A bureaucratic mess is making the after school pick-up run a nightmare for parents to manage. The system needs to be overhauled to prioritise the needs of both children and parents. Outside of school hours care should be coordinated with the many other community activities our kids are involved in, and the NSW Department of Education should reduce costs on families by scrapping the rent they charge parent and community run centres to access school grounds. The current system is creating unnecessary strain for parents juggling work and home life, particularly those that live in the outer-suburbs and are faced with long commutes to and from the office.

At too many schools after hours care is full, and families are stuck on long waiting lists. Even when spaces are available, parents still feel the pressure to stop work early to make sure their kids get to other activities like football and netball practice.
The way forward is to invite the broader community to be part of the solution.

We should look to our sports clubs, churches and other community groups willing to partner with parents and schools.

Imagine if your schools out of hours care service was coordinated with activities like practice for the sports club, music lessons, language classes or scouts. This would give all children the chance to participate while ensuring that parents have the choice to continue working without stress. But it goes beyond just managing family logistics. The involvement of these local organisations helps give our kids a well-rounded education — teaching them teamwork, resilience, ethics, community participation and creativity.

Every parent knows that it takes a village to raise a child. Yet a complex web of regulation is locking the community out of our schools. This needs to change.