PCYC Annandale OSHC celebrates HESTA finalist nomination

The team at PCYC Annandale Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) are celebrating their nomination as a finalist in the Advancing Pedagogy and Practice of the HESTA Early Childhood Education & Care Awards.

The OSHC service was recognised for its trial of an innovative new leadership program for five to 12- year-olds, Cadet Club.

Created to inspire a generation of emotionally intelligent young leaders who feel connected and committed to their communities, Cadet Club is now being rolled out at PCYC’s OSHC services across Queensland. 

The program focuses on play, leadership skills and respect, while creating a sense of belonging for all participants. It encourages children to learn, empower themselves, achieve and dream, and is informed by the latest research into child wellbeing. 

Cadet Club children explore themes including leadership and teamwork, emotions and feelings, mental wellbeing, bullying and respect, passion and curiosity, reconciliation, and community engagement.

“We are incredibly proud of the team at PCYC Annandale OSHC for their significant contribution to getting Cadet Club off the ground,” PCYC OSHC General Manager Bev Book said.

“Thanks to PCYC Annandale OSHC, we now have proof that this program will have a positive impact on the lives of Queensland children.”

Being named as a finalist, she continued, is a ‘well deserved’ acknowledgement to the dedication of the Annandale team. 

“When we started the trial we expected to start with a single group of 15 children maximum,” PCYC Annandale OSHC Service Manager Mel Skinner (shown left) said.

“The response to what we were doing was so positive we ended up working with up to 60 children every week. Because of this overwhelming response, we decided to trial all three of the program’s age groups (5- 6, 7-9 and 10-12 years). Things took off quite quickly and we knew we had something special.”

For Ms Skinner the most rewarding aspect was seeing the children’s confidence and abilities grow, and being able to review the lesson plans for the program to ensure that the processes and language used was simplified to a ‘real world’ context gave her the satisfaction of knowing that the program could have a wide reach amongst her peers. 

Ms Book extended her thanks to the team at PCYC Annandale OSHC for how they took the program on board and applied their expertise, something which “really made it possible for the rest of Queensland (to take it up.)” 

“Their attitude and commitment to their community really advocated the value of the program,” she said.

The HESTA Education & Care Awards have been running since 2010 and celebrate frontline educators at the heart of Australia’s early education and care services.

Award winners will be announced at a gala dinner on 19 September.