'Just devastating': mothers rally to save childcare centre from closing

Goodstart Early Learning Wodonga informed parents via email on Tuesday, July 2, that its lease had expired and the centre would be closing its doors at the beginning of next year.

The centre will be replaced by another childcare centre run by the Catholic church.

"The decision to close was not ours to make and the process has been completely out of our hands," the email said.

"We are deeply saddened by it."

Stephanie Suter's son Jaxon, 5, was born prematurely at 26 weeks and has grown up with chronic lung disease and vocal chord palsy, causing him to struggle with breathing and speaking.

Ms Suter has been told by other childcare centres they would not take her son due to his illness. At the centres he did attend briefly, it didn't work out.

She said Goodstart Wodonga has been the only centre capable of caring for her son.

"When I got the email, I was mortified," she said.

"I just couldn't believe it because I finally found a place that is actually great for my son.

"My younger daughter also attends Goodstart, and I just don't want to go through the stress of finding another childcare centre again. To have no Goodstart in Wodonga is just devastating."

Goodstart Wodonga has told parents that their children will have a place at any of their nearby centres, which includes four in Albury and three in Wangaratta.

However, Ms Suter fears her son's bond with the Wodonga team cannot be replicated elsewhere.

"Jaxon has an asthma puffer that he has to have. Basically, if he is struggling to breathe, they have to sit him down and give him some asthma puffer. If that is not working and he can stop breathing, then obviously, they would have to call an ambulance," she said.

"They know him that well. They know when he's struggling to breathe and when it's just normal. They know exactly when to call me and when not to call me.

"Other facilities, when they heard Jaxon breathing, they're like, 'no, we can't take him, he's too complicated'."

Jade McCoy-Bevan's neurodiverse son Alfie, 2, was on seven waiting lists for nearly three years before he was accepted at Goodstart Wodonga.

"When I opened that letter on my lunch break, I literally burst into tears because not only does that mean that we're exiting hundreds of families into an early childhood system that we know is fractured, understaffed, with a lack of spaces, but we're disrupting the kids' attachment and security," she said.

"We're asking toddlers to go and form brand new relationships with brand new people in brand new centres and then do a third transition to school."

Ms McCoy-Bevan fears that if Alfie doesn't fit in with a new centre, she will have to quit her job.

"I am heartbroken and scared because this possibly means that if we don't get a spot at a suitable centre, then I need to discontinue work," she said.

"In a cost of living crisis, how do you actually do that?"

Ms McCoy-Bevan has launched a petition and plans to plead her case for Goodstart to remain open to Indi MP Helen Haines.

Separately, Dr Haines will host two "play dates" with parents on Wednesday, July 17, at Wodonga's Hyphen and the Wangaratta Library. She hopes to hear from parents about the challenges of accessing childcare locally.

The new childcare centre, named McAuley Early Learning Centre, plans to take over the Brockley Street facility immediately after Goodstart moves out.

The new owners, Sandhurst Catholic Early Childhood Education, sent an email to current parents and staff saying they would get first priority for positions at the new centre.

"We are working closely with Goodstart to provide continuity of care and a seamless transition for current families," the email, from the organisation's chief early childhood officer Carla Jeffrey, said.

"We are hopeful that many of you, as the current and experienced staff, will also choose to transition to McAuley ELC.

"I understand that changes of this magnitude can cause some apprehension, however, I want to assure you that the high quality of early childhood education and care service provision will continue with McAuley Early Learning Centre."