Do you think this is too expensive for an after school club?

[VegTrug]

Just had an email from DC's (state) primary school offering an after school club (computer club) which lasts an entire term, but is £99! It has to be paid in full, upfront in order to book them on it and no, instalments are not accepted.
Do you think this is too much for a State primary school? My mum pointed out that when I was at school, there were never any clubs or activities which weren't accessible to everyone.

Yet again, my child is going to miss out on something she would LOVE.

That seems a lot. My dc school offer different clubs. For comparison any sports club is about £55 for the term so September through to December. Other clubs are a bit cheaper - cooking is £25 and craft club was something like £3!! I think that is extortionate. What time does it finish?

No, I think it is ok to pay for the teaching staff, additional utilities etc required, For 12 weeks that’s what 7 quid or so a week?

Also how many days a week is it op? And for how long>

I'm assuming it's run by an external company? If so then seems normal prices, I'm assuming they can only have a fairly small class to cover the costs vs a sports club which can have loads of kids and therefore be cheaper.

We have a few of these run by an external company and they are about this cost - some are cheaper, but a couple are around £12 an hour, so in line with other options locally.

Is it run by external company?

The ones we the school organises are usually around £20 for a 6-week mini club. But DS does 3 different ones through external companies at the moment. 2 of them were around £85 for the term, the 3rd one is £40 per month regardless of half term etc. So I'd say £99 is not the cheapest club, but definitely not outrageous

Presuming it is run by an external provider?

I thought you meant afterschool care at first, and thought that was cheap BUT for an extracurricular club no way!
I'm sure it probably works out per session/hour at good value compared to clubs or activities outside of schools, but that's a shock. Is it being run by an external provider who brings equipment with them? That's the only thing I can think of why a school club would charge that amount.

I think that it's not extortionate when you break down on a cost by week basis. These clubs can be expensive to run and with the hike in NI etc in the latest budget then they are certainly not going to get any cheaper.

DS after school sports clubs cost about that , but you pay half termly , I think the Lego technicians is more

It’s a lot but not unreasonable as you’d probably need several people to run it effectively.

For me it would totally depend on what day of the week it runs and if the school has any closures on that day scheduled.

Also if the weather gets any worse and the course is canx at short notive for the day will you get an extra day or just be expected to suck up the cost.

Is it for a 6 week half term or a 12/13 week whole term? If for the whole term I don’t think that’s too bad. The costs would need to cover either the staffs salary or an external company. I think it’s great that they are putting on clubs which are a bit different but costs will need to be covered by parents they can’t run them for free. I would be happy to pay that for their time and for the opportunity.

Completely reasonable to change that for a good club. What does it work out for a term of 12/13 weeks? £7 or £8 a week? That is perfectly ok.

I’m sure when you were a child, if your mum wanted you to do ballet, tennis, swimming, cubs or gymnastics, she would have had to pay.

Yes, some schools used to offer free clubs after school but teachers don’t have the time to do that any more. I would imagine some might far prefer to do that than loads of the other stuff they are told to do instead!

It's not run by school staff

As it's probably an external provider I'd say it's fine. Normally I'd think twice if it prices out more than £10 a session.

I don’t think that’s expensive no… doesn’t it work out to about £8 a session?

Mine are at a private school so club costs probably not comparable (cheapest is £130 but that would on site, no specialist equipment and only requiring 1 staff member). But outside of school the only thing I’ve found that’s cheaper than your computer club is Brownies at £40 per session but it’s run by volunteers. I expect the teachers quite rightly want paying for their time!

Since when have clubs ever been accessible for all? I think your mum’s memory is foggy or she’s not up to date with modern costs because activities have always cost money. Even low key stuff like ballet in the church hall on Sat morning costs £150 per term these days.

Shame the school won’t offer an option to pay in instalments though. I guess they’re worried people might not pay each week and then they’d still have to run the club at a loss…

That’s why it’s expensive.
It’s like taking them to swimming or dance class you’d expect to pay that much. Just because it is located in the school doesn’t mean it should be cheaper.
Teachers run clubs as volunteers- no extra pay so there is usually no charge when a club is run by school staff.

My issue is the inability to pay week by week or in instalments. It's excluding those of us on a lower income. I'm a disabled lone parent unable to work at all and I don't get child support. I could afford £10 a week or maybe even £15 a week no problem but the company actually laughed at me when I very politely requested I pay in instalments. DD is going to be gutted as a her friends are doing it, it's a Minecraft-style thing

I just paid over £220 for a term of acting lessons, three hour sessions once a week, so that doesn't sound too bad.

Also music lessons once a week £165 per term!

yours sounds reasonable.

External company sounds about right. My daughters go to skateboarding club at school which is £135 / term.

This term is 15 weeks altogether so that would only be £6.60 a week which sounds reasonable to me.

It’s not too bad. Our afterschool club is £9.75 until half 5 or £6.25 until 4.30.

i also pay £40 pcm for a group music lesson, during school time.

Sounds about the going rate. Especially since it involves the use of expensive equipment.

And this is because children try it and drop out after a week or two when they realise it isn’t for them.
The company can’t fill the gap as a new child would have missed the initial sessions and they need the money to pay for hire of school space as well as their staffing.