National Out of School Hours Care Educators’ Day is on the way

Freya Lucas

Jun 10, 2024

Save

National Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) Educators' Day is the national annual day for celebrating the importance of OSHC educators across Australia, and falls on 31 July in 2024.

OSHC services are encouraged to use this opportunity to reflect on and recognise the positive impact that OSHC educators have on the lives of children, young people and their families.

The revised national Approved Learning Framework for school aged care, My Time our Place (MTOP, V2.0) includes an updated principle renamed Critical Reflection and Ongoing Professional Learning. The principle now defines the process of critical reflection, emphasising that multiple perspectives should be considered in the process and action is to take place as a result. Additionally, it recognises educators as professionals who are committed to lifelong learning.

On National Out of School Hours Care Educators’ Day, OSHC professionals may like to critically reflect on their ongoing professional learning as a leader in the sector.

In its most recent newsletter ACECQA has provided the following advice:

“Consider how you authentically engage with children to ensure they benefit from your practices and the experiences you offer. Your deep understanding of each individual child and young person will shape your interactions and ensure that they experience programs that are high quality and targeted to their unique needs including their culture and the service context.”

Further questions to guide or begin your journey to critical reflection, suggested by ACECQA could include:

How and why do your practices benefit children, young people and their families?
How do you engage with children and young people to ensure they are co-learners and co-collaborators within the program?
What other theories, knowledge and world views could help you and your team to support improved outcomes for children and young people?
How might those theories, knowledge and world views shape and affect our practice?
What about your role challenges you and how would you like to be supported to elevate and enhance your role as an educator?

National OSHC Educators' Day is coordinated by the Network of Community Activities and member organisations of NOSHSA. Visit their website to learn about OSHC Educators' Day 2024.

Don’t miss a thing

Keeping children safe with one simple lesson

Water safety remains at the forefront of national concern, as drowning continues to be the leading cause of accidental death for children aged 0-4.

Ecological identity: a new lens on an age-old practice

The journey to embed ecological identity is a personal one, as identity sits close to one’s heart and is shaped from our own foundational years. For myself, it was founded in warm summer afternoons playing in the rockpools along the beaches in Sydney, discovering the names of all the little creatures that lurked there, including the starfish that suctioned to my curious fingertips.

Childcare centres may have clear rules for staff numbers, but there are loopholes to get around them

There is a growing number of “serious incidents” in Australian early childhood services, including day cares.

Exploring the Junior Landcare 2026 calendar: a year of environmental learning for early years

Junior Landcare’s 2026 Calendar is a rich educational resource designed to support children’s environmental learning, community engagement and hands-on connection to nature throughout the year. The free downloadable calendar outlines key national and international environmental dates alongside linked learning activities, making it easy for early childhood educators to plan meaningful sustainability experiences across the curriculum.

What Can Australia Learn from Ontario’s Child Care Ratios?

As workforce pressures continue to shape early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy discussions in Australia, international comparisons provide useful perspectives. Canada’s approach, particularly in Ontario, offers a case study in how educator-to-child ratios, maximum group sizes and qualification requirements can be legislated as an integrated framework.