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Maryborough Education Centre - OSHC

https://player.vimeo.com/video/764368968

Maryborough Education Centre - OSHC

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OSHC has been operating at

Maryborough Education Centre

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since the start of 2022.

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We use before, after school,

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and vacation program here at MEC.

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We are in a cluster with

Carisbrook Primary School

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and Timor Primary School.

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We opted for the model to

have a third party provider

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come in and provide the service.

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I think students have

benefited from the OSHC program

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because there actually is

something available for them

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to go to rather than staying at home

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or having their parents have

to organise something else

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for them to do while they’re at work.

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And we have a lot of

great activities here,

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and we do a lot of good

programs that keep them busy.

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The services I use are

the after school program

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and the holiday program.

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We do quite a lot of activities,

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so it’s either a daily activity

or our weekly activity,

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like a sports week or a science week.

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And over the holidays, usually

we go and watch a movie.

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It’s been really

helpful for our parents,

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allowing many of them to

get back into the workforce.

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It’s given them certainty

and a sense of real safety

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for their students.

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It’s also provided a lot of convenience

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so they don’t have to do

multiple pickups and drop offs.

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I definitely think it is helping

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a lot of people in the community,

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and definitely is bringing

the community closer together.

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And there’s obviously lots of kids

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that are making new friends

within the community

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that wouldn’t know each other

if they didn’t come here.

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The cluster model has been key

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to the success of our program

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and allowed us to more

efficiently use the grant money.

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Receiving the grant funding

for the OSHC program here

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really helped us get more buses organised

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for the schools out of town

so that children can come

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into Maryborough to after

school care program, or before.

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We go at the front of school

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and we meet whoever’s on the bus,

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and we travel here and then

whoever’s looking after us,

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they come and meet us and

they give us some bibs

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and we put them on and we walk up.

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We would not have been able to set up

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this program without the grant.

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So it’s given us money to

buy some small capital items

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to allow the program to function,

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but it’s also given

the provider certainty.

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So if numbers were to dip,

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there is a guarantee that

there’s gonna be an income

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and a service in place.

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The key to having a

successful OSHC service

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is to have the best staff

that you can possibly have,

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staff that are very engaged,

love their job and have fun.

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And then as well, just making

sure that everything’s running

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smoothly and you have a good

connection with the teachers,

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as well as the principals and the parents.

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It really helps out parents financially.

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Some parents work for their

mental health, physical health,

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and that really helps

them get into a routine,

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as well as the kids.

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The parents have been

really happy with the program,

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and that is represented

by the number of families

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who are now using the service.

Updated 28 November 2022

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