Out of school hours care, sometimes known as OOSH, is a service that provides supervised care and recreation to school aged children. 

Many primary schools have an OOSH, service either located on their premises or at another school close by.

Staffing will vary in accordance to the amount of children who attend the service. It is not uncommon to find centres with a mixture of qualified and unqualified staff.

Most centres provide organised activities for the children and they will be given afternoon tea. Some services will encourage them to do their homework if that is what the parents wish.

Most services have a television and video, the amount of use and at what times they are on depends on the service.

Fees

Check with services in your area as cost will vary from centre to centre.

Hours of Operation of Out of School Hours Care

Before School Care

Generally available between the hours of 7 and 9 am, before school care is an option for those people who need to leave the house early in the morning to get to work. The majority of before school care services will offer breakfast. It is advisable to check with your service about:

• Fees
• Availability of places
• How far in advance do you need to book
• Supervision
• When its time for the children to go to school
• Is breakfast supplied
• Is homework supervised
• Do they administer medication?

After School Care

Usually available from 3.30 to 6 pm after school care often allows the child to remain at their school or a school nearby until they can be collected by a parent, friend or relative.

If your child needs to travel to another school for this service it is important you ascertain how they will get there. Often they will travel on a bus to the centre. Some points to remember when considering after school care are:

• Availability of places
• How far in advance do you need to book
• Are there planned activities for the children, if they don't want to do an organised activity, what areas are available for free play and is it supervised
• Is homework supervised?
• Do they administer medication?
• Is there a late fee?
• Is there a T V / video, is it supervised, is there a set time that it is put on?

The children will be offered afternoon tea, please let the staff know if your child has any allergies.

After school activities

Children seem to become more involved in after school activities more and more as they get older. Everything from training for sports to drama or dancing classes require the child's attendance after school during the week.

As a working parent, it can be extremely difficult juggling after school activities. This is an area where your network of parents and friends become invaluable. These challenges can often be overcome by identifying other parents who you may be able to work with to get children to their activity and home again. Alternatively on the day/s your child has an activity would it be possible for you to start work earlier so you can leave earlier, or work out a routine with your partner. The best use of the resources available to you will enable these activities to have a minimal impact on your family life.