THE  Community Services Directorate has approved licences for an addition 532 long-day care places in 26 centres across Canberra between January 2011 and March 2012.

“These extra places will give more families the opportunity to place their child in an education and care centre, and help address the strong demand for extra childcare,” says Minister for Community Services Joy Burch.

Ms Burch said other recent investments included the release of several blocks of land this year to be developed specifically for childcare, a scholarship program to support existing childcare staff to attain further qualifications, and the funding of construction of new centres in Holder, Franklin and Flynn.

“The ACT Government is also helping to develop new centres, with land sold in Giralang and McKellar for new sites while land will also be sold off in Macarthur, Holt and Gungahlin to build

new centres,” she says.

Ms Burch said that Baringa Child Care Centre in Spence was one of the services that had been able to increase places to respond to demand, increasing its places by 30 through the capital works program.

“Centres such as Baringa have accessed infrastructure grants to assist with planning and design, equipment or fit out and fittings that are integral to quality service delivery that families expect.”