After school clubs

[HereBeFuckery]

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?

I think I'm going to stop offering free clubs at my school! Seems hardly any other school do them!!!

why is it different for an after school club though as opposed to a coding club?

An actual childcare club will have more than one staff member (whether school staff or another company) and other staff members can jump in if needed.

An afterschool activity club is ran by only one member and so if they are off or need to rush home there is no one to cover it.

I don't know anyone who hangs around outside multi sports or brownies just in case in gets cancelled....

Yes, but if you're arrived at brownies and discovered it was cancelled and nobody was there to take your child, I imagine you'd just take your child home again. It isn't childcare

@Tomorrowisalatterday twenty years of offering free clubs/being explored by unreasonable schools and parents and an empty wallet.
Maybe I should go to the finance officer and ask for back pay lol.

@CarefreeMe you're extrapolating, it's not the same in every school. Ime if a teacher was ill the school would notify the parents earlier than 30 mins before. If it was an emergency another teacher would jump in or the dc would be scooped up by the asc.

@Plumbear2 please can you explain to me in simple terms what the difference is?
I'm not being argumentative, I genuinely don't get it.

We pay someone to provide a caring and safe space for our children to do activities. Sometimes these activities are provided by external businesses who come in, sometimes they are provided by school (usually ancillary) staff. But we pay for all of it in the same way we paid for nursery and how people pay for childminders. The vast majority of children attending these clubs have working parents.

I don't know where you live but it's not unusual at all in London.

Where I am all the paid for clubs are run my external agencies and are considered childcare - the school often gets paid a small amount for use of the facilities. They are run as businesses and so behave as such, with contingencies for staff illness.

Free enrichment clubs are sometimes cancelled at short notice if the teacher is no longer available. There is never a spare member of staff willing to give up yet more time for free. These are the ones you cannot rely on as childcare.

Yes, but if you're arrived at brownies and discovered it was cancelled and nobody was there to take your child, I imagine you'd just take your child home again. It isn't childcare

But this would also true if I turned up at a nursery or a childminder. I wouldn't just leave my dc there

Yes, that's right. ASC is childcare. Coding club isn't

@NoCoatAndFurKnickers why do you think the government let you use the tax free childcare scheme for both?

I'm a school governor and TBH these clubs are an important income stream for the school - they run them in house, charge, make good money from them, pay the staff who run them a fair wage and offer very reduced places to those on free school meals/pupil premium. It's win win and I don't really understand why your school isn't doing it.

Also in response to another pp, I know that school staff attend some of the business run groups in our school to help support them. And on a couple of occasions one of the clubs has been run by school staff in the usual facilitators absence.

I think I'm going to stop offering free clubs at my school! Seems hardly any other school do them!!!

You should!

Yes we pay everything via one account and use tax free childcare regardless of activity we are paying for (externally or internally run).

There is nothing different for us between the two types of facilities except (to an extent) who is running them. Both paid for, both in school classrooms, both for the same duration, both included in tax free childcare scheme.

TBH these clubs are an important income stream for the school - they run them in house, charge, make good money from them, pay the staff who run them a fair wage and offer very reduced places to those on free school meals/pupil premium. It's win win and I don't really understand why your school isn't doing it.

Our school has hugely expanded them, they have now introduced morning ones too. It's a really good income stream as you say & lots of benefits.

Both paid for, both in school classrooms, both for the same duration, both included in tax free childcare scheme.

Maybe @Plumbear2 can enlighten us?

Stop tagging half the thread 🙄

@yoyy @yoyy @yoyy

In the school my DCs attend, you can use the tax free childcare scheme for after school club but not for activities, which are heavily subsidised. But ours is a faith school and part of a trust which may make a difference.

Anyway, this thread has gone bonkers due to you (specifically you) leaping on everyone and slamming down any sort of discussion.

If it was an emergency another teacher would jump in or the dc would be scooped up by the asc.

I don’t think any of the teachers in my school would be prepared to ‘jump in’ unpaid to run a club at the last minute now. Years ago maybe, but goodwill is gone and a lot of people are rather broken, sadly. We have so many people off at the moment, covered by supply teachers that those left already have 5 different hats and don’t have much more to give. We also don’t have an after school club in my current school. Perhaps things are similar in other schools.

We have extra curricular activities, run by teachers (for free) each night. These have limited spaces and the groups of children change each term. Running alongside these we have an after school a club which parents pay for and is run by separate members of staff who are paid for this role.
We had to cancel one of the extra curricular clubs very last minute last week as the teacher had managed to stay in class all day but was too unwell to stay after school. We had to send a message out 5 minutes before the end of the day and ask for any parents who were able to collect (for example, those collecting siblings) to do so but those who were unable should not worry as the children would go into the after school club.
They are two separate clubs. One is childcare and one, I would say, isn't.

Anyway, this thread has gone bonkers due to you (specifically you) leaping on everyone and slamming down any sort of discussion.

I think the thread is bonkers because of some of the bonkers posts like the below

"I book both on days when DCs want to do an activity club and I have to work. It isn't rocket science"

😆😆

Replying to posts & highlighting nonsense isn't shutting down discussion.

@Shinyandnew1 I was explaining how it worked in the schools I know.

Your laughing faces aren't fooling me @yoyy. You are behaving like a keyboard warrior on a mission on here and honestly, you appear to be either drunk or not in the best of sorts. So I won't be reading any more of your impassioned posts. 😂😂😂😂

The irony, since you were the one replying to my posts initially.

The nonsense you are posting is funny! If you don't like me highlighting that perhaps engage your brain first?

Why would you accuse someone of being drunk because you can't handle them replying your responses?

My school have always done a range of free clubs, clubs that are paid for by outside agencies and the ASC.

The free clubs are run out of the goodness of the staff's hearts.