Rated: Qld’s best outside school hours care: Top centres named

Recent child care subsidy changes may not benefit all Queensland parents as hoped but here are the state’s best after hours care providers. SEE THE MAP

Judith Kerr

@judithkerr1

5 min read

August 22, 2024 - 6:30AM

KindiCare founder and CEO Ben Balk says the recent changes to the child care subsidy will not lead to more Outside School Hours places in Queensland.

Redlands Coast

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Queensland parents are unlikely to benefit from extra outside school hours care programs following changes to the child care subsidy rules which came into effect last month.

The changes allow outside school hours care services to also provide care to preschool-aged children, under five years old, either side of preschool sessions, where previously they could only provide care to school aged children.

Introduced on July 1, the changes also mean Queensland families will be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy for before and after preschool care.

Further changes to be introduced on September 1, will mean providers must notify the federal Education Department of fees twice a year in an effort to help families “make informed financial decisions” about early childhood education.

The move has angered long day care providers including Bay Island Early Learning and Care principal Petrae McLean, who said it was a step towards the state government opening free kindergartens and after-hours care at all state schools.

Bay Island Early Learning and Care principal Petrae McLean says recent changes will affect long day care providers. Picture: Contributed

“It creates inequity between our state delivered and our non-state delivered early learning services and, in time, could mean the closure of private facilities which are the ones operating after hours services,” Ms McLean said.

“Long daycare services that have been approved by the Queensland Education Department to offer kindergarten must use the federal government approved Child Care Subsidy for both kindergarten hours and before and after kindergarten.

“There is no childcare subsidy needed for attending a state preschool.”

In Queensland, there are 896 Outside School Hours Care service providers which charge an average $7.59 an hour, or about $75.90 for a 10-hour week.

In Brisbane, the average Before School Care fee was $21.38 per session and After School Care fee $28.20 per session.

The majority of the providers, or 80.9 per cent, were meeting national quality standards set by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) in the June quarter.

None of the outside school hours care services ranked by the authority and listed on the online comparison tool KindiCare rating system, received the top rating of “Excellent” in the June quarter.

Of the 896 Outside School Hours Care centres in Queensland, 50 received the second highest rating of “Exceeding National Standards”. None received the top rating of excellent in the June quarter.

About 5.58 per cent, or 50 centres, received the second top rating of “Exceeding National Quality Standards”, down from 71 getting the top ranking the year before.

There were 674 ranked as “Meeting National Quality Standards” in the June 2024 quarter, up from 577 the year before while 116 were classified as “Working Towards National Quality Standards”, up from 96 the year before.

There were 56 providers who did not receive an ACECQA ranking in the quarter, down from 45 the year prior.

KindiCare founder and chief executive Benjamin Balk said the changes would not result in more services to cater for preschool-aged children.

Mr Balk said he expected parents already struggling to find before and after school care and vacation care for school aged children to face even greater challenges for preschool-aged children.

“Every approved service is limited by their approved places as a service meaning there will be no additional capacity to cater for more preschool-aged children as a result of the changes,” he said.

“It is unlikely that we will see many new dedicated Outside Hours School Care services open to provide services to preschool-aged children during school holidays or for before and after preschool.

“There are the practical challenges that come with three- and four-year-olds being in the same place as school aged children up to 13 in a primary school location.

“Services for preschool-aged children are more expensive to run as the educator-to-child ratio is different compared to school aged children in a typical Outside School Hours Care setting.

“There are also restrictions in many cases both to the programs being offered as well as the location these services are permitted to operate from which have been built into the subsidy changes, creating further disincentives for providers

“So despite the changes, we’re unlikely to see any real scale of these services nationally to meet the demand and it’s unlikely many parents will benefit.”

The changes come as the latest KindiCare results have been published ranking the best outside school hours care facilities across the state.

BRISBANE

Brisbane Montessori Outside School Hours Care was the most expensive.

Twelve Outside School Hour Care programs in Brisbane received ACECQA’s second-top ranking of “Exceeding National Standards” with prices ranging from $16 to $35.50 per session. The average price for Before School Care was $21.65 and the average After School Care session fee was $30.56.

Moggill Outside School Hours Care is the most affordable, with before school fees at $16 and after school fees at $23. Camp Hill Outside School Hours Care charges before school fees of $20.50 and after school fees of $27. Jindalee School Age Care Program offers a balanced choice at $21 for before school care and $26 for after school care.

Wilston Outside School Hours Care has before school care priced at $21.50 and after school care at $30.50. Bulimba State School Outside School Hours Care charges $23 for before school care and $29 for after school care. MacGregor Outside School Hours Care sets its fees at $26 for before school and $31 for after school care.

Playhouse Parent and Childcare Centre is slightly higher, with before school care at $29.50 and after school care at $35.50. Brisbane Montessori Outside School Hours Care was the most expensive offering after school care at $33.

LOGAN

John Paul College and Calvary Christian College were the outstanding performers in Logan.

The average Before School Care fee across the top centres in Logan was $31 per session and for After School Care the average was $35.33

Calvary Christian College OSHC at Springwood charges $37.50 a session for Before School Care and After School Care costs $41.50. The centre also offers a combination of Before and After School Care at $34.50 for permanent bookings.

Vacation Care costs $83.50 a day. Afternoon tea is prepared and served each day, incorporating healthy snacks and seasonal fruit and vegetables. Fresh drinking water is always available. OSHC supplies sunscreen for children.

Springwood State School Outside School Hours Care fees matched Calvary College.

John Paul College Outside School Hours Care charges $18 for Before School Care and $23 for After School Care, which was one of the cheaper high-end options in Logan. Its Vacation care program was $61 a day. It does charge a late fees for student collection after 6pm.

IPSWICH

All of the Outside School Hours centres in Ipswich received Meeting NSQ standards and none were in the top two rating categories.

MORETON

Moreton Bay Council area had 15 centres which offered Outside School Hours Care services that exceeded national standards.

There were 15 centres in the Moreton Bay region that made the top 50 list for Outside School Hours Care in Queensland. The average Before School Care fees in Moreton Bay Regional Council area was $21.54 with parents paying an average $28.57 for After School Care.

Helping Hands at Kippa-Ring, Morayfield East, Moreton Downs and Tullawong were all ranked as “Exceeding National Standards” along with the School Plus service at Humpybong, Mueller College at Rothwell and Eatons Hill OSHC Club.

Genesis Christian College’s program along with Living Faith at Murrumba Downs and Dakabin’s North Pine OSHClub all received the second tier rating. Brady Bunch Early Learning Centre at Burpengary and Carmichael College OSHC were also exceeding national standards.

REDLAND

Sheldon College was ranked as the highest Outside School Hours Care program in Redland.

Sheldon College’s Our Place, Outside School Hours program, was the highest rated in Redland City during the quarter.

Its Before College Care, which runs from 6.30am to 8.20am costs $13.25 and its After Hours Care from 2.45pm-6.15pm costs $30. Parents can pay $16 for a half afternoon from 2.45pm-4.30pm but are charged Extra-Curricular Care and Late Arrival fees of $16.

Vacation Care at Sheldon costs $73 from 6.30am-6.15pm with a half day to 1pm costing $37.