Starting school can be an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time for children and their families. Amid all the preparations, families may be trying to decide who will take care of their children before and after school.
If your child is starting school this year, and you’ve decided if you’ll need an Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) for them, StartingBlocks.gov.au is here to help you!
It’s a free government website to help you find quality childhood education and care services.
What is an Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) service?
OSHC services operate before and after school and/or during school holidays. They’re often in or near a primary school, and work well for parents with school age children, who need care outside of school hours. Sometimes they are called Out-of-School Hours (OOSH), Before School Care (BSC), and After School Care (ASC).
They provide a play-based curriculum with a focus on fun and leisure.
Australia’s My Time Our Place – Framework for School Age Care in Australia aims to extend and enrich children’s wellbeing and development in school age care settings.
How to find a quality rated service?
All the OSHC or OOSH services across Australia are assessed and rated by the governments against a National Quality Standard (NQS), and given one of these quality ratings – Significant Improvement Required, Working Towards NQS, Meeting NQS, Exceeding NQS and Excellent.
StartingBlocks.gov.au’s ‘Find Child Care’ section provides a list of OSHC services in a postcode, along with their NQS quality ratings.
Some family day care services and long day care services also provide outside school hours care
To get the information you need to make an informed decision about a service, it’s good to think about what matters to you and your family, visit the service, and ask questions.
Some questions that you may find helpful:
- What is the ratio of staff to children?
- What skills and experience do the staff have?
- How will I be notified if my child is sick or has an accident?
- How will my child be dropped off and picked up from school? How will my child be made aware of these procedures?
- What safety requirements are considered when transporting my child to and from school and on excursions?
- How will my child be involved in planning, decision making and setting rules?
- Are there procedures for dealing with inappropriate behaviours such as bullying?
How can you help prepare your child for beginning school?
- Talk positively and confidently about starting and attending school
- Speak with your child about the change in their daily routine
- Visit the school with your child before they start so they get familiar with the environment
- Meet the teachers that may be working with your child
- Develop good relationships with other parents, especially parents of your child’s friends
- Establish good attendance patterns for your child
Visit www.startingblocks.gov.au for more information.