mandated after school clubs

I think it depends where you live and how long it takes to get home. We're in London, Dd1's secondary finishes at 3:10 but she has an hour commute each way. If she does extra activities after school, she ends up hitting rush hour traffic - she already gets a train and tube home as the bus is too full to stop. By the time you factor homework in, & leaving the house and 7, her days are long enough and I definitely wouldn't want compulsory clubs twice a week.
I don't know many state schools that have a dedicated school bus.

I'm torn on this. My kids are at an independent school, and the enrichment activities are one of the massive benefits. They're not actually compulsory, but there's an expectation that kids will get involved in lots of stuff, and the vast majority do. This kind of provision is one of the big disparities between (some) state schools and (some) private schools. However, I did of course have a choice - I could have chosen not to send my DC to a school that expected them to get involved in so much. If all state schools (or all of the ones in your area) start doing the same, then that takes away the choice from parents. But from talking to other parents, and teacher friends in other schools, the things that stop kids getting involved in extra activities are not just lack of opportunity, but also lack of parental engagement and peer pressure on kids not to get involved in clubs (not cool etc). (The MC stereotype families whose kids get involved in all sorts of drama, sport, music etc will always find a way to do this regardless of whether it's available in school or not, so they're not really the issue.) If state schools want to 'level up', by offering enrichment activities to everyone and actually getting kids to participate, then perhaps the only way is to make it compulsory?

This is why state schools will never improve - parents are always against any change. Look at the hooha when a longer school day was mentioned!! Children in year 10-11 finishing at 3.15 is ridiculous in my opinion.

[quote BitterTits]@AntiMaskersAreTwats I'd prefer my own child, who attends a state school incidentally, to have dedicated, qualified coaches rather than attend clubs at school. She plays netball, swims and is a member of a musical theatre company, all run by people who instruct those things as specialists. My friend's DCs no longer have time to pursue their outside interests and all their extra-curricular activity is run by teachers and not necessarily PE or specialist teachers either.[/quote]
All our clubs are run by staff but highly qualified staff. Music clubs - world renowned conductor, sports clubs - qualified coaches in each, ditto swimming. That’s what every school should aspire to.

*old school

Part of the school day period 5. 4.15 is the time my eldest sold school used to finish. ‘Free’ enrichment - sign them up. When they apply for jobs, college, uni that enrichment will make a huge difference. I really can’t believe you are comparing finishing at 4.15 and enrichment of which they get a choice to Borstal ! 😂it’s a great idea and if they need maths tutoring or whatever you get it for free rather than £40 an hour!

@AntiMaskersAreTwats I'd prefer my own child, who attends a state school incidentally, to have dedicated, qualified coaches rather than attend clubs at school. She plays netball, swims and is a member of a musical theatre company, all run by people who instruct those things as specialists. My friend's DCs no longer have time to pursue their outside interests and all their extra-curricular activity is run by teachers and not necessarily PE or specialist teachers either.

I imagine this is so the school can evidence inclusion of PP pupils in enrichment activities for Ofsted.

Pressed too soon….. Cubs, tennis, hockey. She’s as fit as a flea and doesn’t spend hours gaming and watching the tv in the evening like a lot of my friend’s children do who get home at 3.30. If state schools do this surely it’s great? It offers clubs to children who can’t afford them. Yours may come home at 3.30 and be super engaged in activities but most will go home and vegetate. If you don’t like it for some strange reason then you had to option to pick a different school.

Private schools have been doing this for a long time and, in my opinion, it’s better for everyone. My children are in prep at the moment and the school day is 8-4.20. When they move to the senior school it’s 8-5.40. Most parents and children like it. It takes away the parents having to ferry them around after school and, if they don’t want to do a club (which most do) they have the option to do homework instead. My 9 year old loves it and does a club every day - swim squad, netball team,

Our school has extra curricular before school, at lunch & afterschool

My children s scheis on a rural market town thsy have a longish lunchtime and finish school at 4pm,. Kids who cant get jome from after school clubs at least have a decent selection of lunchtime ones

Round here, the buses leave at 3.15, because that's when most children finish lessons. There is a period 6 timetabled but only for 6th form and sometimes for GCSE students who are doing 2 foreign languages (a combination the school can't seem to timetable in any other way). Getting your child home after 6th period is a massive PITA but the school give zero fucks.

I can only imagine the stink that parents of kids who finish lessons at 3.05 would kick up if they had to wait until 4.15 for a bus And that's the majority by far, it's only a small number who stay on for 6th period on any given day.

You might find this bizarre, but I assure you it's how things are done in this (large) county! Our school is not the only one with this ridiculous arrangement.

@DancinAtTheDisco yes that's different and if it's rural then different considerations re transport. But I'd say most kids go to a high school that they can navigate to and from easily enough at 4.30pm

But if the school catchment area relies on pupils being able to get buses there and back, how does that work? Round here, the school bus runs at a set time. DD has a bus pass for it provided by the council due to how far the school was (6 miles, and that was our closest by some distance!). There isn't another bus until 6pm, but that one is a public bus and therefore she would have to pay to catch it and then not be home until 7pm. There would also be nothing for her to do and nowhere for her to go between 4.15 and 6pm, unless we paid out more so she could sit in a cafe. The library is hardly even open, the school closes at 4.30. We don't all live in cities with decent transport links etc!

This is part of DDs schools offer. There's an extra period two days a week for enrichment. Chn get to choose from a wide range of activities. Its seen as a selling point of the school.

She has enjoyed it and met a wider range of people including those in different years. It didn't run last year (covid) but has started again this term which dd is really pleased about.

Is it a new thing the school has just started? We knew all about the enrichment programme when we applied in year 6. Gtr London state, small MAT.

I know my neice and nephew have to one compulsory enrichment activity at their state academy (South glos)

I wondered if it’s a way of getting more sport/arts into students without it being at the expense of core subjects.

All the independents that I know of finish well after 4pm and some later than that on several days, and that is so that these types of activities and sports are accommodated within their school days. (My younger son has finished school at 4.30pm since Y3).

A good education is about more than curriculum lessons.

Having said that, if the school day finishes later, then school transport should be altered to reflect this.

This is a non issue. School is not only a place where sit down learning happens, it should be a balance. Stand up learning also matters in other words. This is a opportunity, grab it literally and make the most of it really is my advice. My cousin who is almost eleven goes to three after school clubs as his mom works.

Tbh OP I don't get why you wouldn't encourage your child to do these.
Millions of kids have to navigate themselves home in the dark in winter.

To me it's a fantastic way to get all kids to try new stuff and finish at 4.30pm which isn't late. I used to finish at 4 and walk / bus across town to get home at 5 from age 11.
To be it reads that yr11&13 must use it to study if not clubs. Our high has tons of clubs but most parents would love a push to ensure every child did at least a couple.

Are they offering these extra curriculars for free? Or are you expected to pay?

Our school has this, they call it “period 6”. Your dds periods are longer, ours have 5x1hr then period 6. The first 5 periods are the ordinary lessons, period 6 is not compulsory but it is strongly encouraged and loads of kids stay. They have fun stuff like art, dance, sport, cooking, and also have academic catch up, particularly for maths and English and for the exam years. You can also just stay for “homework club” where you basically just do your homework which is brilliant if you lack a computer or a quiet space at home and you could use it to do art or dt coursework.

If you don’t want her to go, and it isn’t part of the school day then I doubt they can make her. If it is part of the school day then she has to go.

Our school doesn't end until 4:30 and has clubs run until 5:30. When I was in school we were timetabled until 3:50. 4:15 isn't late. Also, why in the world would she believe her daughter could leave before the timetabled day is up? You can't leave just because you don't care for what is timetabled.