That the State Government, through the Department for Education, should take the following steps to improve access to OSHC on government school sites:

a. developing a repeatable process for undertaking supply and demand analysis for government OSHC services, including regular (at least every two years) publication of areas of unmet demand for government OSHC (this could be modelled on the process used by the New South Wales Government)

b. ensuring all supply and demand analysis targets testing of demand from families of children with disability (for example, by surveying families of students in special settings)

c. immediately putting out to tender the provision of OSHC on any site with a level of unmet demand and that is considered financially viable

d. auditing existing OSHC services within an area of unmet demand to understand constraints on expansion and, if space is a key constraint, prioritising funding within the capital program (per Recommendation 34)

e. simplifying and streamlining the Department for Education procurement process to make it faster to establish government school OSHC services

f. updating Department for Education policy to provide guidance around limited circumstances where schools can provide financial support to OSHC services (for example, to support the
wellbeing and participation of vulnerable cohorts), noting that in general it remains inappropriate to expend funds provided for education on OSHC

g. providing administrative support to establish financially viable alternative models of OSHC provision in areas of unmet demand where financial viability of traditional services is more challenging. This includes ‘hub and spoke’ and shared transport arrangements (where appropriate, this should incorporate non-government school services to participate on a shared cost basis)

h. where significant demand remains after consideration of alternative models, providing financial grants to support establishment of a government school OSHC service, or to enable expansion of an OSHC service to a point of viability. Clear funding guidelines would be required to facilitate this

i. consistent with the approach in Recommendation 10, providing OSHC directly in some circumstances, and also ensuring there is a clearly articulated transparent policy for when the State Government will provide services.

That the Department for Education’s capital works program includes establishing and expanding appropriate facilities for government school OSHC services in areas of identified demand. Regional and remote communities should be a priority for growth initiatives.

Ensuring fit-for-purpose OSHC facilities should be integral to the design of new schools, as well as major school redevelopments.

a. That, consistent with other jurisdictions, the State Government introduces a two-tier qualification requirement for OSHC, with the first qualified position to be filled by an educator with an approved qualification, and subsequent educators that are required to meet the qualified educator ratios able to hold a certificate III or IV, or higher, in education, care or disability.

b. That the State Government continues to expand and improve the flexibility of the qualifications list for the first qualified OSHC educator position. In the first instance, this expansion should include holders of a Certificate IV in Out of School Hours Care with appropriate knowledge, history (such as practical experience) and understanding to effectively supervise and manage a service.

The Department for Education should recognise the additional workload and accountability for school leaders associated with having a government school OSHC service, through:

a. ensuring the additional responsibility is adequately reflected in the school principal role statement and is considered when determining principal classification levels

b. the provision of dedicated leadership and administrative support time to each school with an onsite OSHC service

c. specific induction and training for school leaders to undertake their roles and responsibilities, including the need to:

• respectfully share spaces and incorporate the spatial needs of OSHC in school planning
• improve the integration and support of the OSHC workforce in the broader school workforce as far as practicable, including by incorporating OSHC staff in relevant professional development and potentially rostering school services officers (SSOs) to assist the transition to OSHC or to facilitate their separate employment at OSHC should they choose to also work in that setting.

That states and territories and the Commonwealth Government follow through on their commitment to review the National Quality Framework assessment and rating process for OSHC, noting this commitment was made in response to the 2019 National Quality Standard Review.

That the default position for government school OSHC service provision should be third-party provision contracted by the Department for Education, with appropriate local parent input.

Governing councils should be able to establish or continue operating services if they wish, or directly contract third-party providers, in the absence of identified quality concerns.

A program of proactively supporting governing council-led OSHC services to transition to third-party provision should be instituted.

The Department for Education should invest in improving existing corporate arrangements
in relation to OSHC, including by:

a. directly managing the contracts of third-party providers on school sites

b. improving the quality and efficiency of contract management

c. providing system-wide oversight of quality and performance of government school OSHC services.

That the Department for Education ensures school staff, as well as expert supports such as Student Support Services, consider a child’s participation in government school OSHC when developing inclusion plans.

The Department should include OSHC educators in professional development, scheduled at appropriate times given OSHC work patterns, to support the individual needs of children with disabilities and complex behaviours.

This may include improving arrangements for sharing of appropriate spaces, per Recommendation 36, above.

That the State Government reviews the Victorian High Intensity OSHC model and considers its application to special school sites in South Australia, with a view to improving access to OSHC for children in special schools within a three year timeframe.

That, over the longer term, the State Government expand eligibility for additional hours of preschool to a greater number of children at high risk of developmental vulnerability.

This should be considered as part of a suite of strategies to meet a long-term aspiration of reducing the rate of South Australian children entering school developmentally vulnerable to 15 per cent in twenty years (per Recommendation 1).

That the State Government trials and evaluates a range of three and four year old preschool OSHC delivery models on government preschool sites, with a view to finalising models to be rolled out progressively across government preschools from 2025.

This trial should include different communities and service settings in 2024, including the Department for Education:

• operating preschool OSHC as the approved provider (similar to rural care)
• contracting for third-party provision of preschool OSHC
• supporting family day care ‘in-venue’ provision.

The evaluation should indicate to government:

• guidelines and considerations for establishing a preschool OSHC
• the additional supports required for preschool directors and staff to implement the model
• the advantages and disadvantages of different service delivery models in particular contexts
• regulatory amendments for consideration, such as the ACT model of permitting a diploma qualified lead educator, or some adjustments to the documentation of the educative planning cycle for consideration
• issues of viability.