RESEARCH|Education
CARE: COMMUNITYALLIANCE FORREGIONALEDUCATION -EARLY CHILDHOODCARE: COMMUNITY ALLIANCE FORREGIONAL EDUCATION -EARLY CHILDHOOD
If it takes a village to raise a child what does an Early Childhood Centre look like in the 21st century?
Insight
Early childhood education does more than prepare young minds for school - it anchors regional prosperity, supports parental workforce participation and fosters community resilience. Yet many Australian towns struggle to deliver inclusive, affordable and high-quality care. Educator shortages, rising operational costs and fragmented support services leave families without options and children without the developmental foundations promised by national frameworks.
In 2023 NBRS completed CARE, a place-based research study incubated through the Envision program. The work pairs educational design expertise with local knowledge from a Victorian shire experiencing rapid demographic change and limited childcare availability. CARE interrogates the question: If it truly takes a village to raise a child, what should that village look like in the twenty-first century?
Key take-aways
Shifting from “centre” to “hub”
Most early-learning facilities operate as isolated buildings at the edge of town. CARE proposes an integrated hub that collocates pre-prep classrooms, maternal-and-child-health services, allied health suites and flexible family rooms under one roof. The model reduces physical travel, strengthens referral pathways and raises the social profile of early-years educators which is key to attracting and retaining staff.
Meeting investment with innovation
Victoria’s $9 billion pre-prep initiative opens a once-in-a-generation window to rethink bricks and mortar. CARE evaluates modular timber construction, circular supply chains and low-energy envelopes that cut embodied carbon while accelerating delivery across dispersed sites. Cost-benefit modelling demonstrates a 22 per cent reduction in programme length compared with conventional builds, without compromising acoustic performance or play-space ratios.
A blueprint for community partnership
Through stakeholder mapping and on-site workshops, NBRS identified four success drivers:
- Accessibility: 10-minute walk catchments linked to cycle paths and public transport.
- Workforce sustainability: shared staff facilities and professional-development spaces that embed career progression.
- Indigenous inclusion: Country-led landscape narratives, yarning circles and dual-language signage.
- Economic uplift: local procurement targets and social-enterprise cafés that create entry-level jobs.
AT A GLANCE
120 regional families surveyed
68% cite educator continuity as their top concern
DOWNLOAD THE FULL PAPER
The full research paper unpacks research methods, spatial diagrams, financial modelling and an adaptable design framework ready for replication.
