Outside School Hours Care – Decision Making Regarding the Provision of OSHC

Plan to start and monitor a third party-managed service

The planning and preparation needed to set up a third party managed service includes the following steps, some of which are the responsibility of the school, and some of which are the responsibility of the third party provider:

1. select and appoint an approved provider (school)
2. application for service approval (provider)
3. set up a third party managed service (provider, may be supported by school)
4. monitor the operation of the service (school) third party.

1. Select and appoint an approved provider

Expression of interest

If your school council is engaging or changing an OSHC provider, it is expected that the school council consults with the school community. To assist in this selection and consultation process, schools are encouraged to use the customised Expression of Interest (EOI) template (staff login required).

Using this template will help your school run a best practice process to select a third party provider that meets the needs and values of your school community. For advice about the use of the EOI template, email schools.procurement@education.vic.gov.au

Considering the quality of potential providers

The EOI process for selecting a third party provider requires consideration for quality service provision. Consideration includes:

• compliance history and assessment rating of other similar services operated by the provider (see compliance history and details of Enforcement actions and Starting Blocks)
• provider experience in education and care, specifically OSHC services
• references or feedback on existing OSHC services
• education program planning, delivery and monitoring process
• staffing procedures (appointment, backfill, retention, qualification level or experience, professional development for staff)
• the process for the development of the quality improvement plan and ensuring continuous improvement
• program fit with community needs and values
• process for setting and revising parent and carer fees
• cost to families and carers including the proposed fee and billing structure.

Value for money for your school

The EOI template and OSHC licence agreement emphasise value for money for your school community by setting out costs for families. These documents enable consideration for:

• income shortfall resolution processes, for example, where projected enrolment demand is not met
• how service expenses are managed, for example, costs associated with advertising, utilities and maintenance and who is responsible for them, or whether these items are covered by the licence fee (these can be formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding after the provider has been selected)
• licence fee payable by the provider to the school for use of the premises, noting that the quality and affordability of the service should be a higher priority in decision making.

Financial viability and reporting

In using the EOI template and licence agreement, there should be consideration for:

• financial performance reporting and review periods
• the current financial position of the provider
• the provider’s plans to ensure the service is financially viable over time.

Policies and processes

Selecting and engaging a third party provider should include consideration of:

• the provider’s policies and associated review process
• the risk management framework of the organisation, which would include financial, legal and health and safety
• the privacy policy details regarding sharing information between the OSHC service and the school itself
• consultation opportunities identified for community, school and parents
• the strategic direction of the organisation, for example, a planned growth in the number of services and how this might negatively or positively affect the service to the school.

Identifying potential third party providers

Your school council or school community members might know of nearby providers that you could approach for inclusion in the EOI process. You should consider advertising, at minimum on your school’s website, but you could also advertise on through local channels such as newspapers, or with the local council.

You can also use the Victorian register of education and care services to identify existing providers to approach directly. The register provides:

• contact details for existing providers
• quality ratings for their existing services.

Your school council should invite potential providers to participate in the EOI process at the same time, and set a closing date for responses, after which the subcommittee should evaluate each provider against the established evaluation criteria to help reach an agreement about the preferred provider. The minimum period of time for the EOI is 10 business days. You can schedule meetings with potential providers to:

• discuss their response to the EOI
• answer any further questions the subcommittee might have
• gauge their suitability for the role and your school.

A template evaluation matrix (XLS) (staff login required) available to help school councils make this decision.

Executing a licence agreement

You need to have a licence agreement arrangement with your third party provider.

Your school council is strongly encouraged to use the OSHC licence agreement (staff login required) when engaging a third party provider:

• The OSHC licence agreement authorises the non-exclusive use of an area of the school by the third party provider.
• Schedule 1 of the template enables specification of a range of details, including the licensed area.
• Schedule 2 of the template enables the fees to be detailed, to support value for money for the school community.
• Schedule 3 details the third party's reporting requirement to encourage information sharing between the third party and the school.
• The length of the agreement is 2 years with the option for school council to extend the term for 1 further year.

A Guide to completing the OSHC licence agreement (staff login required) is also available to assist school council to adapt the licence template for the particular needs of the school.

Schools may also wish to complete a Memorandum of Understanding with the provider to capture context specific to that school that is not covered in the licence agreement. This could include agreements related to who would be responsible for cleaning and maintenance, when particular spaces can be used, access for opening and closing, or use of school facilities such as the Internet connection.

Legal services

Before making or accepting any changes to the OSHC license agreement template, Legal Division are available to offer advice and can be contacted through the Legal Division’s intranet site (staff login required). Legal Division recommends against using any other form of agreement for engaging an OSHC provider, including contracts proposed by a third-party provider.

2. Application to set up a service

Once engaged as the OSHC provider, the third party will need to complete the application for service approval (SA01) in order to establish the new service. This application requires your school address details as well as confirmation of a licence agreement for the non-exclusive use of an area of the school by a third party operating an OSHC service. It will also require evidence that sufficient space is available for the number of children intended to be cared for by the service.

While the school is not responsible for submitting this application, the school will be able to provide documents that facilitate the application process, such as plans of spaces to be used.

It is the responsibility of the third party provider to apply for the Child Care Subsidy as part of their process to establish the service.

3. Set up a third party managed service

Setting up a third party managed service includes school council and third party provider responsibilities. The school council and the provider should meet to outline expectations, and to discuss responsibilities to be met by each party when setting up the service.

In situations where the third party has responsibility for these tasks, your school council should confirm that set up is complete, before the service opens, as part of the contract between you and your third party provider. Further information about set up tasks is included in the Legal requirements chapter of this guidance.

Some of the set-up tasks such as promotion of the service through school news channels or parent newsletters, may be shared responsibilities between the third party and your school council.

Where there are shared tasks, it is important that your school council identifies which member(s) of your school council and school community have responsibility to work with the third party to complete these.

Shared use of grounds and facilities

It is important to note that one of the functions of your school council, as outlined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), includes maintaining your school’s grounds and facilities. To assist with fulfilling this function, your school council should be clear with the third party provider about how any issues with the facilities or grounds used by your service will be reported.

Before your service can operate, your school council should also ensure that the third party and any of its employees are:

• properly inducted to the school premises, through Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Induction and Training
• aware of your school’s Emergency and Critical Incident Management Planning and Emergency Management Plan requirements, although it is required that a third party service have its own.

Important: Your school council should audit the third party’s OHS policies and procedures to ensure that the third party is providing a safe workplace in accordance with the Human Resources section of the school Policy and Advisory Library (PAL).

4. Your school’s obligations with a third party service

Where your school council has decided to engage a third party provider, your school council has obligations in ensuring that the provider operates a quality service and adheres to all conditions of their engagement. It is strongly encouraged to set up an OSHC subcommittee to have oversight over the third party provider at your school.

Monitoring and reviewing your service delivery

Your school council is responsible for managing the licence agreement you have with your third party provider.

Although legal responsibility for the service itself rests with the provider, good management of your licence agreement with a third party provider will support compliance with the National Law and national regulations. It will also promote quality improvement and value for money for the families in the school community.

The terms of reference and meeting templates for your OSHC subcommittee enable the monitoring and reviewing process.

The Department's resources available to help your school council with their OSHC responsibilities include:

• OSHC meeting agenda templates (DOCX)
• OSHC subcommittee terms of reference (DOCX)
• School Council Subcommittees Policy.

Establishing and maintaining partnerships

Effective and collaborative partnerships take time to develop between the school council and your third party provider. To ensure your OSHC service achieves the best quality outcomes for children, the following strategies can be used:

• having input into, and reviewing, the service’s philosophy and goals
• communicating any concerns early to avoid escalation
• investigating opportunities for collaboration in other areas such as a school fete, school orientations and newsletter submissions
• maintaining confidentiality regarding sensitive information
• sharing information and resources where appropriate
• ensuring clear grievance or complaints procedures are shared with all families and staff.
• inviting OSHC staff to attend school run professional learning.

A collaborative partnership will contribute to the success of the program, benefiting children and families, by meeting their education and care needs and contributing to a positive work environment for coordinators and educators. The Promoting Collaborative Partnerships Between School Age Care Services and Schools guide may be of assistance.

Information sharing

Information sharing between the school and the service is important to support children's wellbeing, and their learning and development while on the school site. For example, sharing children's Transition Learning and Development Statements with the OSHC service supports a positive start to school for children and their families. Information sharing requires consideration for the:

• reporting requirements expected of the third party provider (such as financial performance, utilisation rates, assessment and rating reports, parent feedback and complaints)
• frequency of reporting, for example, monthly meetings or immediate notification of certain items such as complaints and incidents
• reporting requirements of school council, for example, the provider may seek information from your school council such as enrolment information or a maintenance schedule
• provider’s proposal regarding consultation and information sharing with families.