Charging for teacher led clubs

[DebbieFiderer]

Does anyone's school do this? Our primary school has always had a selection of clubs on offer each term, sometimes more than others, a mixture of things depending on the interests of the teachers. They have always been free, and if oversubscribed, places have been allocated fairly, with the aim of allowing as many children as possible to get at least one club, but in reality there usually hasn't been an issue getting a place.

This year, the new head has changed it so that the majority of clubs run by teachers are now charged for. There was no prior notice of this change, and the explanation in the letter is around giving parents more childcare options and easing pressure in the oversubscribed after-school club, no mention of what the money is going to be spent on (it does say that any ingredients/supplies will be included in the costs, but most clubs won't have any outlay except the teachers' time).

I do understand that generally teachers are doing this in their own time, and have always been grateful and appreciative of this, but if the aim was to pay the teachers for their time then I would expect the letter to at least allude to this, but there is nothing about that. Equally there is nothing to say that it is about propping up the school's shrinking budget (which would also be fair enough).

AIBU to think that £30-£35 is too much to pay for 10 weeks of a teacher-led club which generally doesn't require any additional skills, training, or equipment?

A lot of our after school clubs are run by teaching assistants who do need to be paid for their additional time.

When my daughter goes to clubs, I pay for the club and for her space at the after-school childcare provider as they won't keep a place for the weeks when clubs run if we don't pay for every week.

If you can't access the club's due to the expense, you could ask if there are any funds available - eg for pupil premium children.

Our clubs are full of the usual suspects - middle class children. I'm sure schools would prefer that all children have the opportunity to try out clubs.

Yes YABU. You've said the clubs are to alleviate stress on the after school club and offer childcare alternatives, there's your answer. You wouldn't expect free childcare elsewhere and equally you wouldn't question what the money was being spent on if it was the after school club. Teachers shouldn't have to give up their time without pay and even if they are the money would be going back to the club or school to ultimately benefit your child. £3.50 a session sounds like a steal.

I do see your point of view. After school clubs do offer kids the opportunity to take up all sorts of interesting hobbies and activities. For those children who are priced out of school it's a pretty brutal lesson in the myth of the level playing field in education.

Our school charges for all clubs less homework. Two are teacher run, the others are TAs. The TAs wouldn't do it without being paid overtime (and neither should they).
When they were free we had too many kids/parents who would drop in and out on a whim, and that irritated the parents/kids who weren't able to get places as they were oversubscribed.

Be grateful . Our after school clubs are not run by teachers . If they are willing to do that good on them. I don’t agree with teaching all day then running an afternoon club.

I see you point, but our school also charges. It’s a small village school and clubs range from £20/term to £70/term when run by teachers.

I used to keep 4/15 places free in my clubs for quirky children who weren’t sporty or mainstream types. Ostensibly, the 15 were chosen at random from a hat as it was usually 300% oversubscribed.
In reality, I picked those that I felt would benefit most.

I teach in a large primary school and all of the teachers are expected to run a club. All of these clubs are free. It's the expectation of the school that we provide a variety of free clubs for the children in school. I'd be really shocked if the school decided parents needed to pay for these clubs.
As a single parent, £30 for a teacher's after school club might be "nothing" for some people but not really something I would want to budget for to be honest. I'd rather pay for music or sports tuition if I'm being asked to pay for an after school activity.

(So I think YANBU!)

I think it's too much because in my experience clubs are free and teachers at our school are expected to run one club a week as part of their contract. We were asked for money for a craft club but it was £5 for the term.

As a pupil premium lead governor I'd be really unhappy about this as instantly you're putting off the dc who would benefit the most.

I do see your point of view. After school clubs do offer kids the opportunity to take up all sorts of interesting hobbies and activities. For those children who are priced out of school it's a pretty brutal lesson in the myth of the level playing field in education.

Having kids costs money sadly. The issue really is that schools are not given the money to fund these. It’s a travesty that these come out of teachers’ own good will, time and their own money. Why shouldn’t parents pay for their own children? £3 per session is hardly offensive and ‘middle class’. Those who really can’t afford it have access to PP.

When they were free we had too many kids/parents who would drop in and out on a whim, and that irritated the parents/kids who weren't able to get places as they were oversubscribed.

Our clubs are free. To stop the above kids lose their place if they skip two sessions. Not rocket science and doesn't discriminate by economic advantage.

As a pupil premium lead governor I'd be really unhappy about this as instantly you're putting off the dc who would benefit the most.

Would you volunteer yourself?

Shocking that you put it in your Staffs’ contracts. Hope it is part of their directed hours and something else is taken away as a result.

Adding a monetary requirement is likely to mean that those who are most likely to benefit will be least likely to get to go.

At our school there would be funding available for children of families on low incomes and for those with pupil premium.

Having kids costs money sadly.

Really? I hadn't realised

I can afford after school clubs for my three, I can afford out of school clubs, music tuition and tutors. I don't have some kind of chip on my shoulder.

As a matter of principle, I do think that education within our school system should be as egalitarian as possible. I think the least we owe children who are born into a poor household is a sporting chance at school.

DebbieFiderer

Do you not think that the cost of running the club, equipment, breakages should come from those using the club?

Our school charges £3 per session. It's a bargain. The club finishes at 4.30 so that's 75 minutes of childcare for £3.

They also make it so if you need wraparound care after the club finishes you're only charged for the 4.30-6 session rather than the 3.30-6 session so it works out the same.

At our school there would be funding available for children of families on low incomes and for those with pupil premium

Let's hope they are at OP's school, but even if they are, I've found that lots of kids who aren't eligible for PP or FSM etc don't get to go on trips that cost money because their parents just won't pay for them. There's other stuff they'd rather spend their money on.

Also, the thresholds for low income etc don't take into account how many kids you have, so kids from large families may still miss out.

As a pupil premium lead governor I'd be really unhappy about this as instantly you're putting off the dc who would benefit the most.

Agree with Chloe! Aragog have already pointed out the very obvious and simple solution to that.

Some schools expect teachers to do clubs as part of their directed time allocation which would mean its part of their working day. It could be that?

Having kids costs money sadly.

Yep. But some parents don't want to spend that money on the kids (more than you'd think). Excluding them from school clubs just disadvantages the children further than they already are. It's not their fault if their parents don't see school clubs as a priority or have had more kids than they can afford. Not every kid who needs it is eligible for PP.

I worked at a school where each teacher was expected to run a club, cost was about the same as OP. They got to spend the money on classroom equipment - essentials like glue & coloured paper. No club meant no equipment - funding is that tight.
I found it shocking that teachers had to use their time to fundraise, but that's the reality for many schools.

Nah, it was always for The Greater Good and Will No one Think If The Children. I taught in half a dozen schools and the expectation was there, combined with pressure to be part of the vision/ethos/team.
No trade off with anything else.

The solution is easy, just run a club for free yourself. Get four other parents to do the same and you’re sorted for a week.

Wow I am amazed that they used to be free! At dds school a few of the teachers run after school activities and the money goes directly to the teacher. It costs about the same, 35 to 40 for 10 weeks, which I think is a bargain tbh.

I run an afterschool sewing club at my kids' school. (I'm not a teacher, just a parent).

School paid for the DBS check. Children are not charged to attend. School have said they will reimburse me the cost of materials I buy.

I wouldn't be doing it if the children were being charged to attend.