On the first official day of the election campaign, an election promise to help working mums.
Kevin Rudd has just announced an additional $450million for before and after school care.
Minister Kate Ellis has said “Not every job finishes at 3pm when the school bell rings”. Absolutely.
Up 500 schools and about 345,000 children aged 5-12 are expected to benefit.
Details at this point are sketchy, but we’ll have more detail and analysis for you soon.
Do you use before and after school care? Is it hard for you to get a place? Too expensive?
Kirsten
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We are fortunate to have our P&C run our loacl After School Care Service, as many in QLD do. The new placements are wonderful news for many families, though there may be a need for a little more flexibility with hours, as the 6pm cut off time can be an issue for some parents.
All in all, any increase in funding and placements is a good thing. The new guidelines that have been brought in ensure the kids are not sitting watching movies everyday and have some imput into wheat type of activities they do. IT’s working really well for us.
That’s good to hear Marina. Nice to know some people think it will work. We’re not yet at the after school stage – have our name down for next year! Kirsten
How is the $450m going to be spent? If it is not done well, providers get a bonus and parents don’f receive the intended benefit.