By Bridie Smith and Madeleine Heffernan
The school holidays aren’t even over yet and already seven-year-old Kaiden Tee has learnt to breakdance, honed his ninja skills, brushed up on his dinosaur knowledge and been to the movies and the zoo.
Kaiden Tee, 7, with friend Elyna-Rose Zheng, 4, at the Camp Australia holiday program at Abbotsford Primary School on Thursday.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Thanks to a holiday program run by Camp Australia at Kaiden’s school, Abbotsford Primary, his parents have been able to continue working knowing that rather than tag-teaming over the summer break, they can take their annual leave at the same time and go on family holidays.
“That’s the biggest thing for me,” says Kaiden’s dad, Kevin Tee, who works in the healthcare sector.
“He also gets time to play, and gets access to all the arts and crafts and sport facilities so he can do the things that he likes, which he might not be able to do at home.”
The school holiday program also offers excursions as well as themed days.
Such programs are in full swing as parents, most of whom get four weeks’ annual leave, return to work only too aware that school holidays account for 12 weeks a year.
Camp Australia chief executive Warren Jacobson said the organisation runs 300 holiday programs, 100 more than five years ago.
“The increase in the number of working mothers over time means demand has become even more acute, but particularly now with the cost-of-living pressures,” Jacobson said.
The average cost for a Camp Australia excursion day is $95, while on-site activities cost about $75 a day.
The chairperson of the National Outside School Hours Services Alliance, Kylie Brannelly, said that despite costing more, the excursion days were often the first to book out.
“Parents want their kids to be having a good time, and sometimes the excursion might cost a family less than doing it themselves [because of a subsidy].”
Some families are eligible for the federal government’s Child Care Subsidy, a reduction in fees based on factors such as household income, the age of children and the number of children in care.
TheirCare, Camp Australia, Junior Adventures Group and TeamKids are Australia’s biggest providers of childcare outside of normal school hours, including holiday programs.
Activities range from film festivals where children make stop-motion animation films to excursions to play centres, the cinema or zoo and sports clinics.
Griffith University associate professor Jennifer Cartmel said children benefited from high-quality holiday programs.
“Once upon a time, children would have played in their local neighbourhood with the children across the road,” Cartmel said. “The outside-school-hours care services have become that neighbourhood community. So I think parents are feeling really pleased that children have that opportunity to socialise, perhaps like they would have in their local neighbourhood,” she said.
When large numbers of mothers returned to paid work in the ’80s and ’90s, free community-based activities morphed into what is now known as the outside school hours sector.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, 71 per cent of couples with children aged under 15 were employed in 2022, compared with 40 per cent in 1980.
The proportion of both parents working full-time hours is also on the rise (31 per cent in 2021, up from 22 per cent in 2009), although it is more common for one parent to be full-time and the other part-time.
And 71 per cent of single mothers whose youngest child was 14 years old or under were employed in 2021.
Cartmel said there had also been a surge in interest in holiday programs after the pandemic forced children to stay inside and learn online.
‘The outside school-hours care services have become that neighbourhood community.’
Jennifer Cartmel
Research has found that children do less physical activity, eat lower-quality food and have more screen time during the holidays. Meanwhile, a new analysis of overseas summer programs shows they boost children’s’ physical activity.
“Holiday programs, camps, day activities and sports clinics all encourage children to be more active and connected with their peers, so they could be a great option to support physical and mental health over the school break,” UniSA PhD researcher Emily Eglitis said.
Camp Australia’s Warren Jacobson said principal and parent surveys taken after COVID lockdowns highlighted concerns about increased screen time and decreased activity among children. As a result, Camp Australia introduced handball competitions and partnerships with professional soccer clubs such as Melbourne City which include clinics at each team’s home ground.
“There was a time when there was a lot of guilt putting children into care,” Jacobson said. “But as providers become more innovative, that has gone and parents know their children are in a safe, nurturing environment and that they are learning and growing.”
More than 560,000 children attend outside school hours care, including holiday care, according to the latest official figures. The average hourly fee was $9.10, the most recent Child Care Subsidy data report said.
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