Parents face hardship over holiday programme uncertainty
Uncertainty over COVID-19 pandemic and Alert Level changes are putting pressure on parents needing their children to attend OSCAR Holiday Programmes during the term break, says John Kennedy, manager of the Out of School Care Network (OSCN).
Mr Kennedy says that adding to the problem is that many hardworking parents are excluded from Work and Income Childcare Subsidies for the programmes as the income thresholds are too low. This means they are unable to find suitable, safe care for their children during the two-week holiday.
“OSCAR Holiday Programmes are recognised as safe environments for children, but it is not helping that many parents cannot access subsidies through no fault of their own.”
OSCAR providers are also having to plan for different scenarios because of uncertainty around Alert Level changes.
“The situation in Auckland right now is very challenging. Auckland parents are waiting to see if Level 2 will arrive during the school holidays and school holiday programmes are preparing for something that might not actually happen if Level 3 is extended.”
“Many children, we believe, would be very happy to be in a holiday programme, active with friends and peers and having a break from their parents.”
OSCAR programmes in the rest of New Zealand, which is at Level 2, are also facing challenges because of the additional health and safety procedures they are implementing.
Mr Kennedy says that despite OSCAR Programmes delivering a service just as important to many parents as schooling and early childhood services, OSCAR wasn't included in public health advice during the recent lockdown level changes.
“Parents trust OSCAR programmes to take care of their children and they should be able to access these services when they need them. We are ready to do our job, we just need proper recognition in any future public health guidance.”
“We offer a vital service for parents, especially during these difficult times and think that it should be easier, not harder for children to attend a safe and stimulating OSCAR holiday programme,” Mr Kennedy said.
