School hours and after care

[Kanniewagnie]

What are the school hours (my kids will be grade 2 & 4 when we arrive) and do schools also have after care facilities if both parents are working? What are the fee per month approximately for aftercare? We currently pay R800 pmonth per child from 13:15 till18:00 and they provide lunch + snack + assistance with homework.

Thank you.

[AndreaL]

School starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm in most states, you can take the kids to school from 8.30 am. It depends on the school if they offer before and after care, some do, some don't. In some cases the after care is run by a group such as PCYC or similar.

Any kind of aftercare will be expensive. I think at my son's state school, aftercare used to be $27 per day, but it was stopped because they couldn't find enough workers. That is why there are many jobs that advertise school hours or why many women work part-time and only full-time when the kids are old enough to get themselves to and from school.

I'm sure there may be different kinds of arrangements in different states so let's hope other people comment.

[Lyn]

AndreaL has summed it up pretty well. I haven't had kids in school for awhile now so may be out of touch a little and things may have changed.

But in ACT the hours are the same, and most parents whinge constantly about the cost of aftercare. So many parents do try to work school hours, and when possible their kids go to after schools activities, like swimming, ballet etc.

I remember when I still worked at the ice rink, many kids would be hopping off the bus from as young as about 8, and heading to the rink for their skate. A monthly pass would cost them about $170 per month, and a lot of the parents told me it was cheaper than aftercare to have their kids wait for them at the rink.

[Eagle101]

Our childrens school runs from 08h50 - 15h30 & offers before and after care (run by Camp Australia) - not sure of the costs involved.

[Kay j]

we use the BASC (before and after school care) for my daughter. Some schools run their own BASC and others contract a business like Camp Australia to do it for them. With increasing legislation etc it seems easier for schools to contract now. My daughter has a permanent booking for every morning and afternoon..so I get a reduction in the fee per day. We pay about $520 a month.You can make bookings for the morning session, afternoon session or both. If you are a permanent resident or citizen you can claim a fair portion of that back. We get a rebate every quarter. The BASC provides a basic breakfast in the morning and in the afternoon a snack...fruit, cheese and crackers etc mostly they open at 6.45am and in the afternoon pick up is by 6.30pm. Knowing that we were going to rely heavily on BASC, we chose her school in part because we liked the BASC attached. They provide a structured program of play, sport, arts for the children. Holiday care is also provided - fees vary from $45 per day to $65 depending on what they are doing on the day. A trip to the zoo would be $65 for that day. They give you a holiday program with what is on each day...they usually have 1 excursion day per week, so that would be something like a trip to the zoo or movies.

[Kanniewagnie]

Thank you. Assuming one does not make use of after care: Do schools have a canteen where the kids can eat a healthy lunch, (seeing that they close so late), or do you pack extra sandwiches for the long day?

[AndreaL]

I think the school day is actually quite short as they have a little lunch and a big lunch which is quite long. Most schools have a tuckshop, usually manned by Mums who volunteer, but many parents choose to pack a healthy lunch, over here in Qld, each classroom has a fridge the kids can put their lunch in.

My kids also have a 'brain break" around 10am where they get to eat a piece of fruit you have packed for them. Note that many schools are nut free zones due to kids with nut allergies. Oh and kids are usually not allowed to share lunches because of the risk to kids with allergies.

[OubaasDik]

I think the school day is actually quite short as they have a little lunch and a big lunch which is quite long. Most schools have a tuckshop, usually manned by Mums who volunteer, but many parents choose to pack a healthy lunch, over here in Qld, each classroom has a fridge the kids can put their lunch in.

I imagine in a QLD summer the tuna sandwiches could be quite ripe by lunch without it.

My kids also have a 'brain break" around 10am where they get to eat a piece of fruit you have packed for them. Note that many schools are nut free zones due to kids with nut allergies. Oh and kids are usually not allowed to share lunches because of the risk to kids with allergies.

When the wife was volunteering they had a "rogues gallery" of photos to see who was denied peanut butter or tuna or cheese or for that matter, bread. Quite a lot to put on volunteers who are just there to help out.

But they could get quite a decent lunch (Sometimes the sole bearnaise would be off, but...) - BTW the tuckshop would allow the kids (many of them anyway) IOUs in case they left their lunch at home - I mean, imagine you leave the lunch at home and you have a whole day without anything to eat - and you're in primary school.

[Gizmo]

In WA government school is 8:30 - 3:00pm. You get before-after school care facilities who will bus your kids to school and fetch them.

Our daughter is in such a facility which is just down the road from her school. Its $15 for before school care and $25 for after school care.

An afternoon snack is provided (fruit, cold meat/cheese and crackers).

If you are on a PR visa, no matter what you earn, you get 50% paid back from the government. There is also benefit for low-earning families which gives you more if you qualify (its means-tested).

[MandyW]

Thanks for all the info everyone. Think I'm slowly getting an understanding and used to how the schools work over there.

[AndreaL]

I imagine in a QLD summer the tuna sandwiches could be quite ripe by lunch without it.

When the wife was volunteering they had a "rogues gallery" of photos to see who was denied peanut butter or tuna or cheese or for that matter, bread. Quite a lot to put on volunteers who are just there to help out.

Yep, there are photos of all the kids with allergies, health conditions etc........

A funny thing happened yesterday when I dropped my son off at school.......lots of 8 year old girls ( and a few boys screamimg in the classroom).......seems that a child had gone to put his lunch in the fridge and there was a mouse in there........thing was it was stuck in one of the door shelves that you put bottles and jars in. The shelf has little drainage holes and the mouse had wedged itself and probably died of hypothermia.

The teachers aide was trying to get it out with a wad of tissue paper.........I removed the shelf ad took it outside so teacher could restore control and gently eased the little corpse out and threw in the bin.

The teachers aide took the shelf, the teacher wanted to throw it away but both I and the aide said it would be fine if it was bleached and disinfected.............so, a little excitement to the start of the day in 3/4 HL.......lol

Mostof the teachers at this school, if they notice a child has come without lunch will either phone the parent to bring lunch or send the child to the office to get a slip so they can get something from the tuckshop........dependent on the economics of the area, teachers are also social workers, friends and everything else in between.

Because I live in a mining town, many of the teachers are married to men who work at the mines etc, so we all know one another very well. It is a lovely environment.