Relief for Rockhampton families as PCYC elects to keep service open 

Rockhampton families using the outside school hours care (OSHC) service operated by PCYC are breathing a sigh of relief after the approved provider reversed a decision to close the service after learning of the true impact the closure would have on the community. 

The difficult decision to close the service was made toward the end of 2024 due to low utilisation, and the fact that the majority of the families accessing the service were doing so on a casual or intermittent basis, making it challenging to maintain financial viability. 

Since making the announcement to families, the community rallied, organising a petition, contacting local members, and appealing for broader community support to keep the service open. 

“I’m a single mother, I work fulltime hours mostly Monday to Friday. I have a daughter starting grade 2 and a son starting prep next year,” one parent shared at the time.

“They are at Park Avenue State School who do not currently offer outside school hours care. I rely on PCYC and am at an absolute loss as to what to do next year as I don’t believe there are many if any vacancies available for OSHC in Rockhampton.”

Bev Book, PCYC General Manager OSHC, responded saying “while many of the schools who used our service now have their own onsite OSHC, we acknowledge that some of our families were left without OSHC options as a result of the decision.” 

Speaking about the reversal Acting CEO Mitch Ryder made the following comments: 

“At PCYC Queensland, families and young people remain our priority. Since this announcement was made, we have heard from some parents that they have no access to alternative OSHC services and would struggle to find care if this service was to close.”

“After speaking with parents who will be negatively impacted by the closure, we have made the decision to keep PCYC Rockhampton OSHC open for the foreseeable future.  

We are currently working with our OSHC families and our team on what this means for them.”