Some Canberra families are not sending their children to preschool because of a shortage of places in their local early childhood education centres, according to the peak body for public school parents.
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ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations president Kirsty McGovern-Hooley said the organisation had heard from parents unable to enrol their children in their local preschool.
Some families had chosen to send their children to early childhood education in another suburb, while others unable to make the drive went without, she said.
"Escorting a child into preschool at 9am a few suburbs away is particularly tricky if a family has older children who simultaneously need to be taken to their local primary school," Ms McGovern-Hooley said.
"Parents understand the importance of the quality early childhood education that is available at our preschools, so naturally want their children to attend."
A spokeswoman for the stretched Franklin Early Childhood School Parents and Citizens Association questioned why the ACT government had failed to fund a school expansion as promised in the 2016 election.
"We're thinking ahead and going well, classrooms and schools and budgets don't happen overnight, if we don't do something about it now then the kids are going to not be in a particularly good space come 2020 and beyond," the spokeswoman said.
An Education Directorate spokesman said the directorate was unaware of any families missing out on preschool due to distance.
"The Franklin Early Childhood School is extremely popular and as it doesn't have a designated priority enrolment area, there will unfortunately be cases where families miss out on preschool places at this school," he said.
"The government is considering the options for expansion and in line with our commitment, we will talk with the school community around this decision."
The difficulty in enrolling children in preschool comes as pressures mount on a number of ACT public schools escalate.
Neville Bonner and Ngunnawal primary schools are full, according to 2016 capacity figures and February enrolment data, while Amaroo and Palmerston schools are inching close to their limit.
Ms McGovern-Hooley said it was encouraging that all schools now had a policy on managing enrolments.
"We know that the Directorate is working hard on managing enrolments so that schools are not over capacity," she said.
"We are pleased to see that the Education Directorate is now working with specialists at the ANU to ensure that long term planning for schools and enrolments is improved.
