Fears over future of childcare in vital Castlemaine service

CONCERNS have been raised about the future of childcare services at Maine Valley Family Centre which has over 30 children in attendance on a regular basis.

Parents received a letter last week from the voluntary board of management at Maine Valley Family Centre, formerly Castlemaine Family Resource Centre. The letter stated the board’s intention to cease operation of both the pre-school and after-school service, leaving families in the area without a vital childcare service.

In the letter, seen by The Kerryman, Maine Valley Family Centre Board of Management state that it has “experienced ongoing staffing issues” at the childcare service, in particular a difficulty in sourcing a co-ordinator or manager to look after the day-to-day operation of the service.

The centre has been without a manager since September of this year.

The letter further states that the board of management has “regretfully concluded” that it is no longer in a position to effectively govern the service and has “no alternative” but to cease the operation of both the pre-school and after-school service.

Parents were invited to a meeting last Thursday to discuss alternative options for families.

The Kerryman understands that there have been a number of meetings with concerned parents in recent days, including one on Monday night, to try and find a solution to the potential crisis.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has confirmed that it is aware of the “challenges faced by this childcare service” and of its intention to close the service in early 2019.

In a statement to The Kerryman, the department said it has directed Pobal, which supports the provision of local childcare services, to “monitor the situation closely”.

Pobal has provided support to the board of management over the past few months. This has included providing the board with advice on accessing financial support including external expertise and HR support.

The Kerry County Childcare Committee, whose responsibility is to support and help develop childcare services in the county, has also been supporting the board and has helped with the recruitment process for a replacement manager.

The committee has also helped develop a plan of action for the future of the childcare service.

In a statement to The Kerryman, the committee added that it is supporting the childcare service more “intensively” in recent times and is available to support the families and the family resource centre in the future with regard to the preschool service.

The department said that Kerry Childcare Committee has notified other local childcare services of the proposed closure of Maine Valley Childcare, in a bid to find alternative services for the children and families concerned.

A meeting was held on Monday night on the future of the centre and, following this, The Kerryman understands that the service has been given a lifeline as the board and other local organisations continue to work to try and find a manager for the childcare service and also, potentially, a board or organisation to oversee the continued operation of this vital service.

Despite several attempts to contact the childcare service and the board of management of the Maine Valley Family Centre, there was no response at the time of going to print.

The department has also stated that it will offer support to the local community to provide a childcare service if such a need is identified.