Holiday club - Would you expect food to be provided?

[IceRebel]

If your child attended a holiday club, which would you expect

1. To have to provide all food / snacks. (i.e packed lunch)

2. For the club to provide food.

Club is open 9am - 5.30pm and is £25 a day.

I see Lyra. It sounds like an amazing thing you're doing, just not aimed at children whose parents work.

It’s original was aimed at the kids whose parents don’t work. It’s an equaliser so they all get back to school after the holidays with stories to tell.

It’s also turned into being a good thing for the volunteers. People who are away from their original work for whatever reason (like me, I had to give up when my 8yo started school as the only after school provision was too expensive) has something that they can put on a CV when they go back.

We have a treasurer who is amazing at tracking down funding opportunities. Just now for example there’s a big around (although not as much as previously) because of the obesity issue so you can tap into funding that buys sports stuff or active days outs etc.

Funnily enough Nancy I partly agree with you. Yet it’s always the people who have the most who complain despite the cost. Those with very little are much more appreciative even though a sandwich or wrap probably actually costs them more pro rata.

I’m just not allowed to discriminate on the basis of twatty parents so have to put up with it.

Also charging much higher rates and subbing some people doesn’t work. Those with less get much more pride about being able to send their child - they wouldn’t want charity. That would lose part of the purpose.

Never includes food
And around the £35 a day mark.
SE town

Also charging much higher rates and subbing some people doesn’t work. Those with less get much more pride about being able to send their child - they wouldn’t want charity. That would lose part of the purpose.

I think this is the Hollywood view of poverty. Not reality

I think this is the Hollywood view of poverty. Not reality

No it’s what the research of my area shows. I’ve been involved in the group since I was a child. I know if we had a two tier pricing system a good number of the low income families wouldn’t come anymore as they’d never accept that.

if you give things away too cheaply people don't appreciate what it's actually worth.

I have to say I also agree with this.

if you give things away too cheaply people don't appreciate what it's actually worth.

I think that “cheap” is entirely relative to circumstance though. So what seems cheap to some isn’t to others.

I think that “cheap” is entirely relative to circumstance though. So what seems cheap to some isn’t to others.

I agree there are times when this is the case. However, there will be some parents out there who will look at a holiday club which is provided for less than £1 per hour with suspicion.

If parents in your area are able to afford £25 a day play-schemes, there's obviously a reason why they are choosing this over yours which is £25 a week.

There could be all sorts of reasons why people are doing the more expensive clubs, the length of day being the obvious one, or maybe they want them to do a sportier camp or go to the one their friends are going to, or one closer to where the parents work. They might also want somewhere that takes childcare vouchers, we did find that it was often only the bigger providers that took them. I disagree with a two tier system based on ability to pay, it must cause a lot of administrative headaches and could lead to some of those that are able to pay moaning about those that do get the subsidised rate.

If parents in your area are able to afford £25 a day play-schemes, there's obviously a reason why they are choosing this over yours which is £25 a week.

Length of day, needing a specific week (in summer) and our capacity are the three main reasons.

We can only take 30 kids a week. We regularly have to turn away people on registration day. Even the summer when we can offer more than one week per child we have to turn away 20ish (based on last summer) people on registration day.

Then after that you get the people who can’t look at a website to read where our funding comes from, our our inspection report, instead choosing to judge based on the word volunteer. Usually that is the parents that can afford the other one (it’s a very split area here in terms of incomes) so it’s no huge loss really.

lyralalala I take my hat off to you and your volunteers, it's not easy running activities for kids (or dealing with the parents!) offering activities to children who would usually miss out because of the cost is a lovely thing for you to do.

DD attends a holiday club in SE London for £25 a day. I provide a packed lunch and snacks - I actually don't know if they provide snacks, they may well do but DD is such a fusspot I just stick something in her bag anyway.

My DC have attended many holiday clubs with different providers over the years but never one with food provided, I'd expect to send enough food to cover breaks and lunch and tbh I prefer it that way so it fits in with my meal planning

We pay £25 a day, 8.30-5.30. Club provides water, squash, fruit & veg for morning snack, rich tea biscuit/toast and honey/fruit and veg for afternoon snack. We provide cold packed lunch of our choice, within reasonable restrictions (no nuts, etc).

This is an absolute bargain for round here, and we're lucky to have a place there

If it's a sports club or a general organized activity (eg science club etc), then no, DCs bring their own lunches.

If its a club within a nursery, crèche, or the afterschool club in a school (where food would normally be provided for those sessions), then yes, I would expect a holiday club to provide food for an expanded day session.

DD hasn't had lunches provided (except for summer camp in the local yacht club, where there used to be the opportunity to pay in advance for hot lunches daily - but they abolished that last year, oh and a multisports in a local (very posh!) private primary school which also had the pay in advance option) for holiday camps since she stopped going to the afterschool club in a local crèche, when she was 7. Gaelic camp, multi sports camp in a University sports centre, science camp, hockey camp, sailing camp ( in a couple of settings), etc have all NOT provided food. The exception was cookery camp, where at lunch break, they ate what they had cooked in the morning - but generally also needed to bring an additional snack for the rest of the day. And most have little or no access to shops/vending machines/other outlets to purchase food.

Availability of drinks has differed as well in those various settings - some have had plentiful availability of water, others have not (sides of pitches and DC told to bring their own due to no safe access - and no access to shops etc nearby). Sailing camp in 1 setting would provide hot chocolate on cold days, and you could refill water bottles in kitchen, but needed to bring your own bottle (full in mornings). Sailing camp in another setting had a vending machine with plenty of drinks and some snacks, DD always wants money for that.

£20 a day. 10-4pm

They provide snacks in the morning and afternoon. Unlimited refills of squash but I provide a pack lunch.

Snacks include fruit, cheese, crackers, rice cakes, raisins, toast, malt loaf, bread sticks and cream cheese.