SA education department squad deployed to lift standards at public out-of-school-hours care services
An after-school care centre where students escaped supervision is among 29 services targeted in a new push to lift standards.
After-school care centres where children have left the grounds or staff have been ordered to deep clean the kitchen and repair cracked glass are among those targeted in a government push to “immediately” lift standards.
Almost 30 services at public primary schools will receive “intensive support” from an Education Department squad of four dedicated officers.
The centres, all run by the school governing council, were chosen because they have consistently not met at least one national benchmark, which could cover safety, staffing, infrastructure, activities, policies or interactions with children and parents.
They include East Adelaide Primary School out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) where two children managed to leave a school holiday session in July and had to be returned by police officers.
Also on the list is Brighton Primary School OSHC, which was ordered in June to deep clean a kitchen, repair cracked glass and ensure the staff toilet, storage cupboards and medications were not accessible to children.
Other services to come under the microscope – catering for a total 1100 students – are located across suburban Adelaide and in regional towns including Mt Compass, Burra and Wallaroo.
Over the next six to nine months Education Department staff will hold fortnightly meetings with staff at the 29 centres, undertake assessments and develop “action plans”.
They will offer mentoring or extra time away from supervising children to make improvements.
About 29,000 children aged five to 12 use OSHC each week, or one in six of the state’s primary school-aged students.
Education Minister Blair Boyer said OSHC was “a critical service” and the government wanted to ensure “high quality programs for these students”.
He reiterated that “critical safety concerns are responded to immediately” but explained the new program would ensure “continued improvements in quality to give children the best experience.”
“For too long, OSHC was not prioritised by governments and that has meant there has not been the focus on lifting quality,” Mr Boyer said.
Opposition education spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo called for “genuine support, not just audits”.
“As we have been saying for months, an audit is only one step, but centres need a focused, long-term strategy to lift standards (including) an expert, SWAT-style support team dedicated to helping services improve,” she said.
After the incident at East Adelaide Primary School in July, deputy principal Anneleise Tollner wrote to parents stating the service was “complying with all directions” from the Education Standards Board (ESB) and reviewing procedures.
In the case of Brighton Primary School OSHC the ESB says the service has provided evidence that it has “carried out the actions” required.
OSHC directors and workers have told The Advertiser they face staff shortages, limited funding and mounting paperwork requirements.
“We’re often treated like glorified babysitters,” said one director, who argued OSHC workers manage more complex groups of children, of varying ages and support needs, than higher-paid classroom teachers.
The director said they received between 50 and 100 emails a day and supported children each week who were still using nappies or had behavioural outbursts.
About 25 per cent of OSHC services in SA are not meeting standards, compared to 12 per cent nationally.
Three out of every five SA centres are meeting standards and 16 per cent are exceeding them.
OSHC is offered at 250 public schools, including 150 centres run by school governing councils.
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Originally published as SA education department squad deployed to lift standards at public out-of-school-hours care services
