Two key church agencies in the Diocese of Wollongong yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding, naming CatholicCare as the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) provider of choice for Catholic schools in the Diocese. 

CatholicCare currently operates seven OSHC services in the Diocese, with plans to grow significantly over the coming years. 

CatholicCare has a proud tradition of providing quality services for children and families in the Diocese of Wollongong, particularly through counselling services for Catholic school students through the School Student and Family Program. 

"We are very pleased to extend our work with school communities to include out of school hours care", Michael Austin, Director of CatholicCare said. 

According to Mr Austin, collaboration is at the heart of his new service. "We were fortunate to collaborate with Centacare Brisbane who supported us in the development of our OSHC services, and we have a great foundational working relationship with Catholic Education in our Diocese", he said. 

Pictured L-R: Michael Austin, Director of CatholicCare, Bishop Brian Mascord, Bishop of Wollongong and Mr Peter Turner, Director of Schools at the MOU signing. 

"The support CatholicCare provides to families within our school communities is invaluable", said Peter Turner, Director of Schools. "We are called to provide safe and supportive school environments, and our partnership with CatholicCare, across a number of services, ensures we have alignment with mission across our whole system", he said. 

Bishop of Wollongong, Brian Mascord strongly endorses this significant partnership. "This exciting new venture is testimony to what can be achieved when Catholic agencies work together in partnership, enacting our common mission to achieve better services and outcomes for the families we serve". 

"We trust this spirit of collaboration continues to bear fruit for children and families in our communities", Bishop Brian continued.