Spring Kidz Wagga childcare centre plans expansion to free spaces in Kooringal and Coolamon

Spring Kidz Early Learning Centre has lodged a development application with Wagga City Council for a $350,000.00 expansion of its Kooringal site.

Spring Kidz also operates a childcare centre in Bourkelands and is building a third centre in Coolamon that will eventually have 120 places and cater for before and after school hours and vacation care.

The planned Kooringal expansion will see Spring Kidz demolish the house on a property it owns at 392 Lake Albert Road to make way for 36 additional children, bringing the centre to a total of 80 places.

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Janelle McManus, who manages Spring Kidz Bourkelands and will soon take on the area manager role for all the centres, has worked in childcare in Wagga for almost a decade.

She said childcare spots for babies were in particularly high demand and the new Kooringal centre would have room for eight more.

"Since I started, there's been an increase in [the number of] childcare centres over the years. Obviously, due to the demand there is a need for more centres and also to cater for that younger age below two," she said.

"In our Kooringal nursery specifically, we can only currently cater for four at a time. And our wait list is huge for children that are under that age bracket."

Ms McManus said she had a "filing tray full of enrolments", especially from parents with children already at the centre who wanted their younger siblings to join them.

"I have children myself, and I know that if I wasn't working here, it's quite hard to get your children in. In the first instance, you usually have to apply and then you're on that waiting list," she said.

The city has been going through a small baby boom, as more young couples make Wagga their destination of choice for settling down and starting a family.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in December shows that birth rates are in decline around the country but Wagga is one of the few regions trending in the opposite direction.

For the first time in years, birth rates in Wagga have surpassed the two babies per woman mark, making it one of the few cities in the country near replacement levels.

Spring Kidz co-owner Rod Furner and Ms McManus said they were excited about the expansion and were looking forward to the new Coolamon centre, which will be set on a one-acre block with sheep, chickens and a pony.

Mr Furner said new enrolments were picking up rapidly after coronavirus "slowed things down a bit last year".

"Babies rooms have always got waiting lists. It's a big demand in Wagga everywhere," he said.