Vacation Care & Babysitting Services

The juggle to manage children’s care during school holidays can be a huge challenge for working parents. But your Brisbane Kid is sure to have an exciting time with some of the programs on offer at vacation care these days.

Also called Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), these care arrangements often cover before and after school care during the school term, and full-day care during school holidays. OSHC is a supervised environment and programs must comply with legislative requirements. All school-aged children are eligible to attend, and vacation care programs can be run at schools themselves or at youth clubs or community centres. The programs usually have a set schedule of activities locked in for each day of the school holidays or pupil free day. If you are taking some time off over the holidays, some parents like to go over the schedule with their kids so they can choose the days when activities they will enjoy the most will be held.

Vacation care is a paid care arrangement like day care or child care. There may be additional charges on the days that excursions or external activities are scheduled. Check with www.humanservices.gov.au to see whether you are eligible for fee assistance.

Babysitting Services differ to Vacation Care in that they can be booked on a casual basis. Care is usually provided by a babysitter in your own home, and the hours of the service are completely flexible (often covering evenings and weekends).

Babysitting Services usually have several babysitters on their books. You should expect that all of these carers have been vetted thoroughly before being accepted, and all should have a Blue Card as a minimum requirement. Many babysitters working for a larger babysitting service will also have additional qualifications such as First Aid Certificates and may be studying or have already completed certificates or degrees in childcare.