SCHOOL AGE CARE (SAC) services have existed in Australia for over 100 years but they have tended to take a back seat when compared with provision for school-aged children and those under school age using early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Many SAC services are housed in shared premises and many children attending preparatory or preschool use SAC. Reforms introduced by the Australian Government have included a National Quality Standard for school age care (COAG, 2009b). Like the National Quality Standard for early childhood education and care settings (COAG, 2009b), this quality agenda has prompted a greater focus on the ability of services to provide environments that support the wellbeing and development of school age children and meet the quality standards. SAC is one of the fastest growing ECEC services provided for children and families (DEEWR, 2013). This article makes the case that skilful communication is needed among stakeholders in early education and care settings, schools and SAC in order to provide high-quality services.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AppsB. F. (1944). Children's playgrounds (No. 1924). Canberra, ACT: Department of Health.
2.
ArnoldV. (2002). Times, they are a changin’? yes, and are they changin’! Paper presented at the 2002 Queensland Children's Activities Network State Conference, Brisbane, Queensland.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2011). 4402.0—Childhood education and care, Australia. Retrieved 22 September, 2013, from www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4402.0.
BrennanD. (1998). The politics of Australian child care (rev edn). Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge Press.
7.
BrennanD. (1999). Child care: Choice or charade? In HancockL. (Ed.), Women, public policy and the state (pp. 85–98). Melbourne, Australia: Macmillan.
8.
CartmelJ. (2007). Outside School Hours Care and Schools, unpublished doctoral thesis, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland.
9.
Community Services Management Limited (CSML). (1999). OSHC quality assurance project (Funded by the Department of Family and Community Services). Sydney, Australia: National Out of School Hours Services Association.
Council of Australian Governments (COAG). (2009b). National Quality Standard for early childhood education and care and school age care. December. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
13.
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (2011a). My Time Our Place: Framework for school age care in Australia.Canberra: DEEWR.
14.
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (2011b). Promoting collaborative partnerships between school age care services and schools.Canberra: DEEWR.
Department of Family and Community Services (FACS). (1999). Childcare in Australia: An update of key statistics relating to the Commonwealth childcare program (No. ISBN 0 642 41420 3). Canberra, Australia: Department of Family and Community Services.
17.
Department of Family and Community Services (FACS). (2005). Evaluation of the outside school hours care quality assurance training project.Canberra: Australian Government.
18.
ElliottA. (1998a). From child care to school: Experience and perceptions of children and their families. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 23(3), 26–33.
19.
ElliottA. (1998b). Care programs for school age children in Australia. Childhood Education, 74(6), 387–391.
20.
ElliottA. (2006). Early Childhood Education: Pathways to quality and equity for all children. Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press.
21.
FinlasonJ. (2004). The Network: When dreams become reality. Surry Hills, NSW: Network of Community Activities.
GiffordJ. (1991). What about us? Out of school hours care for older school-age children.Canberra, ACT: ACT Children's Services program planning committee.
24.
GiffordJ. (1992). Early childhood in Australian schools: Future directions (A discussion paper commissioned by The Schools Council). Canberra: The Schools Council.
25.
HabermasJ. (1984). The theory of communicative action Vol 1, Reason and the rationalization of society (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Boston: Beacon Press.
26.
HabermasJ. (1987). The theory of communicative action Vol. 2, Lifeworld and system: a critique of functionalist reason (McCarthyT., Trans.). Boston: Beacon Press.
27.
McCarthyT. (1978). The critical theory of Jürgen Habermas.Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
MossP., & PetrieP. (2002). From children's services to children's spaces.London: Routledge.
31.
MoyleH., MeyerP., & EvansA. (1997). Outside school hours care services in Australia 1996.Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
32.
National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC). (2003). OSHCQA quality practices guide.Sydney, Australia: NCAC.
33.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2001). Starting strong: Early childhood education and care. Paris, France: OECD.
34.
PalsdottirK. (2012). Care, learning and leisure: The organisational identity of after-school centres for six to nine year old children in Reykjavik. PhD thesis, University of Iceland.
35.
PetrieP. (2011). Communication Skills for Working with Children and Young People: Introducing Social Pedagogy (3rd edn). London: Jessica Kingsley.
36.
PiscitelliB. (1988). School age child care: Common issues in program design and evaluation.Canberra: Australian Early Childhood Association Inc.
37.
Productivity Commission. (2011). Early childhood development workforce, Research Report. Melbourne: Australian Government.
38.
SimonciniK. (2010). The hours after school: young school-aged children's care arrangements and activities. PhD thesis, James Cook University.
39.
TaylerC., WillsM., HaydenJ., & WilsonC. (2006). A review of the approach to setting national standards and assuring the quality of care in Australian child care services.Brisbane, Australia: Centre for Learning Innovation, Queensland University of Technology. Retrieved 30 June, 2007, from www.communities.qld.gov.au/childcare/publications/documents/pdf/national-cc-standards-review.pdf.
40.
WinefieldH., PiteoA., KettlerL., RobertsR., TaylorA., TuckeyM. et al. (2011). Australian parents' needs and expectations regarding out of school hours care: A pilot study. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9(3), 196–206.
