after school care at secondary school

[mydoorisalwaysopen]

My DS will be just 11 when he starts secondary school and I'm not comfortable with him being on his own til 5 when I get home. There are after school activities but they are clubs rather than care. What do other parents do when their kids first start secondary?

What kind of after school care do you use now? My parents are cm and have had the children continue to come after secondary school for a while until they felt to old to be being looked after.

Most saw it as, we can get ourselves to and from school ok so why can't we be at home for a hour or two on our own getting on with homework (hopefully!)

5 is a great time to be getting home to him as it will mean he won't be home alone for long esp if he decides to do some of the after school clubs, I have known lots of parents who can't get back before 6.30/7 it is mainly those parents who continue childcare for the longer time period. Most by Christmas though are going straight home and just pop in to visit us.

A friend of mine employed a cleaner/housekeeper to work 3-5.30 (3days a week in her case) so she got her cleaning, ironing and some washing done and an adult presence in the house for her dd. Her dd didn't need entertaining or feeding and she would come home and dissappear up to her room to do her homework and Mum got the benefit of a clean house and peace of mind.

thanks for the answers. At the moment I use the after school club at the primary school, which is fantastic. The cleaner/babysitter I'd a good option or I may see about changing my hours for the first term so I can be home when he gets in.