Bullsbrook families are scrambling to find a new daycare after the Department of Defence revealed the Flying Start childcare centre at the RAAF Pearce Airbase would close in December.
Eilis Spence, whose two-year-old daughter attends the centre, said she was shocked to hear of the impending closure, attributed partly to an “anticipated increase in aircraft noise levels”.
File photo: The daycare’s closure means families in Bullsbrook are scrambling to find alternatives.Credit: Ryan Stuart
“Being a single mum this is causing significant stress and financial pressure on us,” she said.
“There’s two other daycares in the town, one of which is always full and I wouldn’t like her going to, and the other can’t guarantee the spots until the end of the year.
“This daycare also cost an extra $50 per day. For a single mum already stretched to her means it has a big impact on us.
“She has been attending Flying Start since February 2024 and the centre is like family to us. We are devastated.”
Bullsbrook is one of Perth’s fastest-growing outer suburbs and is popular with younger families. Its population is set to boom over the next decade, with new developments including Mirvac’s recently announced 83-hectare, 1200-property estate in South Bullsbrook.
Spence said she was told to send her child to a daycare centre in Ellenbrook.
“[This] is a 30-minute addition to our day and I work all over Perth, so can’t guarantee where I’ll be each day and often working from home, meaning I’ll be doing unnecessary extra driving for my child to attend daycare,” she said.
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