To ask honestly, how many children are in wraparound every day? Especially reception

Fab for yours- my child’s best friends are all with their parents straight from school, so we sort things out ourselves. Great there is choice to suit the different preferences of parents- we will never look exactly the same, why should we?

Fab, glad that works well for yours. Some parents prefer/need to outsource these things, others prefer doing it themselves in collaboration with other parents. Parents of course choose to do things differently 👌🏻

I work in a school and I'd say about 30% of reception are in wrap around care three to four days a week. If you've got good quality wrap around care it will be fine.

My DC’s best friends go to after school
club…it’s no coincidence that they’re best friends because that’s where the friendships were forged!

DS thought it was great for football as you had ready made teams⚽️

Yeah, it's definitely child-dependent which is why I said they're two very different scenarios.

DT’s did their share of reading there - did great things for their reading ability as they got to see what books the older children were reading and wanted to do the same. DD very much looked up to an after school club friend from two years ahead.

But mine get those choices at after school club and they can make them completely independently (I don’t have to juggle when one DC wants to chill and one wants to go to the park or see a friend). They have a book corner and crafts as well as access to the school playground and games so they can do anything they like, exactly when they like.

My partner wants the kids to do 5 breakfasts and 5 after school. I want them to do 3 after school and I’m happy to sacrifice some mental health / stress to be there at the school gates (sometimes on teams calls) 5 mornings and 2 afternoons.

This year my eldest will be an independent traveller so I offered her to do as many or few as she likes. She took the list on and discussed with her friends what they were doing and she chose 4 after school and one morning. My youngest chose 5 after school and one morning and I had to talk him down to 4!

Their friends were at after school club - not random strangers.

That's honestly really good to hear - mine never offered that kind of thing sadly. Well, there was a corner with books, but anyone could come in/out and be noisy, lol. I remember getting so annoyed because I just wanted to read or whatever in peace.

Totally. A proper friend of their choice, rather than it being pot luck who’s there and how busy it is.

I think it depends on the child - mine have appreciated the diversity of friends to hang out with at after school club, and thry have loads of options available - sometimes they’ll run about outside, sometimes they’ll challenge one of the staff to a game of chess, sometimes they build Lego, sometimes they do organised games. In comparison they get bored at home!

Nope, of course not. Everything I do is in the best interests of my children, through discussion with them. If they are tired after school, we go straight home. If they ask to go to the park, sure we can do that. If they want a friend over/go to a friend, no problem. We have complete autonomy over how we feel each day. One of my children actually needs more time to chill than the other, so I balance this between them very carefully. Anyone who’s got more than one child will know that they are different as individuals.

The after school club also had a quiet room for those who wanted to curl up with a book. Most wanted to let off stream after being in school all day and basically run wild! They also liked the opportunity to play with older and younger children.

Exactly! Mine also do after range of sports activities arranged as part of after school enrichment as well as swimming and scouts so they aren’t missing out.

I know some kids need more “down time” and get tired or frazzled at the end of a school day so it’s not for every child but it’s never bothered mine. Some days they are at after school club until 5:30, then swimming, then cubs until 8:30 and they’re fine. We tend to have chilled weekends so they get rest then..

A playdate in your own home with a few select friends is very different to after school club.

Absolute rubbish. And spreading this negative crap is no help to anyone.

But that about you agd what you enjoy.
In the child's pov? They’ll have a playdate with friends everyday after school. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Not all kids enjoy that kind of busy environment though - I know it works really well for some, but it's not for everyone.

I went to a very busy after-school club and absolutely hated it - there was no peace and quiet and the last thing I wanted to do was play and do crafts after a long day at school.

Absolutely. We so much prefer also swapping play dates after school in our own homes. I love that my children have time to go to play at their friends homes and have got to know their parents and siblings. I similarly prefer collecting their friends, taking them to the park and cooking for them all here. No screens- we play board games, garden games, I love how well I personally know all of my children’s friends 😊 loads goes on after school in our local community too, we all collect then go to Lego clubs, seasonal events, different parks, I love the sense of community where we live 😊I

Having fun playing with your friends in after school club is better than fine imo. Many children go home after school and spend their time on electronics or in front of the tv rather than running around, playing organised games, doing crafts, baking- all with their friends of different ages.

I was in full-time childcare from the day mum went back to work - breakfast club, after-school club and school holiday clubs.

Honestly, it's not something I would choose for my own children. I felt like I spent too much time at school and never got quality time with my parents during the week. I was often overwhelmed, exhausted and grumpy at the end of the day.

However I have recently been diagnosed with autism, which probably goes a long way to explain why I struggled so much.

My DD is an only child, and loves the extra free play time with friends . We don't use breakfast club though, as that works out as paying twice effectively. So my husband drops off at school start and we pick up at 5.30pm. my DD was used to longer days at nursery before covid brought in WFH. So she was fine with after school club. She gets an extra hour of outdoor play as well from it, good for physical health when school involves so much sitting around once they move on from reception. Remember a generation or two back, 6 year olds would have been out playing on the street anyway until tea time.

It will vary school but school. Here hardly anyone uses it, certainly not every day. Everyone is either a SAHP or WFH, so numbers have actually dropped to the point school are struggling to justify keeping it.

I taught Reception for almost a decade, and some children found it very tiring, some fell asleep during storyline and were definitely ready to go straight home to chill.

You know your own children best and what their energy/stamina levels are like, also how introverted/extroverted they are. Some thrive off increased social interaction, some need more downtime. So it’s really a personal decision for you based on the needs of your own children.