Before & After School Care / OSHC in Perth Metropolitan
Compare 125 Perth before and after school care and OSHC providers. What the service covers, what to check, and how our scoring ranks them.
Before and after school care, usually called OSHC (outside school hours care), covers supervised sessions on either side of the school day: early drop-off from around 7am, and pick-up after class until roughly 6pm. Some providers also run vacation care during term breaks, which is worth checking if you need year-round cover rather than just term-time gaps. Sessions are typically based at or near the school site, staffed by qualified educators, and include activities, homework time, and a snack or light meal. In Perth this ranges from school-run programs operating out of the hall or library to independent operators running dedicated centres across the metro area, with 125 providers listed in this category.
What to look for before booking
Start with the practical fit: does the provider service your child's actual school, or the closest feeder school, and do the hours cover your real commute rather than the advertised minimum? Beyond that, check a few things that vary a lot between operators:
- Licensing and staff ratios. All legitimate OSHC services in WA operate under the National Quality Framework, so ask for their current quality rating and staff-to-child ratio rather than assuming they're all the same.
- Enrolment flexibility. Some providers require permanent bookings on set days, others allow casual or occasional use for one-off pick-up clashes. If your need is irregular, this matters more than price.
- Vacation care and pupil-free days. Confirm whether these are included, booked separately, or not offered at all.
- What actually happens in the sessions. Ask about the activity program, homework support, and how afternoon tea or breakfast is handled, since this varies from structured sports and craft rotations to more free-play setups.
- Waitlists. Popular school-based programs fill up, particularly at the start of the year, so it pays to ask about current availability before you need it.
How we score providers
Our ranking weighs the factors above alongside service reliability and how each provider presents its offering, so you can shortlist by fit for your school and hours rather than working through all 125 listings one by one. See the full ranked guide to Perth child care agencies for our current top picks, and read our methodology for exactly how the scoring works.
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All before & after school care / oshc, ranked by score and relevance
We found 125 businesses offering before & after school care / oshc; 124 met the criteria for the scored directory. The order weighs each business's overall score by how much of its reviewed work is before & after school care / oshc, so a lower-scored specialist can rank above a higher-scored generalist. Filter and sort below, or open the full map view.
When you submit a quote or contact form here, we may share your enquiry with partner providers who can do the work. We may receive a referral fee for those introductions, but our rankings and scores are based on our published method only and are never affected by referral payments.
Common questions about before & after school care / oshc
- How much does before and after school care cost in Perth?
- Most providers charge a per-session fee, commonly somewhere in the range of $20 to $40 per session depending on hours and location, before the Child Care Subsidy is applied. Casual bookings are usually priced higher per session than a regular weekly enrolment, and vacation care is billed separately as a full or half-day rate.
- Can I use the Child Care Subsidy for OSHC?
- Yes, outside school hours care from an approved provider is eligible for the Child Care Subsidy in the same way long day care is, which significantly reduces the out-of-pocket cost for most families. Check with each provider that they are a CCS-approved service before enrolling.
- How often do families use before and after school care?
- It varies widely: some families book five days a week as their core routine, others use one or two set days plus occasional casual sessions for late meetings or appointments. Most providers can accommodate either pattern, though permanent bookings tend to get priority when a program is near capacity.
- How do I judge the quality of an OSHC program?
- Ask for the service's current National Quality Standard rating, check the educator-to-child ratio, and ask what a typical session actually looks like, including how homework time, snacks, and outdoor or physical activity are structured. A good program should be able to describe its daily routine clearly rather than just listing opening hours.
Guides to choosing before & after school care / oshc
- School holidays and OSHC: how bookings, waitlists and vacation care actually work
How before and after school care bookings, waitlists and school holiday vacation care programs work in Perth, so you can plan a working parent's term calendar.