The provision of after school care and school holiday programmes in New Zealand (which we call Out of School Care and Recreation or “OSCAR”) is largely unregulated. Many services obtain Accreditation for OSCAR, but this is not a mandatory requirement.

This means that an OSCAR start-up is a relatively open process that does not have much “red tape”. This gives you a lot of scope for how you operate to meet the needs in your community. We see this flexibility as a significant strength.

However you will have to get going mostly through your own resources. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) does fund services with operating grants but there is no funding to assist with starting up. The total funds available for operating grants is capped and usually fully allocated. New OSCAR services are only occasionally added to this pool.

OSCN can assist with advice and information – we have long experience with supporting  the establishment process. These are  the key questions to consider for any new programme:

• Where will it be located and where are the school-age children who are likely to attend?

• Are there other services already operating in your area?

• Will you apply for OSCAR Accreditation and why? (Remember that this is not a mandatory requirement, so there should be a clear rationale for going down this path.)

• Who has relevant expertise in children’s services, who can lead the start-up process?

The presentations below go into all of this in more depth.