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?

DH is a teacher and runs 2 clubs a week in his primary school. He doesn't get paid a penny 🙄
He took over one club (eco club) from a retiring colleague and started the other (a sports team) because he knew pupils wanted the clubs and would benefit from them.

Parents pay a small amount to the school for them (between £1 - £3 per session).

They are used as wrap around care (even if they do finish at 4:30) and parents seem to be grateful for them.
The money initially went for equipment but now just goes to the school.

DH is expected to take 1 club each week, as are his colleagues but he's voluntarily taken on 2. I'd be quite annoyed to think he's doing that (and adding to his workload at home to catch up) and there are parents out there that think he's getting paid / the school are doing it for the money / the wrap around childcare he is providing is inadequate.

I have a relative teaching in Ireland but i know nobody teaching in the UK Youmadorwhat.
What are the differences ?

@iluvsummer this is about after school clubs not normal teacher workload/hours. I know teachers that get paid overtime for clubs

Do you know for sure the teachers are not being paid overtime

HAHAHAHA overtime. In teaching. No. Such. Thing.

@beanaseireann
Better pay, less hours, less demands, less planning, more freedom to actually teach, no SATS, we don’t work through our breaktimes (like they seem to in uk) we can take paid days off for family weddings, graduations etc (5 days per year!) we can also get a week off if we get married in term time!! Parents don’t seem to bother me as much as they seem to in the UK. There’s probably more differences but those are the first ones that come to mind.

Thanks Youmadorwhat
I'll tell dsil how lucky she is

@beanaseireann I’m sure she already knows!

@HopeClearwater yes there is in some schools for after school clubs - that's why I asked the question!

FranklySonImTheGaffer I think, even though it's a small amount of money each week to most people, it's an abuse of our education system if the teachers -paid for out of our taxes to provide an education to children free at the point of service- are expected to take clubs that parents have to pay for if they want their children to attend.

I don't think this is poor of the teachers to do - their dedication is phenomenal. But it does seem a leadership weakness that free at the point of service is not defended more by the teaching profession as a whole and especially that it isn't defended by schoolleadership.

Education is free at the point of service. After school activities are not part of that service, they are extras. If parents have an issue with it, they should be the ones challenging the system, rather than hovering over the keyboard seeing how much they can snatch for their own child.

Like the NHS schools are thought to be free for all at point of contact. This is just not achievable

I’ve been out of the UK for many years now, and have been living in mainland Europe for 11 years urs, with two children in school.

Where I am the school day runs from 8:30 to 4:45pm. Early morning childcare runs from 7:30. After school childcare runs till 6:30pm. Lunchtime runs from 12:00 to 2:15pm. None of this is covered by teachers - they are there to teach. It’s all provided in the school buildings / playgrounds by an association (bit like a very small charity which specialises in providing childcare and leisure activities).

It is all paid for by parents... but it is charged on a means-tested basis. So low-income families get access to exactly the same opportunities as the better-off ones do, at a far lower cost. School dinners, ditto. And it’s a significant difference (e.g. we pay €4,15 per meal, my friend only pays €0,22 per meal as her family income is so low).

And no one needs to know who’s paying what rate: it’s all handled by the local authority, with the school / teachers really not getting involved at all.

As with the NHS the “free at the point of service” thing isn’t working well. There are other (better) ways to address inequality.

Wow I'm surprised they were ever free!

Nearly all the clubs are run by teachers at our school.
Around £4 a club but paid in termly instalments, it's a first come first served online booking system
The money goes to general school stuff nothing particular
But the teachers get a day off of their choice for their time as payment

Teacher run clubs at ours start at 8am or straight after school for an hour or two. Why wouldn’t I pay for that? Activities run by outside providers are £5-7.

I do use after school clubs (both free and paying) as childcare. I work flexibly from home, in addition to the extra hour it is also easier to park after the main rush so I can leave later. DS hates after school club, but loves extracurricular clubs so it works well.

I can see though that it is annoying if you can't benefit from the extra time. Maybe you could ask the school what the extra money is going towards, though personally if I can afford it and it makes him happy then that is great.

Education is free at the point of service. After school activities are not part of that service, they are extras.

If the people running the clubs are being paid separately for their club time I think that’s very different from the clubs being run by teachers on the basis of their employment at the free-at-the-point-of-service school. Creaming off resources (in this case, it would seem, the time, dedication and goodwill of the teachers) that could used for the children in general in order to provide services that are only available to those able to pay is one more aspect of our schools serving those with more resources to the detriment of those without.

I do understand why schools might feel the need to charge. I’m arguing against the political and social climate that finds it acceptable, encourages it, even.