A large-scale Australian study has found that outside school hours care (OSHC) services can meaningfully boost children’s physical activity and curb screen time. The gains depend entirely on providers completing an evidence-based accreditation program.
The research was published in October 2026 and led by Professor Carol Maher of Adelaide University’s School of Allied Health and Human Performance. It assessed the impact of Activated OSHC — a free, self-paced online training and accreditation program.
The program was co-designed with the OSHC sector, government representatives, and child health experts. The findings carry clear implications for school leaders who oversee before-and-after school care programs across Australia.
Among accredited services, staff were three times more likely to model active, movement-positive behaviour with children. Those same services were more than seven times as likely to meet the sector’s recommended targets for both physical activity and screen time.
During before-school care, children at accredited services recorded a 23% increase in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Why outside school hours care matters for children’s health
Screen time and movement remain a national concern. Australian research shows only around one in four children gets enough daily physical activity, while two-thirds exceed recreational screen time limits.
More than 500,000 children attend OSHC services each week. That scale makes the sector one of the largest, most underutilised channels for improving child health outcomes outside the classroom.
For school principals who co-locate or commission OSHC services, that figure raises a direct question. Is their provider actively working toward a structured physical activity program? It connects to the growing body of work on active learning programs and their effect on children’s wellbeing.
Professor Maher said the program deliberately shifted focus away from individual behaviour change.
“Rather than placing the responsibility entirely on children and parents, Activated OSHC focuses on the environment around children – how staff are trained, the activities on offer and the policies services have in place,” Prof Maher said.
What happens when OSHC services don’t complete accreditation?
The study’s most important finding is also its most cautionary. Registration was not the challenge; uptake was. Four in five services signed up, but fewer than half saw the process through to accreditation. In services that fell short of completion, no meaningful improvement in children’s physical activity was recorded.
That result points to a challenge familiar to school leaders implementing any whole-school student wellbeing initiative: structured implementation support is what separates intention from lasting change.
“Making a program available is only part of the solution. Services need the time and practical support to put those changes into practice and sustain them,” Prof Maher said.
What comes next
Funded by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund and the National Health and Medical Research Council, Activated OSHC began rolling out nationally in 2025 through the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). It is free for eligible services and aligns with Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Framework (NQF), covering children’s health and safety.
For principals and education decision-makers, the research raises a practical question about their own OSHC partnerships. Are the services on their grounds working toward accreditation — and do they have the support to get there? The evidence is clear: completion is what makes the difference.