Parents demand principals open more rooms, halls as waiting lists grow

Families are demanding school principals open up more classrooms and school halls to slash the enormous waiting list for after-school care. The Sunday Telegraph obtained a survey revealing 70 per cent of parents were turned away due to insufficient space.

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Families are demanding school principals open up more classrooms and school halls to slash the enormous waiting list for after-school care.

Some schools have as many as 100 families waiting for after-school care because the federal government has stringent rules around how much space the children need and principals are reluctant to open up all the school to create room, according to NSW P & C Federation president Susie Boyd.

The Sunday Telegraph has obtained a survey of all 69 P & C volunteer-run after-school care providers, which reveals 70 per cent have been forced to turn away parents because of insufficient space available.

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There are more than enough parents willing to give up their time to look after kids but the national regulations demand before and after-school providers have at least 3.25sq m of indoor space per child and 7.5sq m of outdoor space.

The waiting lists would disappear overnight in 80 per cent of schools with P & C-run services if there were more classrooms on offer, according to the survey.

Ms Boyd called on principals to stop “blocking the use of public assets” and for space regulations to be relaxed.

At Normanhurst West Public School, 70 families will next year miss out on after-school care because the P & C only has space for 110 children in the hall and music room.

NSW P & C Federation president Susie Boyd has called on principals to stop “blocking the use of public assets”.

“I don’t know why but schools are very reluctant to allow out-of-school-hours providers to use classrooms and meet demand,” Normanhurst West Public School P & C volunteer Lisa Richardson said.

“Some parents on our waiting list hire nannies to look after their children after school, while others hire university students or rely more heavily on their extended families.

“In some families, one parent has had to stop working because they can’t find or afford any other option.”

During the school day, Normanhurst West Public can fit 250 kids in its hall, but the national regulations around space requirements restrict the hall to 60 kids before and after school.

At Stanmore Public School in Sydney’s inner west, parent Clare Jones was initially offered three days of after-school care for her daughter, Lily, 6, and she was forced to hire a nanny on the other two days while she waited for more after-school care to become available.

Some parents have been forced to hire nannies to care for their kids due to the limited spaces in after-school care. Pictured are Jacoby Dickson, 7, Lily Jones, 7 and Spike Adams, 6. Picture: Tim Hunter

There’s two after-school care providers operating side-by-side at Stanmore Public School, one run by the council and another by a private provider but space restrictions have again capped availability.

“Our school is already bursting at the seams and this issue is only going to get worse as the school gets bigger,” Ms Jones said.

At Stanmore Public, the classrooms are being used by teachers preparing lessons, as well as for extra-curricular activities such as chess and drama clubs and language lessons.

“There are several after-school student programs that operate at Stanmore Public School that require spaces like the classrooms and the school hall,” a NSW Department of Education spokesman said.

“School facilities, including classrooms, are also used outside of school hours for educational purposes, including professional development and class preparation.”