Co-Leadership in OSHC: Learning Side by Side

Leadership in OSHC is often connected to formal roles. Coordinators, Nominated Supervisors, Responsible Persons and Educational Leaders carry responsibilities that cannot simply be shared away.

But formal accountability does not mean one person must hold all the knowledge, ideas and professional influence within a service.

Co-leadership begins with recognising that useful knowledge exists across the team. One educator may understand the relationships among a group of older children particularly well. Another may have developed strong connections with families. Someone else may bring knowledge of inclusion, creative practice, physical play or the way a particular routine is experienced by children.

When these perspectives can genuinely shape decisions, leadership becomes more collective without becoming unclear..

This is different from simply delegating tasks. Giving an educator additional work does not automatically give them leadership. Meaningful co-leadership includes the opportunity to contribute ideas, exercise judgement and see that their knowledge has influenced what happens.

It also requires trust. Formal leaders need to be willing to hear perspectives that may challenge their first interpretation. Educators need to know that asking questions or proposing another approach will not be treated as overstepping their role.

Co-leadership does not mean every decision must be made by consensus. There will still be situations in which one person holds final responsibility or needs to provide clear direction. The purpose is not to make everyone’s role identical, but to prevent leadership from becoming dependent on one person’s perspective alone.

Children and families can also contribute to this shared thinking. When decisions affect children’s routines, spaces or opportunities, their knowledge should carry influence. Family and community perspectives may similarly help the service understand an issue differently.

Learning side by side means leadership is not only something one person does to or for others. It becomes part of how the service notices, questions, decides and learns together.