Before & After School Care / Vacation Care in Brisbane
Before and after school care covers supervised sessions at the start and end of the school day, usually from around 6:30-7am until school starts, and again from school pick-up until 6-6:30pm. Vacation care extends the same idea across school holidays, running full days with excursions, incursions, sport, and free-play activities. Most Brisbane services operate on-site at the school or nearby, often run by the school itself, a P&C association, or a dedicated outside-school-hours-care (OSHC) operator. We've reviewed 13 of these providers across the city to help parents work out which one actually fits their family's routine.
What to look for before you commit: confirm the centre is actively enrolled in Child Care Subsidy (CCS) so fees are subsidised, not just eligible in theory. Check ratios and whether staff are the same faces day to day or a rotating casual pool, since consistency matters more for school-age kids than people expect. Ask how vacation care bookings work (some fill within days of the program dropping), whether excursions cost extra on top of the daily fee, and what the cancellation and no-show policy looks like. Location matters too: some services run a bus pick-up from multiple schools, which can be the deciding factor if your child's own school doesn't offer care.
Our ranking at the best before and after school care guide scores each of the 13 centres on things like activity variety, staff consistency, communication with parents, and value for the hours you actually use. The full method behind the scoring, including what we weight and why, is explained on our methodology page.
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All before & after school care / vacation care, ranked by score and relevance
We found 13 businesses offering before & after school care / vacation care; 5 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 / vacation care, so a lower-scored specialist can rank above a higher-scored generalist. Filter and sort below, or open the full map view.
We may share your enquiry with partner providers who can do the work, and we may earn a referral fee from them. Our rankings and scores are based only on our published scoring method and are never influenced by referral fees.
Common questions about before & after school care / vacation care
- How much does before and after school care cost in Brisbane?
- Daily fees typically run somewhere in the range of $25-$45 per session before subsidy, with vacation care days often priced higher, around $60-$90, to cover excursions and full-day staffing. Actual out-of-pocket cost depends heavily on your Child Care Subsidy percentage, which is based on family income and activity level, so two families can pay very different amounts for the same centre.
- How far in advance do I need to book vacation care?
- Popular programs and excursion days can fill within the first week of a term's vacation care calendar being released, especially for theme parks or excursions with limited bus seats. If you know your work dates for the school holidays, it's worth booking as soon as the program is published rather than waiting until the week before.
- What should I expect from a typical vacation care day?
- A standard day usually blends a mix of structured activities (sport, craft, incursions like animal visits or science shows), an excursion once or twice a week, and unstructured free play, bookended by breakfast or afternoon snack depending on the session. Most services publish a weekly program in advance so you can see exactly what's planned before you book.
- How do I judge whether a centre's care is actually good quality?
- Look past the activity list and pay attention to staff-to-child ratios in practice (not just on paper), whether the same educators show up week to week, how the centre communicates delays or program changes, and whether kids seem genuinely engaged when you do a pick-up visit. A centre that answers questions clearly and lets you visit before enrolling is usually a good sign.
Guides to choosing before & after school care / vacation care
- Planning ahead for school holiday and vacation care in Brisbane
How to plan around Brisbane's four school holiday periods each year, from booking vacation care early to what a typical day actually involves.