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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