Holiday clubs and camps for kids!

[Taffyowen]

With our 4 year old starting school this year in the UK, the reality of covering school holidays when both parents are working has really hit home! We plan to move to Adelaide in 12 months time and want to know if there are plenty of holiday camps where you can send youngsters to for the day/week (he will be 5 1/2). It would be mainly the equivalent of our half terms and some of summer if needed.

 

Any advice would be great!

[flossybeth]

There aren't any half terms here, just 4 terms with 2 week breaks in-between (apart from summer which is 6-ish weeks), but there are places that run holiday clubs like this one: http://www.saaquatic.ymca.org.au/participate/school-holiday-programs/holiday-care.html

 

I'm not sure if there are any play-schemes or American-style camps but a lot of schools offer vacation care ( http://www.willungaps.sa.edu.au/resources/Documents/Program-Vac-Care-July-2015.pdf ) so I suggest you wait until you're here and have a look in your area and see what your school offers.

 

Once we had children I only ever worked from home (as a childminder) and one of the reasons was because finding (and paying for) care for 3 would just have been too much bother!

[HelenS]

We arrived 2 weeks ago and enrolled our children to start on 20th July at school. When we met with the Principal she suggested sending the kids to vacation care at the school for a couple of days during the holidays so they could meet some kids and find their way round the school. Our son (who is 6) went today as they were learning Taekwando but they also did loads of sports, crafts and games. He is going again next week along with my daughter who is nearly 9 and they are going out on excursions to do roller skating and to the Ice Arena. It only cost $55 per day which is much cheaper than I paid for holiday camp in the UK and the care was longer as well. They can be there from 7.15am-6pm if you need it.

[NicF]

Yep, lots of schools have OHSC (out of hours school care) that cover before and after school and school holidays and pupil free days. The cost varies depending on the place and your child doesn't always have to attend the school to attend the OHSC during the holidays, although they usually need to be booked in well in advance. The OHSC at my youngest's school run from 7:00am to 6:15pm and have excursion days on Tuesday's and Thursday's and home days the rest of the week. Excursion days are about $50 for the day and home days are $43 ish. Childcare for school aged children is pretty well catered for here.

[RachaelOs]

I recently started working so one of my daughters has started going to OSHC 2 days a week and is doing the holiday program this week and next - she loves it, more than once she's cried when we've picked her up 'too early' so she doesn't want to leave - nothing like feeling wanted after a day at work!

[kelbert]

We really struggled in the UK for childcare and my husband actually gave up work in the long summer hols twice to look after our kids as the only vacation care available was 9 -3 so here it has been much better for us. Vacation care is much more readily available and affordable and as others have said above runs from 7 - 6 approx. ☺

[snifter]

What the others said, OSCH is great. It's attached to most schools so you usually send your children to the one run through the school they attend.

 

Mine loves it. Goes a couple of days after school and then in the holidays for full days. Has a fab time and asks to go even on days not needing to attend.

 

Cost wise for a day is between $45-50 but you can get a reduction in the fees on some tax credit scheme thing I think it is. We only pay half the costs effectively doing this. Although it's a claimed back thing at present not reduced at time of billing iykwim.

 

Will need packed lunch, water bottle and OSCH hat for the vacation care days some excursion days are more popular than others and can fill up fast but often at our school at least they are never fully booked (can take 70 or so but usually around 50).

[Diane]

Ok my kids are way too old for this but I have to know.... is it OSHC, OHSC or OSCH???

[flossybeth]

Ok my kids are way too old for this but I have to know.... is it OSHC, OHSC or OSCH???

 

Out of School Hours Care = OSHC but pronounced oshh

[NicF]

Ok my kids are way too old for this but I have to know.... is it OSHC, OHSC or OSCH???

 

I always get it wrong when writing it out . I just call it kids zone usually as that what the one my son goes to is called.