On 13 December 2021 the NSW Department of Education announced a policy change that will devastate the Out of School Hours Care Sector in NSW. Parent-managed and other not-for-profit OOSH services operating on public schools will now be put to competitive tender, in a system that has set these providers up to fail. This is a reversal of decades of the Department of Education’s own policy recognising parent-managed services as the preferred model of OOSH care in NSW.
46% of the OOSH Services on public schools are at imminent risk of closure. Working parents in NSW hold grave concerns for their children’s time spent out of school, with looming uncertainty about the future of their school’s OOSH.
By putting parent-managed and NFP OOSHs to tender, the Department of Education is opening the door and rolling out the red carpet for a small group of large corporate providers that can afford to win tenders.
Providers of all types and locations – not just parent-managed Services and OOSHs in public schools – should be deeply concerned about the ongoing impact of the policy change on the OOSH Sector in NSW. This is not about not-for-profit versus private providers – this is a fight for quality and organisations that care about children.
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These t-shirts are sold at cost as part of Network’s objective to raise awareness of the NSW Government’s threat to existing OOSH Services and the move to corporatise before and after school care and vacation care on public schools.
These brightly coloured badges are 32mm in diameter, produced in Australia using high quality materials. Best of all, shipping is free! These pins are sold at cost, and are cheaper in bulk. Consider buying them for your OOSH team to raise awareness of this issue in your community.
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