Is you child's school offering before and after school care in Setember?

[Ickabog]

I'm curious to see if other schools are planning to offer before and after school clubs in September.

If yes, have they made you aware of any changes or adjustments to the way it usually operates?

If no, have they explained why not?

If I needed the care I'd pay for them to watch Netflix sadly

@Ickabog
In the DfE guidance for wraparound care. It said something like kids should be kept in year groups if that’s not possible groups of 6 at the most. Will try and dig it up. Possibly out of date already.

I actually run commercial after schools clubs (a specific activity not childcare as such) and the industry is pretty screwed. Most of us won’t be viable so for a long time there is going to be much less available sadly.

Herja I can see that policy causing a lot of anger and frustration. Who makes the decision that it's absolutely needed, and excluding those who are not in paid employment seems very divisive of the school.

Letseatgrandma I'm sorry to hear you can't replace the staff, is that due to costs, or lack of applicants?

Frazzled2207 I've read the guidance and the part about keeping them in year group bubbles where possible. However, I didn't see them mention a group size.

It's quite far from ideal, but it doesn't surprise me. They were very, very strict on needing to be a key worker family, with everyone working g out of the home, to provide key worker care too.

They're working it out in the same way they did that. A survey has been sent by email, which you fill in explaining your circumstances and requirements, the school will let you know if you can have a space or not, but we've been warned it will be a couple of spaces per year group. All the clubs after school have been removed too, there's going to be quite a few parents desperately scrabbling about this autumn at our school. I'm just hoping enough of them are in my children's years, so we can club together to work something out!

Yes they are but I’m not sure how it’s going to work yet with bubbles etc.

No. Since the announcement that shielding should end in August a few more teachers have quit and they still can't replace others who went on maternity during all of this. No one is applying and they can't source agency staff apparently. Doesn't affect me, but it does my nephews

Herja I hope and the other parents manage to sort something out.

Mumtumwobble It's more than likely they will keep them in year group bubbles, but limit how many are in each group.

BarbedBloom It sounds like a very stressful and difficult situation.

No, they've already confirmed that they definitely won't in September and will review ahead of the new term in Jan. Luckily we have an excellent childminder who does pick up from the school, but it makes a mockery of the class bubbles they're allocating them 🤷🏼‍♀️

After school care, but no breakfast club. school day starts at 8 though, so it isn’t too bad.
They don’t want to mix bubbles in after school care, so its per yeargroup rather than across thr school

I run a wrap-around business and up to the summer holidays we've been told we definitely can't operate, because we run at different premises to school (and operate a walking bus to/from school). The guidance specifically states that wraparound NOT on the school premises cannot open before summer hols.

In September we're hoping that the guidance has moved on to allow us to re-open. It will be impossible to open under the current guidance of keeping to school bubbles; even if we're allowed to open we won't have the staff available to operate year bubbles.

Think the rule about 6 might come from last weeks guidance - if you can't stick to contstant bubblesthat school created, you have to follow guidance for groups outdoor, which is actually 5 households and a member of staff.

I'm impressed that any provider has managed to find a viable way to open. We'd love to take a financial hit to simply keep our customer base but we've had no income since Feb and we've run out of money.

LBOCS2 Sorry to hear they're not opening, but thank goodness you have a childminder.

Newdaynewname1 Is the no breakfast club to help accommodate staggered start times?

Kolo I'm really sorry to hear about your struggles. I think that a lot providers won't be able to reopen, even if the guidance allows it. Staffing and space will make things difficult if not impossible.

@Kolo
Sorry to hear but not surprised. I run a kids activity franchise and it’s all grim.

No the school has so far said they are cancelling all wrap around care and school will finish at 1pm on Friday.
It frustrates me that individual schools can change the school day with little or no consultation. It’s not for cleaning either it’s for a staff meeting or review time or something.
I fear so many businesses are using the Covid excuse to close and scale down services for other reasons but not always directly Covid linked.
For example our school was really against any wraparound provisions sighting that “children should be at home” I think the head lives in a land where only one parent works in his head.
Therefore he has probably thought oh good bin the wraparound clubs.

We were asked to confirm places at after-school club in May as in previous years. There was no information about whether the provision would be different in any way, because there was no way of knowing that in May. We decided not to take DC's places up this year for non-coronavirus related reasons so I don't know if they have said anything else. It is run by a seperate organisation but in the school. Breakfast club sent out an email asking for if we want places last week. It is run by the school staff and said nothing about whether provision will be different in September. No idea how it will work with bubbles because it is ad-hoc, we pay the term fee and then can take DC whenever we want/ need to without telling school in advance, and I am pretty sure they don't have enough staff for 1:5 ratio everyday.

Yes. The bubbles concept is a total joke. Class bubbles but class staff working in before and/or after school care with children from any and all bubbles.

@Ickabog no breakfast club because of staffing and staggered starting times. Siblings arrive together, and the higher the years, the earlier they start. So year 6 and 5 plus siblings at 8 (meeting at 2 different places, siblings collected by their TA and brought to classroom where the teacher waits etc), year 3 and 4 at 8:10, ... Its very complex as it is, with all hands on board situation.
They offer 8 to 5:30, so not too bad at all (if you genuinelyNEED to drop you year 1 child - for example - that’s possible as teacher and TA are there anyway for siblings, but that is very few kids)

See we have been asked about breakfast club but not told what the actual return to school looks like..