Before you establish an OSCAR service you need to find out whether there is a genuine need for the service and whether you have enough interest from parents and families to support it. Assessing existing programmes or surveying local families and/or schools are methods to achieve this. In some cases you may not need to conduct a survey; sometimes the need for school age childcare services in a community is obvious. Indicators of whether a service is needed include:
Are there a lot of children hanging around the playground before and after school?
Do school principals and school staff complain about children being left in the playground?
Are there a lot of advertisements in local papers or on local notice boards requesting caregivers for after school, before school or in the holidays?
Do a lot of parents call the school office or local community centre looking for care?
What happens to the children who attend the local pre-school when they go to school?
Other members of the community are also a valuable resource. Childcare centre supervisors often know about the wider needs of the families who use their service. Consult with other members of the community such as school principals, police, social workers, children's clinics and Citizens Advice Bureau as to whether they consider there is a need for a school age childcare programme in the area.
Once you have decided to set up the programme call a meeting of parents and other interested parties to discuss how the service should be set up and managed. You will need to contact the schools where the children will be coming from; a positive relationship with the school will add to the success of your programme. Schools may advertise and promote your service through their newsletter and inform new families of your existence.
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If you have an indication that a programme is needed, it is time to start looking for a suitable venue to run it from. If you are from a school, community centre or church this may not be a problem, but space available to community groups is generally at a premium, especially in cities and suburbs.
It is a very rare and lucky group that manages to find a room or hall that is available solely to run their programme. Most share with others using classrooms, school libraries, school and community halls, community centres, church halls, sports clubs, recreation centres, pre-schools and kindergartens etc.
If you do not belong to, or know of, an organisation that has space available then the first place to approach is the local school - after all they will be the primary source of your clients. If you have a proposal prepared many Boards of Trustees are willing to accommodate community based programmes. School charters include provision for community service so this is one way to fulfill that area. When setting up a programme in a school you need to consider whether or not you will open it to other schools. Some schools that either provide space for programmes or manage and run the programme themselves, prefer to keep it for their pupils only. The reasoning behind this is that it is easier to manage children they know and it eliminates the need to organise transportation of the children using the programme. However smaller schools may need outside pupils to make the service financially viable. If you are transporting children to your service you will need to develop transport polices and safety procedures.
If there is no space at a nearby school you will need to look around the community for a venue. Things to consider when looking for a venue area are:
Are there adequate indoor and outdoor play areas? 
A playground although not essential, is ideal.
Cost Safety - Is there a telephone on site?
Can all the children be seen at all times?
Is it on a busy road?
Is it large enough to hold the number of children you are anticipating?
Is there dangerous equipment about?
Are there separate toilets accessible only to the children?
Is there a kitchen for food preparation?
Is there locked storage available for the programmes equipment and an area to store the children's bags, coats etc?
Is there adequate furniture? Ideally tables and chairs are needed for homework and art and craft.
Is there a room or area for quiet play or resting?
If the venue doesn't have all these features some creative or lateral thinking is needed. Examples of this include; if there is no telephone available, do you have a cellular telephone? If there is no separate area for quiet play could you get a piece of carpeting and some cushions that are put in an area which can then be defined as the “quiet space”?
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New Zealand OSCAR services are managed in a number of different ways. The majority are being run by community based organisations on a not for profit basis. There are, however, some that are managed by privately owned businesses, (for example pre-school centres) and some employer-assisted programmes.
OSCAR programmes that are part of an existing service organisation are generally managed by the management structure already in place. Services run by pre-schools, church committees, boards of trustees, marae committees, community centres, or recreation centres, are examples of this.
Not for profit programmes are often managed by a parent committee, especially those set up by a group of parents who share the need for an OSCAR programme and get together to establish one. The most effective programmes have a good deal of parent input and all OSCAR management committees should strive to have parents using the service on board. That way the parents are being represented on important issues such as who is caring for their children and whether the needs of the families are being met. If your group is not part of an existing organisation you might want to consider becoming an incorporated society or charitable trust. This means that your group is a separate legal entity and individuals' finance liability is limited. It is also necessary if you want to apply for funding.
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Although there are not yet any mandatory licensing requirements for school-age childcare, if you wish to be eligible to apply for government funding, or for your parents to be able to apply for government subsidies your programme will need to meet operational standards set down by Child Youth and Family (CYF).
CYF Approval
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOUR PROGRAMME BECOMES CYF APPROVED FOR OSCAR!
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For most groups considering setting up a programme, the most crucial question is whether the programme will be financially viable. Before you begin you need to prepare a budget to ensure that your service will be able to continue once you start operating.
The following is a list of some of the costs you may encounter. Obviously not all programmes will have all these costs; some things may be donated, telephone and utility costs may be included in the rent, schools may allow programmes the use of their photocopier etc.
Some of the costs you can anticipate are:
Wages (remember to include holiday pay, ACC payments, allow for sick pay etc.)
Equipment and consumables e.g. games, sport equipment, art and craft supplies etc (remember to include replacement cost for loss and damage) 
First aid kit (essential)
Rent
Utilities and telephone
Food
Resources and membership to organisations
Photocopying e.g. survey forms, brochures, enrolment forms etc.
Furniture Advertising Administration costs e.g. postage, faxes etc.
Travel (to reimburse committee members, staff etc.)
Transport (if you are transporting children from their school to the programme)
Professional fees e.g. audit, incorporation fees
Training fees
Insurance
Your next step is to work out how you are going to pay for all these! The first place to look is the parent fees. Divide your total weekly costs by the minimum number of children you are confident will use the service; this will give you a weekly fee. As most parents will not be able to afford this, you will need to make an adjustment and lower it to what you think your families can manage.
There is a wide range of fees charged around New Zealand according to the particular circumstances of the community: there are programmes that charge only 50c a day and others that charge $25 per afternoon.
Remember to keep advertising and promoting your programme to keep numbers up and the fees rolling in. Well utilised programmes are also attractive to organisations donating goods or money.
It is important to note that all programmes go through an establishment phase where numbers are relatively low. Parents will be reluctant to let go of arrangements they already have, no matter how inadequate, until they are certain your service will continue on a long term basis and that it is of good quality. You will need to take this into account when preparing your budget.
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You can apply for government grants to assist with running your programme.
Development Grants are available for new programmes, to assist with establishment costs and/or to assist with reaching CYF Approval Standards.
Assistance Grants are available for operational costs. The grants are intended to improve the viability, sustainability and quality of programmes.
More info on MSD Funding
A subsidy is also available for parents to help with the cost of their fees. The OSCAR Subsidy is available from Work and Income to assist families on low and middle incomes. Your programme needs to have CYF Approval for OSCAR and you need to be registered with Work and Income for families to apply.
More info on OSCAR Subsidy
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If you need to raise further funds for your programme here are some suggestions:
Traditional fund-raising methods: cake stalls, raffles, garage sales etc. Try to take them out into the wider community to target people who will not be directly involved in paying for the service. This is also a good way to advertise and promote your programme.
Sponsorship and donations: sometimes local businesses will support your efforts by contributing goods or services if not cash. They may pay for photocopying costs in return for a small ad in your newsletter. Schools or community organisations may provide free or subsidised rent. A local shop might donate some goods for a raffle or paper for art and craft work. Do you have a local Rotary or Lions club that might provide support?
Community grants: there are a number of organisations that might provide funding for OSCAR groups, for example: Lottery Youth, or philanthropic trusts such as the Tindell Foundation. Link Centres (Department of Internal Affairs information offices) have a computerised database called the Funding Information Service. This very user-friendly system lists all the funding organisations and philanthropic groups in New Zealand.
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Aside from logistics such as when the programme will run and what hours it will be open, there are a number of operational factors you will have to consider. All programmes should have a set of written standards or policies of operation. These protect staff and children and help ensure that quality care and recreation is being provided.
You policies should include:
The staff to child ratios
Whether the children will be pre enrolled or will the programme run on a ‘drop in' basis
What procedures will be followed if a child is enrolled but does not show up
How the staff will be hired and supervised
What expectations you have of staff
How staff will deal with suspicions of child abuse 
Procedures to be followed in case of an accident or emergency
Safety precautions to be taken on field trips
What rules and expectations you have for the children's behaviour
What you will do about a child who continually misbehaves
There are also administrative systems that will need to be set up, for example:
Enrolment forms
Fee arrangements
Attendance sheets
A sign in / sign out system
Accident forms
Medical permission forms
Field trip permission slips
Fee collection forms e.g. receipts, payment reminders, wages books
Regular evaluation not only of the programme content but also of the overall service is important to ensure you are meeting the aims and objectives of your service and catering for everyone's needs.
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The staff you hire to work in the programme will be the key to its success. It is important to strive for a well run, safe, quality service and if you hire experienced professional people you can achieve this. It is preferable to hire staff who have experience working with groups of children and a good understanding of recreation and what is involved in providing a fun, caring and safe environment. At least one person working in your programme should have a first aid qualification. Try to avoid being too dependent on volunteers; if you want good staff to stay you should be prepared to pay at least $14.00 per hour for a supervisor and at least $10.00 per hour for an assistant.
It is vital to interview all staff and to contact at least two referees. You will want to ensure there is nothing in the applicant's background that may affect their ability to provide quality care for the children. All staff over the age of 17, whether paid or voluntary, and all people in your organisation who will be in contact with the children should be police vetted. You will need to contact the Police Licensing and Vetting Service to register your OSCAR programme. The service will then send you the necessary forms for your staff to fill out.
Police Vetting
All staff whether paid or voluntary should have a job description. Written employment agreements also help towards clarifying everyone's position and avoiding disputes. Remember that on-going training is an important component of any job.
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You don't need a lot of equipment, or expensive equipment to get things up and going. Games, toys and art and craft supplies can be purchased from the cheaper retail chains (keep an eye out when their sales are on). Garage sales and flea markets are also excellent sources of games, toys, playground and sports equipment. Remember to check that the game is complete and give it a good clean before using. Put up a wish list on a local community notice board or circulate one around parents. Especially ask for recyclable materials like wool, fabric, magazines, old sheets, wood, cardboard boxes, plastic containers etc. These provide numerous opportunities for exciting and imaginative play. When you stock up make sure all games and puzzle boxes get a bit of extra tape around the sides and lid to provide reinforcement against a lot of wear and tear. Collect together plastic containers to store small things in.
Here are a few suggestions of the types of things you will need to start your programme:
First aid kit, suntan lotion
Rugs, blankets, pillows
Snack equipment (e.g. plastic cups, cutlery, plastic serving plates)
Sports equipment such as skipping ropes, playground balls, tennis balls, cricket bat, soccer ball, moonhopper Beach/nerf balls for indoor play
Elastic for Chinese skipping
Board games such as Connect Four, Guess Who, Snakes and Ladders, Hamburger Books, comics
Building blocks, Duplo, Lego Jig saw puzzles, playing cards, dice
Recyclable materials such as wool, fabric, cardboard for art and craft
Scrap paper (e.g. computer paper)
Magazines for cutting up Scissors, string, paper clips, stapler
Sellotape and dispenser PVA glue, paint, paintbrushes
Crayons, felt pens, pencils and pens, rulers
Roll of newsprint (available cheaply from many community newspapers)
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OSCAR Foundation Membership
