The Wagga community has welcomed a plan for all public primary schools to offer before and after school care.
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announced on Tuesday that all primary-aged children will have access to these services by 2021 and consultation will begin with principals and school communities next month.
This is part of a $120 million investment that is aimed at providing access to more affordable, convenient and flexible child care services, while relieving pressure on current services.
Wagga parent Dr Saba Nabi casually uses the before and after school care services for her daughter, who attends Sturt Public School, and said this will give many parents peace of mind.
"I'm really happy with the before and after school care service at Sturt and my daughter is very happy there," she said.
"Nowadays most families are both working and so there is a need for the schools to provide the service as many parents are working shifts, which can become challenging.
"If you're sending your child to before and after care, these workers have a Working with Children Check so I feel safe sending my child there as opposed to other options like family and friends."
Schools in metropolitan and major regional centres will be required to open their playgrounds, halls or classrooms for before or after school care and school holiday care from 7am to 6pm.
Dr Nabi said schools are a good resource and this will open them up to the community more.
"I think this is something that is very much needed for the working community in Wagga," she said.
"In my opinion, once the PCYC has that funding they will expand their out of care service to the community and I think if they have something in mind then it's really needed in Wagga.
"The government has put this in plan to make it more cost-effective and I support this."
Possums Playground Occasional Child Care Centre manager Romola Trevaskis thought this was a "necessity" in Wagga.
"I think it would be fantastic for families as it is such a necessity and realistically, there are not enough before and after school care services," she said.
"Some services are not-for-profit and I'd rather see a government run service as there is a bigger body of people behind the projects.
"At Possums, we're not-for-profit and we struggle to have proper management."
A 2017 analysis by Deloitte, commissioned by the NSW Education Department, found that 74.5 per cent of state Out of School Hours are in metropolitan areas, and on average in regional areas there is one approved OOSH place for every ten primary-school-aged student.
A spokesperson from the NSW Parents and Citizens Federation said they have urged the government to provide out-of-hours school care to every public school for kindergarten to year 6 students.
"Our position on this was a directive from our members, so this announcement is a positive sign that the state government is listening to parents' concerns," the spokesperson said.
"As always, the devil will be in the details. For instance, we are also urging the government to ensure that allocation of OOSH resources is based on community needs first and foremost, and that commercial concerns don't override the wellbeing of parents and communities.
"We look forward to working with the state government in hashing out these details."
The Department of Education declined to comment due to an absence of further details as consultation does not commence until Term 2.
Parents will also be able to register their interest in a before or after school care service where they might not have one or theirs is full via Service NSW from July 1.
Ms Mitchell said this is an opportunity to use school resources better.
We will work closely with our schools, P&Cs, principals and parents as well as the before and after school care sector to develop flexible and creative solutions that offer parents support and choice, as well as ensuring schools have the equipment and resourcing they need to deliver these wonderful services, Ms Mitchell said.
"It is not acceptable that there are waiting lists for before and after school care, while our school grounds are under-utilised."
A new specialist team in the Department of Education is being created to coordinate services and manage leases to relieve this burden from principals.
The NSW government will also reduce the cost of before and after school care by up to $225 per child per year, through a capped rental subsidy of up to $15,000 for providers who run services on government school grounds.
The $120 million strategy, over four years, includes $50 million to help schools buy new equipment and expand their facilities; $40 million to provide rental subsidies to service providers at public primary schools if they can demonstrate savings have been passed on to families; and $20 million to help schools where a standalone service may not be viable, including smaller schools and rural and remote communities.
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