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.

Thanks everyone. I’m actually relieved to know it’s the going rate even though it’s not attainable for us right now. You live and learn! Hopefully they’ll do it again in the summer, I will save up. This has shown me that I really should be trying to build up a small contingency fund for situations like this.

@MargaretThursday
I'm probably just basing it off my experience with my DS in primary atm doing coding club. It's £2 for 7 sessions, but run by one of the teachers. I wondered if this was involving an external provider, which I can now see OP has confirmed is the case.

Yes it's terrible what people are expected to pay for now. And therefore what some children n will miss bout on because their parents can't afford it. When I was at school all the after school clubs and music lessons were free.

Have you asked the school? Don’t they sometimes use pupil premiums for stuff like this?

It’s £10 a week. it may it be unaffordable for you, but Im not sure it’s unreasonably costly.
i wish that there was the option to pay for some better clubs in afterschool provision given my kids have to stay in afterschool on the days I work, when it would be great to be able to ferry them off to better after school activities.

I’m sorry that you are in a difficult situation and won’t be able to afford the club. Would the school make any Pupil Premium funds available, if your DD is eligible?

On a general discussion note, people have talked about children’s activities being ‘free’, but nothing in life is really free - the economic cost is being borne by someone, either by volunteers, by a school or by a local authority deciding to meet the costs behind the scenes.

Objectively, how much would I want to charge to travel to and arrive at a random school for 3pm, bring with me 8-10 fully charged devices, set up, teach children for 60-90 minutes, take full responsibility for them in that time, clear up and travel home? I would want at least £50 for that work (to include some travel costs) and that’s before the cost of running the company is even brought into consideration.

There are only a handful of free clubs running at my kids schools now, which are usually oversubscribed. The teachers are already so busy, they are presumably reluctant to add to their day. I pay for a few activities and they are usually £6-£8 per week. Personally I like having the options at school rather than out if school, as I can just collect them later, which is logistically easier and no petrol/parking costs. Also the paid ones tend to be more reliable e.g. the school cancels the teacher led ones if it's parents evening etc which is useful for work. I also presume it's slightly cheaper at school as presumably they have an agreement with school over the venue hire. It is of course disappointing to miss out because you can't afford it.

While I can understand your situation, paying upfront is standard for most clubs DD attended over the years which aren't provided by school staff.

Often children will just not turn up anymore after a couple of times and the provider is loosing out as they have fixed costs to cover, rent to the school, staff, insurances etc.

I do after-school extra curricular classes in schools (different subject but one which requires particular skill/education to teach, not something just anyone, including school staff, can do). I charge £7 a session. They also buy a resource once a year costing £18 so it wouldn't be far off £99 for a 12 week term. I don't let people pay weekly either. Hardly any clubs do. It's an administrative nightmare plus the danger that a kid will drop out after a few classes leaving you out of pocket. With mine, I do offer to split it into two payments if people ask.
I don't know whether yours is a company or an individual person but if an individual bear in mind they are probably struggling to make it worth their while what with room hire, royalties for materials, cost of equipment etc.