Network of Community Activities
Home buttonAbout Us selectedAbout OOSH buttonJobs buttonNews and Media buttonEvents buttonTraining buttonPublications buttonResources button


Network Conference

 

2009 Network Conference

Reclaiming Childhood in the 21st Century
Networks Biannual Conference - May 15-17 2009
International College of Hospitality and Management, Manly


In our 35th year, Network will once again host it’s Biannual Conference for Network members, associate members and other people passionate about supporting happy childhoods.

Network has generously received sponsorship from Commission from Children and Young People, Educational Experience and the Department of Community Services.

We are hoping to support services in rural and remote areas to attend with travel subsidies and scholarships from the Department of Community Services.

Our Biannual Dinner held at the conference on Saturday 16th May will celebrate Networks 35th Birthday and the 2009 OOSHCA’s will be awarded to outstanding services and professionals working with children.

Keynote Speaker 2009

Network is delighted to announce Dr Sharna Olfman, Ph.D. will be keynote speaker at the 2009 Biannual conference “Reclaiming Childhood in the 21st Century”.

Sharna is a clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Humanities and Human Sciences at Point Park College, Pittsburgh, where she specializes in Child Development. 

She is also Founding Director of the annual Childhood and Society Symposium held at the university. Sharna is the author or editor of six books, including All Work and No Play (2003), Childhood Lost (2005), No Child Left Different, (2006), and Bipolar Children (2007).

What to do now?

• Mark the dates in your diary.
• Allocate some money in your budgets.
• Be prepared to be inspired, challenged and reinvigorated.

Conference Bookings open March 2009

Presenters - Expressions of Interest

If you are intrested in presenting a seminar or workshop at the conference, download the application form below:

Expressions of Interest for Conference presenters (PDF 664KB) download expressions of interest form

Scholarships and Travel Subsidies

Your passport to the Network State Conference 2009
…. Scholarships and travel subsidy

Network is delighted to announce that we will be offering travel subsidy and scholarships to the State Conference “Reclaiming Childhood in the 21st Century” from May 15-17 2009.

Network has successfully applied for funding from the Department of Community Services to provide travel subsidy scholarships for ALL regional, rural and remote participants at the conference.

The amount of subsidy will be based on the regional isolation areas classification. Participants from regional areas and  from rural and remote areas will be eligible for the subsidy. Services will be eligible for a maximum $250 grant per person depending on level of isolation. To ensure equity a maximum of 2 staff members per service will be eligible for the grants.

The travel subsidy is made possible through the generous support of the NSW State Government.

In addition Network will also be offering again Scholarships for committed OOSH professionals in NSW.

Network is committed to developing and rewarding the professionalism in the Out of School Hours Sector and we believe these scholarships provide some recognition of the work and commitment that those working in the field provide to the community.

Scholarships  will provide full conference registration and costs. Rural and remote scholarships also provide financial reimbursement for transport and accommodation costs plus a contribution to staff replacement costs.

Applicants, currently working in an Out of School Hours Service are invited to apply for a scholarship in one of more of the following categories.

To be eligible applicants must be Australian Residents, currently employed in an Out of School Hours Service in NSW, and have worked in the sector for a minimum of 12 months. Scholarship applications will be judged by a panel of 4 appointed by the Network Management Committee and include 2 independents.

Scholarship Applications are available from our website on www.netoosh.org.au or by phoning  the Network office with your address details and applications close on 14 February 2009. Scholarship winners will be announced  on 20 March 2009.

The scholarships on offer are;

The June Jeremy Founders Scholarship.
June Jeremy founded the Network of Community Activities 35 years ago and it is in her honour Network awards this scholarship to our members via an outstanding OOSH professional in a metropolitan not-for-profit OOSH service working with disadvantaged communities.

The Minister for Community Services Rural OSHC Professional Scholarship.
Awarded to an Out of School Hours Professional currently working and residing in an OOSH service (including stand alone vacation care) in a rural or remote location more than 75 km from a regional centre.

The Julie Whitton Indigenous OSHC Professional Scholarship.
Julie Whitton was a remarkable indigenous woman who was regarded by Network as ‘an elder’ of the organization. Julie passed away in 2004.  This scholarship is awarded in her memory to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Out of School Hours professional.
There will be two scholarships offered one to a rural/remote service professional and one to a metropolitan professional.

The ‘New Service’ scholarship.
This scholarship is for an Out of School Hours Service professional currently employed in an approved OOSH Service established within the last 18 months.
An approved service must be in receipt of Child Care Benefit.
There will be two scholarships offered, one to a service in a rural/regional and one to a metropolitan service. 

The Inclusion in OOSH Scholarship.
This scholarship will be awarded to a Children’s Services professional currently specialising in assisting children with a disability in an OOSH service or services.


 

2007 Network Conference

Network held the bi-annual State Conference from Friday May 18 - Sunday May 20, 2007 at the International College of Management, Manly.

The theme was: “Today’s Children, Tomorrow's Community” which encouraged debate on some key questions:

  • How do childhood experiences impact on the development of communities in the future?
  • What is the role of the OOSH service in community development?
  • How do OOSH services encourage children to participate in and learn about community?
  • What can OOSH practitioners do to ensure that their role in children’s development?

Keynote Speaker

Our Keynote Speaker in 2007 was Theresa Casey. Theresa is an independent writer and play consultant, and mother of two small children, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has special interests in play, inclusion and environments for play.

She began her play career in an adventure playground supporting children with disabilities and/or additional support needs in a family and community context. Since then, her experience comes both from the UK and overseas, notably Thailand where she spent three years with the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) developing play projects for children in disadvantaged circumstances. While with FCD a playground designed and developed with staff and children in a Bangkok slum community was joint winner of the IPA International Playground Design Competition.

Photos from the 2007 conference can be found in the past events gallery>>

 

2005 Conference

The 2005 conference was held at the International College of Tourism and Hotel Management in Manly on Friday 13th - Sunday 15th May 2005

The theme was Middle Childhood - Passions, Frustrations, Inspirations!

Our keynote speaker was Andrew Fuller - A clinical psychologist and family therapist who works to create resillience in families, communities and schools.

Photos from the 2005 conference can be found in the past events gallery>>



Network logo