South Australian school communities are the winners in the SA government release of a new approved panel of Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) providers.
Sherpa Kids Australia and Sherpa Kids SA/NT, leading providers of OSHC in South Australia, are the only local SA owners and operators approved to join the panel.
Welcoming the news, Vicki Prout, Managing Director of Sherpa Kids Australia, said they were proud and excited about this achievement and looking forward to working with principals, parents and children in South Australian schools.
“Being a proud locally owned and operated South Australian brand, Sherpa Kids has a strong presence already in SA thanks to our extremely high standards of before and after school care and vacation care services,” she said.
“We fully understand and live in the South Australian environment – we get it!
“We are taking this great SA service into interstate and international schools and we never stop improving our quality.”
Vicki said their newest SA services had recently opened in Port Lincoln, Prescott North and Burc College, with more schools soon to open.
“Together, we will build reliable, fun and educationally-sound before and after school care services and vacation care services that meet the needs of students, parents and the school community,” Vicki said.
“We know parents are working longer hours and finding it harder to juggle the school drop offs.
“It’s a huge relief for families when schools join with quality providers like Sherpa Kids to keep their kids safe and happy outside school hours and in the holidays.”
“We contacted SA school principals as soon as we got confirmation we had been successful for the approved provider panel and we are ready to work with schools – this is such great news for school communities and governing councils,” she said.
The Department of Education and Childhood Development (DECD) has created a web page with tools and resources to help providers and school communities work together (http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/oshc/pages/thirdparty).
“Principals and families can have every confidence in Sherpa Kids services meeting, and often going beyond, the requirements of the National Quality Framework and DECD’s policies,” Vicki said.
“We welcome all questions about our services and also encourage anyone thinking of moving into OSHC to contact us about joining Sherpa Kids and becoming part of our growing network.”