By Cassandra Pulver

A notice of closure letter was emailed to parents on 4th August and it appears some parents are not satisfied with the way this has been handled.

It was announced by the Port Douglas Community Services Network (PDCSN Inc) Management Committee that the much adored Cubby House Day Care Centre will be closing its doors on 28th August 2015 stating that “as a result of the low levels of attendance… the service has become financially unviable…”

There is concern that no prior notice of the impending decision was made to the parents or community.  “Perhaps if one or even two months ago the committee had let it be known that Cubby was in trouble, then, as this community is quite renowned for doing so, we could have helped find a solution before it has come to this,” said Janice Ruffles whose son currently attends Cubby and her daughter back in 2007-2010.

Cubby’s philosophy offers a personalized “hands on” environment within the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) curriculum for 21 children, following the concepts of “Belonging, Being and Becoming which  supports interactive play through self selected activities as well as offering an inclusive environment.

Denise Burke, who was a Director of Port Douglas Occasional Childcare Centre and Cubby House from 1996 to 2011 acknowledged that “the benefit of a small 21 place centre is that there are children who do not flourish in large centres they need the smaller family grouping that the Cubby House as a multi aged care centre offers.  By having 21 children of mixed age in the one room you enable siblings to be with each other during the day and you also give children from one child families the opportunity to interact and learn from older and younger children.”

“I find the handling of the closing of the Cubby House to have been done very poorly.  At no time was it announced through the media that the Cubby House was in trouble and needed parents to support it.  To have the closure splashed on Facebook was also very upsetting and disheartening to the parents who have supported the centre and still have their children enrolled in the centre,” said Denise.

The Management Committee informed parents that the unanimous decision to close was made after many discussions and deliberations stating that competition from surrounding day care centers as well as in Mossman and Cooya has had an impact on Cubby’s attendees, the biggest drop being prior to Christmas last year.

The Management Committee advise that numerous attempts have been made to increase attendees.  There was a family fun day held in March, editorials and flyers have been published, an attempt at changing the hours of operation as well as a display at Bendigo Bank during June & July to try to generate some interest all had little impact on an increase in numbers.  Other opportunities were sourced by contacting resorts for holiday makers looking for short term day care, all to no avail according to the Management Committee. Despite these efforts from the Management Committee they state there was little support from past and present parents.

Neighbourhood Centre Coordinator Siobhan Delgado stated that “other day care centers in Port Douglas and Mossman are not running at full capacity.”  This may imply that there is an over supply of day care centers in our region which would have an impact on numbers for the Cubby House.

With an over supply of day care centers and a decline in demand due to the decrease in the 0-5 yo demographic, parent Janice Ruffles commented that “…the ‘baby boom’ of 5-10 years ago has dropped off and all those children are in primary school now.  Also, Cubby had a waiting list for so many years that perhaps that rumor has carried on among the community so people just presume it is still the case,” she said.

With attendees at an all time low the biggest expense for Cubby is staffing.  The Committee stated that grants do not cover wages and staff entitlements which are a number one priority due to cash-flow.  The Committee said that the Government dictates the number of staff required to oversee the children stating that a minimum of two staff must be on the floor at all times regardless of the number of children.  For example if there was one baby and two children in attendance then three staff would be required to be on the floor,” said the Committee

Where to from here?  The Management Committee said they will suspend the Cubby House Day Care Centre permit for 12 months.  During this time they will be maintaining a list of interest and should there be more parents coming forward wanting to access Cubby as their day care centre of choice the Management Committee will have the freedom to review the level of interest to gauge whether it could maintain sustainability.

In the meantime they will assist any current parents with linking to day care centers closer to their home and have contacted external centers advising of this transition. The parents are welcome to contact Cubby to ensure they are aware of other options.

It is believed parents have been invited to attend a meeting with the Management Committee on Tuesday 18th August, at which time they plan to state their case about the handling of Cubby’s closure.

What are your thoughts?