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My Time, Our Place

MTOP – The Framework for School Age Care in Australia

My Time, Our Place (MTOP) is Australia’s nationally approved learning framework for school-age education and care—covering outside school hours care (OSHC), vacation care, and other school-age settings. It guides services to design play- and leisure-based programs that build children’s wellbeing, independence, and life skills before and after school and during holidays. The current version is MTOP V2.0, updated to reflect contemporary practice and research.

Why MTOP matters (for families and services)

  • For families: MTOP helps you understand what quality looks like in OSHC—how programs support social skills, independence, creativity, and a sense of belonging. It sits under the National Quality Framework (NQF) and is used alongside the National Quality Standard (NQS) when services are assessed and rated.
  • For services: MTOP provides a common language, planning cycle, and learning outcomes to design programs, document learning, and demonstrate quality practice during assessment and rating.

How My Time, Our Place fits with the NQF and NQS

MTOP is one of Australia’s approved learning frameworks. Services implement MTOP as their curriculum framework and are assessed under the NQS—so what you see in programming, environments, relationships, and leadership connects directly to quality areas in assessment and rating. V2.0 strengthens alignment with the NQS (e.g., transitions, sustainability, inclusion, reflective practice).

Tip: When comparing OSHC services, ask how they use MTOP in daily practice and how this links to their NQS rating (see our National Quality Framework and National Quality Standard guides).

What’s new in MTOP V2.0

V2.0 keeps the familiar structure but updates language and guidance, so programs better reflect today’s knowledge and community expectations. Key changes include:

  • Stronger Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across the vision, principles, practices, and outcomes.
  • New principles: Collaborative leadership and teamwork and Sustainability, plus refined principles such as Equity, inclusion and high expectations and Critical reflection and ongoing professional learning.
  • Clearer emphasis on relational and place-based pedagogy, explicit connections between play/leisure and intentional teaching, and a visible planning cycle (Observe → Assess/Analyse → Plan → Implement → Evaluate/Critically Reflect).
  • Terminology shift to cultural responsiveness, and expanded examples under each learning outcome.

The MTOP planning cycle (how programs are designed)

Educators plan with children and families using a continuous cycle:
Observe / Listen / Collect → Assess / Analyse / Interpret → Plan / Design → Implement / Enact → Evaluate / Critically Reflect.
This ensures programs are responsive, intentional, and well-documented—and that what children do before/after school genuinely supports their wellbeing and interests.

MTOP Principles (V2.0)

MTOP is underpinned by eight principles that shape daily practice:

  1. Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships
  2. Partnerships (with children, families, colleagues, and other professionals)
  3. Respect for diversity
  4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives
  5. Equity, inclusion and high expectations
  6. Sustainability
  7. Critical reflection and ongoing professional learning
  8. Collaborative leadership and teamwork

MTOP Practices (V2.0)

In practice, educators in OSHC emphasise:

  • Play, leisure and intentionality—balancing child-led choice with purposeful teaching moments.
  • Holistic approaches—seeing the whole child, not only academic skills.
  • Learning environments—safe, welcoming spaces indoors/outdoors that invite exploration, creativity and social connection.
  • Assessment and evaluation for learning, development and wellbeing—documenting progress and reflecting on what’s next.
  • Cultural responsiveness and inclusive practice—adapting environments, materials and routines for all children.

MTOP Learning Outcomes (V2.0)

The five outcomes remain, with refreshed examples in V2.0. OSHC programs aim for children and young people to:

  1. Have a strong sense of identity
  2. Be connected with and contribute to their world
  3. Have a strong sense of wellbeing
  4. Be confident and involved learners
  5. Be effective communicators

Each outcome includes examples that services use to plan and evaluate learning in real contexts (sport, arts, makerspace, STEM, cooking, drama, outdoor play, leadership roles, and more).

What families can look for in a great MTOP program

  • Choice and voice: Children help shape routines, clubs, and projects.
  • Warm relationships: Consistent educators who know your child well.
  • Inviting environments: Materials for arts/makerspace, STEM, cooking, drama, sport, and quiet corners for reading/homework.
  • Strong communication: Daily updates, accessible documentation, and responsiveness to family feedback.
  • Inclusive practice: Adjustments for additional needs; culturally safe, sustainable environments; recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

For services: strengthening your MTOP V2.0 implementation

  • Map MTOP to your NQS QIP—show how principles/practices appear in routines, staffing, leadership, environments, and family partnerships.
  • Use the planning cycle to connect observations to program changes and evaluation.
  • Embed sustainability actions (gardens, waste reduction, energy habits) and collaborative leadership (clear roles, shared decision-making).
  • Refresh policies and induction to cultural responsiveness and child-safe practice; build genuine relationships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
  • Check jurisdictional implementation tips to stage your rollout.

My Time, Our Place – FAQs

If you would like to read the current MTOP Framework, you can do so here.

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