Alerts

School Holiday programs

Primary School Holiday Program

We offer a Council-run primary school holiday program in two different locations for primary school children aged between 5 and 12 years old whose parents live, work or study in Merri-bek.

The program takes place from 8am to 6pm during school holidays at locations in Brunswick East and Brunswick South West. See below for venue information. We offer a full program of fun and engaging activities, including games, crafts, excursions, outdoor play, and sports. 

The program is guided by the 'National Quality Framework for Outside School Hours Services' and 'My Time Our Place'. This means that the program follows set staffing qualifications, ratios, and building requirements.

Our experienced teams have put in place safety measures and procedures in response to COVID-19.

The educator to child ratio is 1 to 15 and on excursions is 1 to 10.

Program venues

Our programs run at the following venues:

Please note: the phone numbers listed above are only manned during the school holidays when the program is running. 

How to book

Bookings for positions in the primary school holiday program open before that school holiday period. Dates will be updated on this page as they become available. Once booking becomes available the Casual Booking Calendar will open. Your booking should only be considered confirmed once you receive a confirmation email from us.

New families will need to register on the My Family Lounge website. You need to register before you can use our online booking system. If you already have an existing account, do not make another. If you have registered before but cannot remember your password, you can request a new one.

Once you are ready to make a booking, log in using the My Family Lounge log-in page on the My Family Lounge website. To find out more about how to use the My Family Lounge booking system, read the My Family Lounge Help guide on the My Family Lounge website.

Your booking is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email for your booking.

Please note: you can only book 1 venue per child, per program.

Things to consider before booking

It's important to consider the following before or when you are making a booking:

  • Anyone who is unwell should not attend this program. If a student attends while unwell, they will be sent home in accordance with the Department's regular Infectious Diseases policy.
  • You will not be able to attend the holiday program if you or any member of your family have been or come into contact with anyone who has COVID-19.
  • You will not be able to attend the holiday program if anyone in your family has a cold or has flu-like symptoms.

These considerations are vital to ensure that the well-being of all of our children, families, and educators is maintained.

Holiday program dates for September 2024

Dates for the September School Holiday Program are Monday 23 September to Friday 4 October 2024

Bookings for the program

Bookings for the September 2024 program will open on Friday 9 August 2024 by 5pm, and will remain open until we reach capacity.

September 2024 activity brochure

For activities held daily see the September Brochure

please note, any advertised activities are subject to change at a short notice

On Excursion days

  • Buses will depart at 9 am from the venue and cannot wait for latecomers.
  • All children must travel to excursions by bus (parents are not permitted to drop off/pick up children at excursion locations).
  • Buses are expected back at the venue at approximately 3.30 pm.
  • The bus company we use is Moreland Bus, visit the Moreland Bus webpage.
  • Educator to child Ratio: 1 to 10.
  • Excursion risk assessment is available at the service.
  • No refund if child was late and missed the bus.

Holiday Program fees

It costs $92 to send one child for one day of care (up to 10 hours).

The holiday program operates under the Commonwealth Government's Child Care Subsidy Scheme, which means that program fees may be cheaper for you if you are eligible for this. You need to be registered for MyGov to access this scheme. You can register for MyGov on the MyGov website. You can find out more about the Child Care Subsidy on the Services Australia website.

To pay for the holiday program, you can:

Children with additional needs

If your child has additional needs, contact the Holiday Program Team Leader on 9240 2386 at least 6 weeks before the program starts to discuss your child's needs and what they may need for their care. You must submit their diagnosis letter and child health care card with your enrolment.

If your child has any medical conditions like allergies, anaphylaxis, or asthma we will need an action plan to be completed and submitted with your enrolment form.

You can download copies of these documents below:

Policy and Procedure Manual

For more information about our policies and procedures, read through our Policy and Procedure Manual (PDF)

See our school holiday program in action

Check out the Merri-bek primary school holiday program in the video below.

You can read the contents of this video in our Transcript of the School Holiday Program video (DOC).

To find out more about our primary school holiday program please email schoolholidayprogram@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call us at 9240 2427 or 9240 2360.

Youth School Holiday Program

We also have a fun teenage holiday program for young people ages 12 to 18 years old during the school holidays. The program is run by Merri-bek Youth. 

Find out more on our Youth Programs page.

Important COVID-19 notice

Anyone who is unwell should not attend school, including staff, parents, and students. This includes school holiday programs.

If a student attends while unwell, they will be sent home in accordance with the state government's Infectious Diseases policy.

You will not be able to attend the holiday program if:

  • you or any member of your family have been or come into contact with anyone who has COVID-19.
  • anyone in your family has a cold or any flu-like symptoms.

This is important so we can maintain the well-being of children, families, and educators.