Today’s meeting of the After School Care Alliance has again highlighted the urgent need for the Minister for Education to intervene to address the increasing crisis in Out of School Hours care (OOSH).
Greens MP Jamie Parker has questioned why the Minister refuses to recognise the critical role of before and after school care services when the state government licenses and regulates OOSH providers and is responsible for student welfare.
There are long waiting lists throughout Sydney, particularly in the Inner West which will be compounded in the future as the population school-aged children increases. The huge demand we are seeing for childcare today will be tomorrow’s OOSH crisis.
The electorate of Balmain has the highest percentage of working women in NSW. The government needs to keep up with the times and can no longer assume a parent will be at home to care for children.
The government cannot simply claim they have no role to play in the provision of before and after school care.
Mr Parker said:
“I strongly support moves to ensure that planning for new schools includes provision for OOSH. This is especially pertinent for the new Ultimo Public School as planning is currently underway.
“In existing schools, government must ensure before and after school care is designated as a priority service so OOSH providers can access buildings for the students’ care.
“I will continue to campaign to see these changes in our school communities and ensure that the government governs for the 21st century,” Mr Parker said.
April 08, 2014 at 12pm
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