Working families in our community now have another option for out-of-hours care based at an existing preschool.

Gawler & District B-12 Children’s Centre is one of the first 10 South Australian Government preschools this week to start trialling after preschool care, known as “Kindy Care”.

The Kindy Care program follows recommendations by the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care led by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Member for Light, Tony Piccolo MP, said given the current economic climate and shortage of options, this program helps adapt to the changing needs of working families.

“Parents and caregivers want to give their children the best opportunities in life, but often have to work hard in order to afford it, especially with the current cost of living issues families face,” said Mr Piccolo.

“OSHC provides support for many working families for their school-aged children, but that support often isn’t there for younger children outside of preschool hours.

“This program gives families flexibility for their work commitments and limits the amount of juggling and travelling they must do to ensure their children are properly cared for.”

Kindy Care is available Monday to Friday on days children are attending a full day of preschool and provides care for children beyond normal preschool hours until 6pm for $5 per session.

“With OSHC available right next door and now our after-hours service, it really helps families with easier pick-up and drop-off and enables more time for work, study and other activities,” said Ms Lowcock.

“Our current and future cohort now don’t have to worry about finding other services after preschool finishes - the children can stay in the same environment and with the same educators all-day and have appropriate care for their development.

“The trial has created 30 more hours of work and we’ve been able to recruit two new staff.

“I’m hoping once the trial is completed, the mechanisms can all be worked out to make it a permanent fixture and additional hours can be considered.”

A further 10 Government preschools will introduce the program between now and early 2025, with these trials to test how different models of a preschool out of hours care could work in preschool settings.