Home-based early childhood education services are experiencing a boom, especially in the South, with a 50% increase in enrolments across the country in the past year, one of New Zealand's leading providers says.
In Dunedin last week during a trip to the South to officially open new offices in Invercargill and Gore, Easy Mind Homebased Childcare Service founder Clare Grace is bucking the tough economic times hitting many businesses.
She said the Dunedin service had been so popular since it was launched 12 months ago that expansion to Invercargill and Gore was easy.
More services would be needed in Central Otago, Christchurch and Wellington this year, adding to the the existing 17 around the country.
"In New Zealand, the number of children enrolled in home-based child care has increased by 50% in the last 12 months and we expect it to increase by another 50% in the next 12 months," she said.
Since the service opened in Dunedin, 130 children had been enrolled, she said.
"No other region has grown this much in 12 months in our history.
"The growth has been phenomenal.
"About 16% of [young] Dunedin children are enrolled in home-based education. Everywhere else has 7%."
Mrs Grace said the baby boom and the introduction of the Government's 20 hours of free early childhood education were contributing factors to the trend but the changing perceptions of home-based child care and the economic decline were also significant factors.
"Parents used to see home-based services as baby-sitting.
"But now they are beginning to see it as a quality early childhood education service."
The cost of home-based education was also a factor.
Home-based services cost between $3.75 and $6 an hour, whereas sending a child to a centre cost between $5 and $7.
In the past, it had been possible to predict the service's growth based on the patterns which had emerged in previous years, she said.
"But 2009 is proving to be completely different.
"A new picture is emerging.
"We believe that we are going to be more popular as a choice for parents because we're more affordable.
"Also, people are more anxious about securing their financial circumstances. So many parents are going back to work to get that financial security."
There had also been an increase in the number of parents deciding to begin a career in early childhood education and earn a living by using their home to provide home-based child care.
As a result, home-based child care was the fastest growing sector in early childhood education, she said.
Dunedin Community Childcare Association director Jo Ellis said she had also noticed growth in the home-based sector which had created competition between services.
"Competition has provided us with challenges and opportunities to stake our claim in the market.
"We've had to rethink the way we market ourselves to increase our visibility in the market."
Origins Family Day Care Service co-owner Joy Waters said as the market became more competitive and home-based service spaces filled up, the number of inquiries from families looking for spaces increased.
Three years ago, Origins received about 10 calls a week.
That had now doubled to 20 a week, she said.
