Mossman childcare centre staying shut for at least another month
Shire education
Mossman’s Goodstart childcare centre will remain closed until at least February despite assurances from the owners in November that it would be reopening at the start of this week.
A Goodstart Early Learning Centre spokesperson said on Tuesday the centre would remain closed “due to ongoing staffing shortages”.
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“We have been in regular contact with the 12 families who depend on our centre and have apologised for the disruption this has caused,” they said.
“Like many early-learning services in regional Australia, we are facing challenges in recruiting qualified educators.
“This impacts our ability to meet the required educator-to-child ratios and operate safely.
“At this stage, we anticipate we will be unable to reopen until February.”
A State Government Education Department spokesperson reaffirmed the centre would remain closed while recruitment of staff continued.
“Families were informed by Goodstart of the continued closure during the week of 22 December,” they said.
National childcare provider Goodstart issued a statement to Newsport in late November that the centre would reopen on Monday, January 5, after closing down temporarily last year.
“We will reopen early in the new year to ensure we have a strong team to safely staff the centre and provide high quality learning environments for our children,” Goodstart stated at the time.
“We have apologised to the 12 families who rely on our centre.”
Several concerned Mossman residents contacted Newsport in November asking why the centre was shut, but an Education Department spokesperson said it had not been shut down by the Government.
“They were relying on staff from their other Cairns services but have chosen to close temporarily due to the impact on other centres,” they said.
“The voluntary closure relates to ongoing staffing shortages and significant staff turnover throughout 2025.”
The Mossman Goodstart Early Learning Centre is at 14 Johnston Road near the Club Mossman lawn bowls complex.
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