As Weipa OSHC prepares to celebrate its first birthday, the service could not have come at a better time for Isabella de Klerk, says mum Lindi. Photo: Supplied.
Weipa Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) will celebrate one year of supporting working parents since bringing school-aged childcare back into the community.
The service at St Joseph’s Parish School, also available to Western Cape College students, was described as a “godsend” when it reopened after a 12-month closure.
Before the Catholic Early Learning and Care (CELC) service resumed for vacation care on 2 December 2024, many parents reported giving up full-time work hours for their kids’ drop-offs and pick-ups.
Parent Lindi de Klerk said the OSHC service came at a perfect time when her daughter Isabella started prep, and would no longer be attending Cape Kids Childcare Centre, an early learning service which runs 11 hours a day.
“My husband works at Amrun, so he works seven on, seven off, and I also work full-time for Rio. So the days when my husband’s at Amrun, we can’t pick her up straight from school,” she said.
“OSHC has been a wonderful saving grace for our family because I knew my daughter was taken care of when I wasn’t able to.
“We’re really lucky it’s based at St Joseph’s, which is also her school, so I don’t have to stress about my child getting there and back from school.”
Ms de Klerk said the social scene at the service had also been a positive for Isabella.
“Bella’s a very social child, and because she’s an only child, she’s always craving friends. Most afternoons, when I get to OSHC to pick her up, she asks me to stay longer. So I leave and come back an hour or so later because she just loves it so much,” she laughed.
“When she was in kindy, she knew most of the children there for three years before she went to school. But a majority of her best friends went to Western Cape College at the start of this year.
“I was a bit nervous about it because I wasn’t sure if she would be happy. What’s great at OSHC is that she sees her Western Cape friends again. So she still has that connection with her kindy friends, even though she’s made other friends now as well.”
She congratulated the service on its one-year milestone, singing the praises of nominated supervisor Kim Wallace and educators.
“I really want to acknowledge them and take my hat off to them for what they do, and the total peace of mind they give to us parents, knowing we don’t have to worry about our children while we still have to focus on our jobs,” she said.
“They really get involved with the kids, they have built these wonderful relationships with them, so the children trust the educators.”
Diocese of Cairns CELC director Alison Forster said although staffing remained a challenge, the Weipa community and CELC worked together to ensure the children and working parents were taken care of.
“We have over 60 children enrolled and are regularly providing care to over 30 children at after-school care,” she said.
“We are fortunate to have a consistent and dedicated core team at St Joseph’s OSHC. We have recently onboarded some new team members and appreciate the on-the-ground support from CELC HQ in Cairns, with staff available to visit and assist the centre from time to time.
“Rio Tinto was generous in assisting us with resources for the establishment. It is great we are able to support the broader Weipa community through our service.”
