It came at an “emotion charged” meeting on Tuesday night with TAFE Illawarra management.

The latter called the gathering after its announcement last month that the facility’s childcare centre would close by Christmas. The decision will leave five fulltime and additional part time staff out of work and some 40 children without placement.

An action group, ‘Save Our TAFE Children’s Centre,’ is mounting a campaign to keep the centre open.

They are seeking a meeting with Skills Minister John Barilaro as part of their push.

Some 17 parents and staff met with TAFE Illawarra’s district operations manager (Highlands), David Guthrey on Tuesday night.

Action group spokesman and parent Byron Stein said the meeting was branded as consultative, but it was far from that.

“Rather, it was a statement that the centre’s closure had been signed off and to advise parents that there were spots available in other centres in Goulburn,” he said.

“Parents were provided a list of alternative local childcare centres and advised to contact these to seek a place for their children next year.”

Mr Stein has sent three of his children to the facility over the past eight years. He told the Post that parents had come to know and trust the centre, which had exceeded the National Quality Framework. They could not easily send their children to another provider. Some were “choking back tears” at the meeting as they questioned TAFE’s meaning of consultation.

Mr Stein said most asked why they hadn’t been told earlier. Parents received a letter informing them of the proposed closure on September 17 but a review of all TAFE childcare facilities by Pricewaterhouse Coopers was conducted in 2011, which he claimed parents were never told about.

“We recognise the need to be financially viable to cover costs but we haven’t been given the opportunity to be part of the solution,” parent and former childcare centre manager (not TAFE), Amanda Brown said.

Despite the removal several years ago of a cap on the number of community places that could be offered, she said the facility was never really marketed in Goulburn.

The group asked Mr Guthrey to hold off for 12 months, allowing them to come up with a viable business model. It would offer a transition to a community led facility “with little or no risk to taxpayers.

Asked what measures this might include, Mr Stein said members couldn’t be sure until they fully understood the financial requirements to make it viable.

“We don’t know those at the moment but we want to at least try rather than just have it close,” he said.

“…We want to go to the Minister with a packaged solution, not a bunch of problems. That’s not constructive. We’re not suggesting it will be successful but we should be given the opportunity.

“There are a bunch of committed parents who want to keep it open and alive.” He described the facility as a “little gem” that few people knew about but which had dedicated and caring staff.

“The demise of TAFE courses and changes to the system are having a flow on effect to the centre and we suspect it will happen to others. We are casualties of the system but we can’t just walk away.”

Mr Stein said Mr Guthrey gave no commitment on a time extension but pledged to take parents’ feedback to the Illawarra Institute’s director.