When the bell rings at the end of each term, there is a happy buzz as kids leave school for the break. But for many parents, the start of the holidays brings a different feeling entirely: how are they going to keep their children engaged for two weeks and sometimes more?

One way is through school holiday programs, which take children for all or most of the work day. These can range from general programs on school sites – which might have sporting and craft activities for children as well as general play. It might also involve excursions to places such as zoos or adventure parks.

Other programs might be run by other operators, and focus on soccer, basketball, coding, art or drama.

How can you tell if your child’s program is good quality?

First, we need to acknowledge that holiday program places fill quickly and costs add up. Some programs cost more than $100 a day, per child. While some are eligible for government subsidies, many are not.

Our analysis has highlighted how limited access can be for Australian families. Holiday programs where parents can claim the government’s Child Care Subsidy only have capacity for 18% of Australian primary school children. That’s around 413,000 places for more than 2.3 million primary school children (aged around 5–12).

Access is even more constrained outside major cities, with some regional communities having only one provider, or none at all.

Why holiday programs........

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