Join us for our upcoming Workshop in the ACT. This special event is hosted by Dr Bruce Hurst

Australian OSHC educators have been talking about how to include older children (age 10 to 12 years) in their programs for almost as long as OSHC has existed. Older children have been the focus of professional development programs, conference papers and publications. Despite all the attention and advice, the concerns expressed by educators remain unchanged.

Historically, our understandings of what ‘should’ work for older children comes from a developmental perspective, that older children’s needs are a direct function of age and maturity. However, contemporary research suggests that development is only part of a very complex picture and that considerations of what ‘works’ for older children is much more intricate. 

This session invites you to see older children differently. Bruce presents his recent research which involved asking older children about what OSHC was like for them. Their accounts suggest that how older children experience OSHC is way more complex than just a simple matter of development. In this session, we will explore the possibilities that emerge when we consider other dimensions of older childhood, including identity, gender, class, children’s rights and OSHC spaces that are constantly changing and in flux. If we can begin to see older children and their place in our services differently, then new ways of collaborating and working with them become possible.

*The cost of this workshop is $95.00. Tickets available now