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Original poster

No hourly rate for after school club

143 replies

Mackonadragos · 08/11/2022 10:38

Hello everyone,

We are new to Oxfordshire, and I have just found out that I can only book an entire after school club session per day in our primary school. As opposed to book let's say an hour per day. Our school charges £13 per session and it runs between 3 and 6. I would need only 1 hour per day, between 3 and 4. I looked around nearby schools in town, and it seems that it is the common practice here, except one primary (further away), that has got short and long sessions with different rate (£7 and £ 12.95).

We've moved from Bedfordshire, where in our old school we could pay hourly rate and could book one hour per day if we wanted.

I am very annoyed by this, that I would need to pay for something that I will not use.

I am going to raise this with the headteacher, but curious to see how other people think about it. In my opinion it is very inflexible.

Thank you for your answers.

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BattenburgDonkey · 08/11/2022 10:59

It’s normal and sensible, they have to pay costs and staff it even if you do only want an hour.

1001Daffodils · 08/11/2022 10:58

Both the breakfast club and after school club at my daughter's school operate this way.

Before school you can drop off any time from 7.30am onwards, after school you can pick up any time until 6pm.

The staffing ratios are determined by the maximum amount of children they've had payment for the session for and means that the sessions stay available for the full duration.

I think it's a fair system...and to be honest I'd be amazed if you could find a good childminder who has space for just one hour after school has finished. They'd be daft to leave that space in their ratio for just an hour's pay.

DappledThings · 08/11/2022 10:56

Same here. Its £9.50 3.15-5.30.

We only pay 80% of that though as we do it via the government childcare account

Overthebow · 08/11/2022 10:48

Yes think they are being reasonable. Otherwise you’re taking the place of a child who needs and wants to pay for the 3 hours. A childminder would be an alternative if you just want to pay for one hour.

wibblewobbleboard · 08/11/2022 10:48

I actually think that's sensible of the ASC because they can't use the two hours you don't need because no one is going to drop a child to ASC at 4pm

DazzlePaintedBattlePants · 08/11/2022 10:48

Flat fee for 3-6pm for every ASC in our neck of the woods too. Not unusual.

Rockbird · 08/11/2022 10:48

I run the wraparound care at school and previous posters are right. Staff are needed whether your child goes home after an hour or three hours. You're taking up a session that another child might have wanted and will be empty when your child is gone.

Chimna · 08/11/2022 10:47

My DCs school is the same. I actually prefer this to his old school, who used to charge by the hour but then because of demand ended up only running until 4.30. Leave DC in later and use the time to get jobs done or have some time to yourself. Or find a childminder.

littleducks · 08/11/2022 10:47

Seems totally normal and reasonable to me.

PuttingDownRoots · 08/11/2022 10:45

Its a flat fee here too. Which makes sense financially for the school, as they have to pay the staff.

SalviaOfficinalis · 08/11/2022 10:45

It make sense really - the staffing would need to be pretty much the same regardless of when your child is collected, so the costs are the same.

Nintendonasalspray · 08/11/2022 10:44

PeekAtYou · 08/11/2022 10:41

ASC is a business. If your child takes a space for one hour when they ideally want a child who needs 3 hours then the business loses 2 hours of income.
Have you tried a childminder ? They charge per hour.

My old CM did the same as the after school club. Wraparound care was a flat rate of £15 per child 3pm-6pm.

LoopyGremlin · 08/11/2022 10:44

That's how most nurseries and after school clubs around here operate. As a PP has said, why would they allow you to take a space for an hour when they could take another child who wants the full allocation. I know it's costly, but I can understand why they do it this way.

Talipesmum · 08/11/2022 10:43

You’re effectively using the entire after school space, because what else can they do with that time? So I can see their point - though it’s annoying if you’re used to a different approach. You could see if there are any childminders who would just charge for an hour instead?

Coffeaddict · 08/11/2022 10:43

The school my son will go to is like that. Flat fee and open till 6. Like others have said your taking up a space.

superking · 08/11/2022 10:42

I can understand it's frustrating but I think it's fair enough - staffing would get a lot more complicated and probably overall more expensive if they had to work out different ratios for different length sessions. Our after school club just charges a flat rate for the full session regardless.of what time you collect, and I don't have a problem with that. I think your old school was probably an exception, all of the after school clubs around here operate in the same way.

girlmom21 · 08/11/2022 10:42

I think it's fine. You're taking up a space whether they're there for one hour or 3. Have you considered looking for a childminder than does school pick up?

PeekAtYou · 08/11/2022 10:41

ASC is a business. If your child takes a space for one hour when they ideally want a child who needs 3 hours then the business loses 2 hours of income.
Have you tried a childminder ? They charge per hour.

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