 and Childcare Services Overview

Author: Director Community and Culture and Manager - Children's Services

Directorate: Community and Culture

Matter Type: Committee Reports

Recommendation

(a) That Council receives and notes the content of this report.

(b) That Council adopt the draft Georges River Council (GRC) Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2017-2020 at Attachment 1 to this report.

(c) That Council consider capping the current attendance fees at Penshurst Long Day Care Centre, Hurstville Early Learning Centre and Jack High Long Day Care Centre as part of the 2018/2019 budget process (fees and charges) and review such capping annually.

Executive Summary

1. At the Council meeting held on Monday 7 August 2017, the following was adopted by Council:

(a) That Council endorse the attached Draft Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2017- 2020 to be placed on public exhibition for a period of not less than 28 days.

(b) That the submissions received during the public exhibition period be reported back to Council together with any recommended changes to the Draft Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2017-2020.

2. At the Council meeting held on Monday 23 October 2017, the following was adopted by Council:

a. That the General Manager prepare a report on the existing operations of Council’s Childcare Centres and that it be submitted to Council for consideration in conjunction with the draft Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2017 - 2020 and present that report to the committee in November 2017.

b. The report shall include:

i. details of the operating model for the centres;

ii. actions proposed within the draft Strategic Plan to ensure the ongoing viability of the centres;

iii. actions proposed within the draft Strategic Plan to ensure that Council will be able to continue to provide and expand the service in the long term;

iv. actions proposed within the draft Strategic Plan to provide childcare services in a flexible manner so that they meet the needs of all families in the LGA and the impact of offering this model of care;

v. actions proposed within the draft Strategic Plan to meet the need for occasional childcare and the impact of offering this model of care;

vi. information about the number of families that are unable to attend council run care due to the current operating models in the former Kogarah Council (i.e. those families whose needs are not met by the days offered) and the former Hurstville Council (i.e. the days where a spot remains unfilled); and

vii. any other relevant matters for Council’s consideration.

Background

3. As part of the amalgamation process, the NSW Government requires Council to harmonise the services of the two former councils. Harmonising of Council’s services is consistent with defraying the cost of amalgamation and assisting in the integration of the two former Councils’ services. Council’s adopted Implementation Plan (and related project plans) was approved by the State Government and is due for completion in July 2018.

4. As part of the service harmonisation the draft Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2017-2020 has been developed to lay the foundation for the future direction of Council’s children’s services. This will occur by identifying goals and strategies needed to ensure the right range of facilities, programs, objectives, early years learning framework, staff skills, policies and procedures will continue to enhance access for families, which is fundamental to the ongoing success and relevance of children’s services.

5. The merger presented Council with the opportunity to review its existing policies and strategies for children’s services and strive to provide a service that is recognised for its value for money and as a market leader in childcare services; providing quality outcomes for children and families embracing diversity in multiple ways.

6. To achieve this objective, a thorough review of the newly formed GRC Children’s Service occurred during 2016 - 2017 to ensure services were clearly defined and aligned with community priorities; ensuring long term sustainability and providing the best possible service with the belief that children must have quality programs that meet and exceed the standards outlined in the National Quality Framework whilst remaining financially sustainable.

7. Childcare services is a discretional service that is currently being provided by Council i.e. it is not required under the Local Government Act 1993 for this service to be a part of any council’s operations. Of the 100 centres currently operating in the LGA, Council operates 6 centres and the remainder are operated by the private sector.

8. As it is a discretionary service under the Act, the operation of childcare services needs to stand alone as a financial entity and should not be subsidised by residents or ratepayers. Long term financial sustainability is the key to the continued success of the service, and the service should be operated in a manner that allows annual operating costs, and the ongoing maintenance and renewal of the centres to occur without cost to ratepayers. Should Council adopt a Policy or Strategy to increase the size of the service, the full costs of any expansion should be funded by the service.

9. It is noted that this policy approach is consistent with recent election commitments that were given to ratepayers of providing value for money for services provided.

Draft Children Services Strategic Plan 2017-2020

10. Council is requested to consider and endorse a range of strategic policy matters contained in the draft Plan and are generally summarised as follows:

a. That Council continue to provide childcare services within the LGA;

b. That the programs offered at the centres be high quality-evidence based and are tailored to meet the needs of families;

c. That the service provide an increased focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and traditions;

d. That staff are highly trained and a best-practice approach to staffing at each centre is provided;

e. That each service is affordable and financially sustainable and, at a minimum, cost neutral;

f. That each service achieve greater than 95% vacancy rates to ensure ongoing affordability and to reduce waiting lists;

g. That the service provides sustainable, unique environments consistent with current philosophies of play and risk standards;

h. Analyse future child care needs in the community and expand the service if necessary;

i. Meet and exceed compliance and regulatory standards.

11. More specifically, within the draft Plan, there is a list of objectives, actions and measurables for years 1, 2 and 3. These measurables will be reported to Council yearly so that the accountability and credibility of the Plan remains.

12. Whilst all the objectives are extremely important, objective 10 is the most significant, which is policy driven. Objective 10 states that “Be proactive in analysing and understanding the childcare needs within developing areas of the Georges River LGA” which discusses future-proofing childcare services within the LGA.

13. The Plan also discusses understanding projected population growth targets from the Greater Sydney Commission and conducting community surveys relating to childcare needs. However, the most significant point relating to viability and the expansion of the service is the action point which discusses membership of Council’s Development Contributions (Section 94) Committee by senior staff responsible for the development and delivery of childcare services to the community. This will allow senior staff to promote the childcare service as being as important as road networks, drainage infrastructure, sports grounds etc. when discussing new development proposals and voluntary planning agreements.

14. Policy decisions regarding Section 94 and VPA funding approaches would be reported to Council so that clear strategic direction will occur. This will include the potential provision of new Council-run centres, with the foresight of possibly providing a 24 hour/7 day childcare centre that would predominately service the growing health and medical sector of Kogarah town centre.

15. The Strategic Plan, also discusses affordability, engaging and unique services where families can choose between service types, selecting services which best suits their current and future needs. This, however, does not mean that Council’s childcare service will be able to meet the individual needs of every family. This type of scenario would not allow the service to remain financially viable. For Council’s service to remain financially viable, the operating model approved by the General Manager needs to establish parameters to operate within that meets the policy objectives established by the Council. The General Manager’s operating model needs to ensure that the service will not rely on subsidies from Council’s ratepayers that could be spent on much needed community services and infrastructure that the greater proportion of the community will need in the future, and that Council is mandated to provide, eg: libraries, sporting fields, roads and drainage infrastructure, etc.

Submissions on the Draft Plan

16. Four submissions were received commenting on the draft Strategic Plan. All comments related to the impending operational change for children attending Penshurst Long Day Care Centre, to fixed attendance patterns of consecutive days of either two, three or five days.

17. One submission commented that the key performance indicators (KPI) relate to occupancy rates, not children and their development. The submitter considered that there was a greater focus on the financial viability of the service throughout the Plan and not community needs. However, it should be noted that of the 11 strategic objectives in the Plan, only 1 relates to the ongoing financial sustainability of the service – the other 10 objectives focus on meeting the needs of the children, staff and the community into the future.

18. Whilst all the submissions relate to attendance patterns of a particular centre, there is no reference to this within the draft Plan. The draft Strategic Plan focusses on the policy approach that Council will endorse for its children’s service in the LGA pursuant to sections 8B and 232 of the Local Government Act 1993.

19. After consideration of the submissions, no changes to the policies and objectives contained within the draft Strategic Plan are proposed.

Operating Model for the Centres

20. Council currently operates six childcare services ranging from a traditional pre-school centre at South Hurstville, which is only open during school terms and has operating hours from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday; to its biggest long day care service located at Jack High Childcare Centre, which has capacity for up to 80 children per day. This service operates from 7.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday. This centre also has a full-time chef who provides healthy, nutritious meals for the children.

21. The operating model of the three former Kogarah Council centres (Ocean Street, Carss Park Narani and South Hurstville) are a fixed attendance pattern of consecutive days and these three services have an attendance rate of 100%.

22. These three childcare centres are far more affordable and do not experience the same daily vacancy rates and loss of revenue as the former Hurstville centres. As previously advised, this operating model has been in place at the former Kogarah Council centres for more than 10 years at one of the centres and over 25 years at the remaining two centres.

23. Council has no record of any families within the former Kogarah LGA whose needs are not met or who are being disadvantaged by the operating arrangements of fixed attendance patterns at these centres. When advised of the consecutive-days arrangement during initial enquiries and enrolment applications, no families have discontinued with enrolment or withdrawn their children from the waiting lists at these centres.

24. Unfortunately the current operating model of the three former Hurstville Council centres are not fixed days and these three services have an attendance rate of between 85% to 95%. Whilst staff constantly attempt to fill these vacancies each day, there is no demand from waiting list families for single-day care in the centres.

25. Within the former Hurstville centres, between July 2016 and June 2017, 4,421 single days were unfilled over the 12 month period, which is broken up as follows:

· Penshurst Long Day Care Centre: 391 days x $100 (adr) = $39,100

· Hurstville Early Learning Centre: 327 days x $100 (adr) = $32,700

· Jack High Long Day Care Centre: 3703 days x $100 (adr) = $370,300

(adr = average daily rate)

Total lost revenue for 2016/17: $442,100

26. The approved operational changes in attendance patterns at these three centres to alleviate this unsustainable result and achieve a 100% attendance rate are as follows;

· Jack High = Monday/Tuesday or Wednesday/Thursday/Friday or full-time

· Penshurst = Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday or Thursday/Friday or full-time

· Hurstville = Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday or Thursday/Friday or full-time.

This attendance pattern will commence from 2 July 2018.

27. The impending change for children attending the former Hurstville Council childcare centres to fixed attendance patterns of consecutive days of either two, three or five days will enable Council to achieve compliance with Section 8B(d)(ii) of the Local Government Act 1993, Principles of Sound Financial Management - Councils should ensure that the current generation funds the cost of its services.

28. Council officers sent 201 letters to families at the centres who may have been affected by this change. 15 families who have a child/children that attend Penshurst Long Day Care Centre, and seven families who have a child/children that attend Jack High Long Day Care Centre, raised concerns regarding the impending changes. Of the 22 families that have raised concern, 15 have submitted their preferences for the fixed day structure, with six families yet to provide a preference; one family has advised that their child will not be returning to the service in 2018.

29. Some families have requested that Council revert to the previous operating model or delay the introduction of the consecutive days until after 2020. It should be noted that numerous options were investigated by officers prior to harmonising the service to adopt the former Kogarah’s consecutive-days operating model. None of the options achieved compliance with Section 8B of the Local Government Act 1993 for financial sustainability, nor did they reduce the size of the waiting lists for childcare services in the LGA.

30. Some parents have also requested the background to the change in operating model. The change has arisen as a requirement of the merger of the former Councils and to achieve compliance with the Act. In accordance with the Merger Implementation Plan, Council is required to harmonise its services prior to July 2018. The change is also deemed to be an operational matter pursuant to Section 335 of the Local Government Act (1993) and the Model Code of Conduct, which detail the functions of the General Manager and states that operational matters are solely in the purview of the General Manager.

31. The proposed changes will allow Council to cap fees at the former Hurstville centres at current rates as part of the 2018-2019 budget process (fees and charges) and this cap will be recommended by staff as part of the upcoming budget. It is proposed that this arrangement will be monitored each year as part of the budget process.

Occasional Care

32. Council does not currently operate occasional childcare or before and after school care. The draft Strategic Plan allows this existing policy position to be investigated to ascertain its viability and how it might be funded in the future. This service is currently being provided by the private sector.

33. Council does, however, offer additional single days to families if a vacancy exists because a child, who is attending the centre, is away due to holidays or sickness etc. This is offered on an ad-hoc basis and the practice will continue to be offered.

34. It should be noted also that 82% of families who use GRC Childcare Services live within the LGA. Currently Council’s Childcare Service has just over 400 families who utilise the service.

35. Recently the wait list of families wanting to utilise Council’s childcare service has increased to 711 families. 93% of those families on the wait list live in the Georges River LGA.

Conclusion

36. The NSW government required GRC to harmonise its services as part of the merger process to ensure that equal access is provided to quality affordable services across the entire local government area. The aim for the childcare service was to save money, reduce fees and continue to provide quality childcare for all families - not just at the former Kogarah Council centres.

37. The Manager Children’s Services and Coordinators of the service discussed the benefits to young children of the proposed changes. They concluded that the consistency and continuity afforded by these changes would promote responsive relationships with other children. This is based on their understanding of children and their needs through individual training and over 100 years of combined experience within the childcare industry. Their experience and expertise in the industry is highly regarded and is an important reason why many families prefer to place their children with Council for child care rather than in a privately operated service.

Financial Implications

38. Attached to this report is the Australian Governments Childcare Fee Assistance – summary of rate changes from July 2017. These are the rebates and financial assistance that parents receive as a result of their child/children attending childcare. As an example of the implication of the Childcare Fee Assistance, for a family with one child attending three days per week for 49 weeks with a cost of $100 per day:

· A family on 100% Child Care Benefit (CCB) and the Child Care Rebate (CCR) would pay $79.92 per week (daily $26.64)

· 36.6% with CCB and CCR 3 days is $139.53 per week (daily $46.51)

· 0% CCB but has CCR 3 days is $156.00 per week (daily $52.00).

39. Finally, if Council can maintain a 100% occupancy rate across its childcare service, additional income of upwards of $400,000 will be achieved per year. This will allow Council to invest these funds in expanding and further improving the current service without relying on ratepayer subsidies.

File Reference

D17/198010

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment View1	Childrens Services Strategic Plan 2017-2020
Attachment View2	Australian Government Childcare Fee Assistance - summary of rate changes

Attachment View1	Terms of Reference - Community Development and Services Advisory Committee
Attachment View2	Minutes - Community Development and Services Advisory 01 November 2017

Attachment View1	Minutes - Major Events Advisory Committee 01 November 2017
Attachment View2	Terms of Reference - Major Events Advisory Committee