I am honestly stunned to share that our KCA service has been granted a reprieve and will continue at St Joseph's. This outcome is entirely down to the dedication and persistence shown by all of you. We should take a moment to celebrate this win while staying mindful as the …
February 9, 2020
Final supporters
We are parents and guardians of students who attend KidsConnect Australia (KCA) before-school, after-school and vacation care at St Joseph's Merewether.
We learned of the news on Monday 25 November 2019 that KCA's contract will not be renewed by the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
Many of us are upset and frustrated by this decision for a variety of reasons:
- our children enjoy attending KCA and the team does a great job. The diocese's decision is not supported by parents who use the service and even parents who don't as they recognise it's a great asset for the school
- a local, small business operator will be put out of business just weeks before Christmas and we feel this decision goes against the values of our school community
- there hasn't been any consultation provided or even a genuine transition period offered between providers. The first that we heard of this was via a 27 October 2019 Newcastle Herald article. We feel this is an example of poor communication and disregard for parents
- the aforementioned article quotes Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle CEO Sean Scanlon as saying, "Several factors influence the rollout of a St Nicholas OOSH across the diocese, including problems or complaints in relation to an OOSH provider; an existing OOSH provider indicating they are planning to discontinue the service," Mr Scanlon said, as well as a school's wish to establish a service and other "practical" considerations. We would like to know, which of these instances applies to the service at St Joesph's Merewether? We are unaware of any complaints or of KCA willing to discontinue its service or of the school looking to establish its own service.
- the establishment of KCA at St Joesph's Merewether was driven by the school's P&F, therefore for any change to occur, consultation with the P&F needs to happen
- we have our children enrolled for care for 2020 on our selected days and have scheduled our work commitments accordingly
- there doesn't appear to be a guarantee of January vacation care, which is troubling for working parents
- there hasn't been any details offered around St Nicholas's fees and after some of us looked into the price of St Nicholas's daycare services, we discovered they are much higher than other local providers so we're concerned
For the reasons stated above, we are seeking a reversal of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle's decision and for KCA to be re-instated as the provider of before-school, after-school and vacation care services at St Joseph's Merewether.
Signed,
The parents and guardians of students at St Joseph's Merewether
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
December 1, 2019
November 29, 2019
I checked the total this morning and saw we reached one hundred signatures. I never thought this would gain any traction at all but you have all built this into something much bigger than I could have imagined alone.
Reached 100 supporters
November 26, 2019
142 Comments
For the leaders of our diocese to put a business owner who has served our catholic community ‘out of business’ with only one months notice and to do so less than 4 weeks before Christmas is unchristian.
What else is the Diocese not telling us about? Why is there no pellucidity? I'm reconsidering not only my children's OOSH providers but also their schooling. I doubt this would happen down the road at Newcastle Grammar.
My grandson absolutely loves going to KCA - this makes life so much easier for all, particularly his hardworking single mum. I personally love the girls, and have always been treated with warmth and respect.
Our boys love the KCA team and it’s clear that KCA are heavily invested in the Children and school community. A very disappointing decision that has been incredibly poorly managed. This should be reversed immediately before it’s too late and we loose a valuable asset at SJPS.
KCA provide an exceptional level 0f care and are a vital part of the St Josephs Merewether community. The lack of consultation, communication and transition planning shows a disregard for KCA staff and St Josephs families - not very Christian.
What’s happening to our democracy? A fair go? Collaboration? Transparency? Keep fighting
This is happening all over the country and there needs to be more community consultation and support for smaller providers.
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Share this petition to help it reach more people.
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I am honestly stunned to share that our KCA service has been granted a reprieve and will continue at St Joseph's. This outcome is entirely down to the dedication and persistence shown by all of you. We should take a moment to celebrate this win while staying mindful as the …
February 9, 2020
Final supporters
We are parents and guardians of students who attend KidsConnect Australia (KCA) before-school, after-school and vacation care at St Joseph's Merewether.
We learned of the news on Monday 25 November 2019 that KCA's contract will not be renewed by the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
Many of us are upset and frustrated by this decision for a variety of reasons:
- our children enjoy attending KCA and the team does a great job. The diocese's decision is not supported by parents who use the service and even parents who don't as they recognise it's a great asset for the school
- a local, small business operator will be put out of business just weeks before Christmas and we feel this decision goes against the values of our school community
- there hasn't been any consultation provided or even a genuine transition period offered between providers. The first that we heard of this was via a 27 October 2019 Newcastle Herald article. We feel this is an example of poor communication and disregard for parents
- the aforementioned article quotes Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle CEO Sean Scanlon as saying, "Several factors influence the rollout of a St Nicholas OOSH across the diocese, including problems or complaints in relation to an OOSH provider; an existing OOSH provider indicating they are planning to discontinue the service," Mr Scanlon said, as well as a school's wish to establish a service and other "practical" considerations. We would like to know, which of these instances applies to the service at St Joesph's Merewether? We are unaware of any complaints or of KCA willing to discontinue its service or of the school looking to establish its own service.
- the establishment of KCA at St Joesph's Merewether was driven by the school's P&F, therefore for any change to occur, consultation with the P&F needs to happen
- we have our children enrolled for care for 2020 on our selected days and have scheduled our work commitments accordingly
- there doesn't appear to be a guarantee of January vacation care, which is troubling for working parents
- there hasn't been any details offered around St Nicholas's fees and after some of us looked into the price of St Nicholas's daycare services, we discovered they are much higher than other local providers so we're concerned
For the reasons stated above, we are seeking a reversal of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle's decision and for KCA to be re-instated as the provider of before-school, after-school and vacation care services at St Joseph's Merewether.
Signed,
The parents and guardians of students at St Joseph's Merewether
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
December 1, 2019
November 29, 2019
I checked the total this morning and saw we reached one hundred signatures. I never thought this would gain any traction at all but you have all built this into something much bigger than I could have imagined alone.
Reached 100 supporters
November 26, 2019
142 Comments
The unjust manner of this transition needs reflection from the decision makers ie: our catholic values/teachings of compassion & consideration for others. As a catholic I feel shame & responsibility for the undue suffering caused to KCA team.
For the leaders of our diocese to put a business owner who has served our catholic community ‘out of business’ with only one months notice and to do so less than 4 weeks before Christmas is unchristian.
What else is the Diocese not telling us about? Why is there no pellucidity? I'm reconsidering not only my children's OOSH providers but also their schooling. I doubt this would happen down the road at Newcastle Grammar.
My grandson absolutely loves going to KCA - this makes life so much easier for all, particularly his hardworking single mum. I personally love the girls, and have always been treated with warmth and respect.
Our boys love the KCA team and it’s clear that KCA are heavily invested in the Children and school community. A very disappointing decision that has been incredibly poorly managed. This should be reversed immediately before it’s too late and we loose a valuable asset at SJPS.
KCA provide an exceptional level 0f care and are a vital part of the St Josephs Merewether community. The lack of consultation, communication and transition planning shows a disregard for KCA staff and St Josephs families - not very Christian.
What’s happening to our democracy? A fair go? Collaboration? Transparency? Keep fighting
This is happening all over the country and there needs to be more community consultation and support for smaller providers.
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The unjust manner of this transition needs reflection from the decision makers ie: our catholic values/teachings of compassion & consideration for others. As a catholic I feel shame & responsibility for the undue suffering caused to KCA team.