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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

After school clubs

226 replies

HereBeFuckery · 28/11/2022 16:46

Once again, primary school cancel a pre-arranged after school activity with 27 mins notice before the end of the school day. Last week, they notified us 12 minutes AFTER the end of the day that the club was cancelled and to collect children from the school office 'immediately'.

I get that clubs aren't childcare or guaranteed, but essentially, if you work (y'know, like most parents) you have to say 'no darling, you can't do X fun after school activity' because you, as a parent, would have to be free, not in a meeting and within five mins drive of school just in case they cancel at zero notice AGAIN.

Even a couple of hours would mean I could sort something out. In 20 mins I have no chance.

WIBU to make a formal complaint to governors about the piss poor communication?

OP posts:
BetterBeGryffinphwoar · 28/11/2022 16:53

I get that clubs aren't childcare or guaranteed

Doesn't sound like you do to be honest.

Clubs are either run by staff members, usually only one teacher, or by outside agencies.

Reasons one teacher could suddenly become unavailable with no cover are:
Illness of themselves
Illness of a child
Accident or bereavement in the family
Emergency child protection meeting
amongst others.

reasons outside agencies cancel include.:
Weather or health and safety issues.
Staff ratio issues relating to illness, travel etc.

After school clubs are for enrichment. They are run because the teachers believe in providing opportunities. They are not paid, they are not compulsory and they should not be used as childcare. You need to plan appropriately or pay for a private club or lessons.

AntlerRose · 28/11/2022 16:55

Who organises the club? Is it an outside club or the school itself.

If you do comain you need to follow the complaints procedure which would normally have a couple of stages before the governors.

MarshaBradyo · 28/11/2022 16:55

I don’t think you can rely on it. As you say it’s not childcare so there’s not much you can do but have childcare back up

parietal · 28/11/2022 16:56

YABNU.

No school can expect a working parent to pick up kids on no notice.

You can complain but the likely answer is that clubs aren't childcare.

JusteanBiscuits · 28/11/2022 16:59

As a working parent, I had to say no to these to my kids due to after school clubs finishing much earlier than actually after school club. They weren't damaged by it.

Whatsshecalled · 28/11/2022 17:02

Is there any paid for wrap around care? In the situation you describe eg footbal club cancelled i used to ask for my kids to get taken into after school club instead. It was never a problem but i suppose it heavily depends on after school club existing and having space at short notice.

Katapolts · 28/11/2022 17:04

You can't rely on them as childcare - you need a wraparound club or childminder.

Tomorrowisalatterday · 28/11/2022 17:25

Zero notice unless there was a real emergency type reason is unacceptable - that's just the school being crap at communication. What if you were without phone signal? We have no local family to put down as emergency contacts.

Even if you were a SAHM, it would be reasonable to expect to be able to do something other than sit and wait for the call during that time.

UsingChangeofName · 28/11/2022 17:29

I think this is very different from the football one last week, where the parent had over 2 hours notice - when I did think she was U.
I do think you need more notice than this - particularly as I am inferring it seems it isn't the first time ?

I mean, I don't know why they had to cancel, but presume they didn't get the notice they needed to do anything better (?). In which case every school I know would ask, if possible that the dc are collected, but would be understanding if people couldn't instantly transpose themselves to be at school, nor magic up someone else to collect them.

TheHauntedPencilCase · 28/11/2022 17:35

YANBU the notice is too late but its an operational issue so not for the governors. It would be worth a chat with the school to see who is responsible for the club (school or private) to understand possible cancellation issues and then decide whether to continue.

MelchiorsMistress · 28/11/2022 17:38

Is this the football club run by an external organisation again?

Either way, late communication that a club has been cancelled is not worthy of a complaint to governors.

Does the school have an after school club that is intended for childcare? Couldn’t you ask that y our child goes there if the activity clubs are cancelled? That’s what often happens in my school.

MilkyYay · 28/11/2022 17:45

Yanbu. I would regard such clubs as a form of childcare (especially anything with an outside provider), as would everyone i know!!

and would expect more notice of cancellation unless there's an actual serious emergency.

MarshaBradyo · 28/11/2022 17:46

If it’s outside provider I agree. We also have school clubs so it depends who is running them

Sirzy · 28/11/2022 17:48

What would your normal childcare arrangement be after school?

it’s not ideal but sometimes things happen and it’s unavoidable

cadburyegg · 28/11/2022 17:54

YABU. Maybe the person running the activity became ill or had a childcare emergency themselves. I'm a single parent so it sucks but that's the way it is. Last week I got a call from our after school club to say that ds2 was ill and yes, I had to drop everything to collect them.

Our school is quite clear that enrichment clubs etc are not childcare. If you need childcare then you have to pay for after school club. There's a few kids who are signed up to the football club and after school club, so after football club finishes they go to ASC. It also means that if the football club gets cancelled, the kids can still go to ASC at the end of school

melj1213 · 28/11/2022 18:07

YANBU - unless there is an emergency then they should not give zero notice for a club cancellation as no parent is just sitting at home twiddling their thumbs waiting for their child to finish, some will be using it as childcare so aren't available at all but even if they aren't then it doesn't mean they're in the vicinity of the school to pick their child up "early".

DD used to do lots of clubs in primary school and even on days when I didn't have work I would often use the time to do errands like the supermarket shop (I work in a supermarket so tried to do the weekly shop after an early shift so I didn't have to make a separate trip in my time off), knowing that if I finished work at 2pm and DD's after school club didn't finish till 4.30pm I had time to do the weekly shop, get the bus home, put it away and have a quick cuppa before I had to walk to school to pick her up at 4.30pm.

If school contacted me at 3pm that her club was cancelled then I'd be midway through the shopping and there's no way I could get to school by 3.30pm. Even if I immediately abandoned my trolley in the aisle as soon as I got the call the supermarket is a 40min walk from DDs school (when DD was at primary I didn't have a car so relied on public transport so I'm basing this on that scenario) so I would still have been late to collect her.

donttellmehesalive · 28/11/2022 18:11

Unless they immediately tip all the attendees out into the street to fend for themselves, what exactly would you complain about?

Because if they say that the club is cancelled and that you can pick up asap, but are actually happy to keep the children safely until what would have been the club finish time, to allow working or busy parents to get there, then what have they done wrong?

Essexgirlupnorth · 28/11/2022 18:26

YANBU we got a shitty phone call from school as they had cancelled after school club at lunchtime. Husband and I were both working from home but hadn't seen the e-mail. I have changed phone and don't currently have the school app on my phone. So we hadn't gone to pick her up and called to ask where we were. I'm sure previously they have called when cancelling things last minute
Working parent or not you have planned round picking up the child at x time. Takes me longer than 20 minutes to get to school if I am in the office and same for husband. Luckily home is about 10 minutes away but if they are cancelling that late it is not on.

Shinyandnew1 · 28/11/2022 18:29

Was it you that posted about this last week? If you need childcare, I’d opt for a proper childcare arrangement-childminder etc

yoyy · 28/11/2022 18:30

They are not paid, they are not compulsory and they should not be used as childcare.

The ones I use are paid. Why would you book something on the proviso it could be cancelled at any time? That's not a normal way to think.

yoyy · 28/11/2022 18:31

Our school is quite clear that enrichment clubs etc are not childcare. If you need childcare then you have to pay for after school club.

What's the difference?

luxxlisbon · 28/11/2022 18:33

@BetterBeGryffinphwoar They are not paid, they are not compulsory and they should not be used as childcare. You need to plan appropriately or pay for a private club or lessons.

So she should sit outside the club on the off chance that it is cancelled with no notice and she suddenly needs to collect her child an hour earlier than planned?

yoyy · 28/11/2022 18:38

You need to plan appropriately

Because booking a club isn't a plan apparently 😆

BetterBeGryffinphwoar · 28/11/2022 18:43

Sit outside the office if you like. Normal parents have their phones on them and graciously thank staff that have looked after the children if things have to be cancelled.
But sure if you wanna be a martyr knock yourself out.
All this 'I am a working parent' guff, works both ways. Teachers have dependents they may need to pick up etc. if ill.

If you pay for a club it will be an outside agency and nothing to do with the school, apart from using their premises.

Bubbinsmakesthree · 28/11/2022 18:47

As others have said presumably many parents aren’t in a position where they can get to school immediately, for a variety of reasons. I am sure the school would like to get the children off the premises asap but there’s not a great deal they can do if you can’t be there earlier, and I think it unlikely that they would be giving you grief for not picking up faster if it’s them who have cancelled at short notice.