Swan Hill Rural City Council is currently surveying families with children aged 0 to 6 years in a bid to understand what early years services and infrastructure are required now, and into the future.
The survey opened in March and has received an impressive 412 responses – but more are required to gain a comprehensive understanding of what roadblocks families are facing when it comes to early years services.
Council Director of Community and Cultural Services, Bruce Myers said community input was critical to helping shape the future of early years services in the municipality.
“If you have a child in your care that is aged 0 to 6 years – then we want to hear from you,” Mr Myers said.
“We are currently seeing that around a quarter of families are without adequate childcare, so this is something we will take into account when planning future needs.
“We are also seeing specific needs of families, for example visiting specialists, this kind of information is valuable when designing future infrastructure.
“All in all we are gathering some really important anecdotes from families about access to services, but we’d like to hear from more,” he said.
