If your child needs quality care during school holidays, is between five and 12 years old, and enrolled in primary school – they will love YMCA School Holiday Programs!
About us
We're proud to support families in Ashburton with our YMCA School Holiday Program based at Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre.
This program is run by YMCA Children's Programs – part of YMCA Victoria.
Next program
Our Summer School Holiday Program will run between the end of Term 4 2021 and the start Term 1 2022. The program’s start date will vary at each location depending on the requirements of the primary schools.
Therefore, only selected locations will be running in the week leading up to Christmas (Saturday 25 December) and they will then take a break until Monday 3 January.
The program will return in full at all participating locations on Tuesday 4 January and run until Friday 28 January. The program will not operate on the Tuesday 26 January Public Holiday.
In November we will release a full list of operating days and activities for each location so you will know when your local program is running.
Returning families will receive an email notification when the program details are released.
New to our programs? Complete our enrolment process to prepare for the spring holidays.
Lunch orders
Our Ashburton program has access to catering services from the café located within Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre (APARC).
Families can submit an online lunch order with the APARC café for each day their child attends our School Holiday Program.
How to submit your order:
- Register or login to School Lunch Online.
- Go to My Account and select 'Add Users' in the User Details tab.
- Select YMCA Ashburton as the school you are ordering from. Enter your child's name and year level.
- Go to My Orders and select the date your child is attending our program.
- Select your preferred menu items and them to cart. Repeat this for each day you wish to place an order.
- Go to the Shopping Cart and follow the prompts to submit payment,
Please note the following:
- menus are open two weeks prior to the next program;
- orders close at 4:00pm the day prior;
- families still need to provide snacks for morning and afternoon tea;
- lunch order fees are not covered by your Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlements.
Activities and learning outcomes
YMCA School Holiday Programs offer a variety of activities to interest your child, such as:
- arts and crafts
- music and movement area
- outdoor and physical space
- puzzles and board games
- reading and quiet space
- science, nature and sensory activities
- incursion and excursions.
Strict departure hours apply for excursions (please note the times when booking the activity).
Session times
To accommodate our families, we offer YMCA School Holiday Programs between 7:30am and 6:00pm during the holidays (see the 'Next program' section above for dates).
Co-located programs
Ashburton YMCA School Holiday Program is run through Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre, which is run by YMCA Victoria and owned by Boroondara Council.
The following services are also available at this location:
What to bring
- Lunch and snack (nutritious & NUT FREE)
- SunSmart hat and sunscreen
- Water bottle
- Weather appropriate clothing and shoes
- Where activity involves water, please bring swimwear, towel and a change of clothes as required
Inclusion
We believe in an inclusive society for all children and families. Children with additional needs are welcome to attend our program. Families must contact the OSHC Coordinator at least four weeks prior to the holiday program to discuss the individual needs of your child and complete any funding applications. Find out more about inclusion at YMCA Children's Programs.
Prices and subsidies
Ashburton YMCA School Holiday Program offers in house, incursion and excursion activities during the school holidays.
Our standard fee of $79.85 includes in house activities, with additional fees applied for incursion and excursion activities. These additional fees will vary based on the planned activity.
Program tables are available to view under the ‘Next program’ section, prior to the start of each school holiday. These detail the daily activities planned and associated fees.
Please note: The fees above are not inclusive of any Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlements, which may reduce your out-of-pocket expense.
Debit process
Our programs operate on a fortnightly debit cycle, which withdraws payment for the next two weeks of care your family has booked.
If you book an additional day of care during our School Holiday Program, your account will be back charged in the following debit cycle.
Visit our debit process page for a list of forthcoming debit dates.
Bookings and enquiries
To enrol your child in a YMCA School Holiday Program or submit a booking request, go to the bookings page for step by step instructions on how to to get started. Bookings are managed through an online system called My Family Lounge.
If you're not quite ready to book and have a few more questions, our team will be happy to help – simply fill in our enquiry form and someone will get back to you.
Contact details
- Tel: (03) 9885 0333
- Email: aparcvacationcare@ymca.org.au
Location
Ashburton YMCA School Holiday Program is located at:
Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre
8 Warner Avenue
Ashburton
VIC 3147