What do parents want from before & after school clubs?

At DS school they go from about 7.00 or 7.30 not quite certain, they have toast etc. have a play.

I think the dropping off times are done so that you can drop off any time after start.

after school they have some tea and play in playground {if fine} help with homework, and more playing. I am not quite sure what time they finish I would guess about 6-7pm

In the holidays it is also run. which includes using the school swimming pool, and the school playing fields. In the holidays it is open to children from other schools as DS friend who goes to different school went there because it is better than what was at her school.

It is not run by teachers from the school but by a woman who is an ex-mum. At the end of school she goes round with a clipboard collecting the children to take them to the rooms they use on other side of playground in music block.

Children don't always go every day but are booked in beforehand {don't know how much notice they have to give}

They all seem to enjoy it and they start from reception up to year 6.

HTH sorry I don't have first hand experience of what actually happens this is just what I have heard on grapevine or from DS friends who go there.

sorry I think rereading it I got it a bit wrong what I meant was boy A goes MTWT but not F
boy B goes MWF, boy C goes WTF
etc

does that make sense?


each child does not have to go each session

yes thanks

It all got too much for me this morning

but much better now thanks

I could ask at DS school for more info for you if you like.

What do you want to know?

I could ask the mums or headteacher possibly.

Is there a burning question you want to know the answer to.

My DS goes to before school club (or breakfast club - but he doesn't eat b'fast there ) - it's open from 8am and can drop them off any time, it doesn't seem to organised just a nice friendly warm environment where they can read, watch a video, draw etc before start of school - then they are escorted to class (he's reception). Unfortunately After school club is booked out for years in advance so can't really comment! Having a place in one of the clubs (before/after) guarantees a place in holiday club (but have to pre-book) which is a blessing - but as only first year not sure how much will use. I understand during holiday club there are organised activities to do during day including trips out and about. (Slight concern from another mother about age of carers but they all seem v responsible and get on well with kids). HTH.

Our school has an independently run Before & After School Club. I think before school runs from 7.30am-9am and after school runs from 3.10-6pm. I book my ds in on a Thursday after school just because one of his good friends goes (!) although now its handy as I dont have to run from work to school and then back to dd's school which is right by work but she finishes later. It costs £4 up to 5pm and then £5 up to 5.30 and £6 up to 6pm. They have toys to play with and a playstation, a tv, some do homework (older kids help the younger ones) lots of books, they have access to squash/water and a couple of biscuits soon after getting there and some children take a packed lunch to eat later. In the summer they go out into the playground and use the school's facilities.

My ds is has asd and is in reception, I use the after school club as I work 3 days. The fee is a flat rate of £17 whether you use 1 day or 5, but they tend to only take children whose parents are working at least 3 days. Ds goes every day now as he needs the daily routine of being picked up from the same place , I just collect him earlier on the days that I dont work. It was very rocky at the beginning of this term because of the routine thing but now that is sorted he absolutely loves it. They have put one assistant in charge of himm for 1 to 1 because he does tend to run off, and the security gates to the school are occasionally left open which has nearly ended with tears as ds believes that he is able to walk home alone.
It is a great place for him in particular because his social and communication skills are
a problem, and in that environment he is most definately challenged to cope. I know that may sound rather hard but it works for him and he's gaining confidence and he is slowly learning about interaction.

Oh right, I was being a bit dim

I thought you or DH were going to run it at the school, while the other stayed at home.

That sounds a brill idea

"Go for it girl!!!"

I helped set up an after school club at my children's school a few years ago and my three eldest all went to it - don't know much about breakfast clubs though.
From memory, and it was quite a while ago, I think we sent a sort of market research questionnaire thingy to all the parents in the school (the PTA paid for paper and the school let us use their photocopier, which was pretty useful as there were over 350 kids in the school) asking what sort of hours they wanted, what sort of activities they thought the club should have, what sort of policies they thought were important etc.
Once the club started, the set up was basically that the younger children (Primaries 1 to 3 - aged up to about 7) were collected from their classrooms and taken to the school dining room where the club met. The older children made their own way there. The club had a register of which children attended on what days and if the children didn't turn up or weren't in their classes, then the parents were contacted. The club used the dining room, which was pretty big and also had another smaller room for 'quiet activities'. They did all sorts really from arts and crafts to computers to homework, reading, games, sports (in good weather, they used the playground of the park next to the school) and the children and parents had a lot of input in suggesting activities. Also, the children got juice and a biscuit (not very healthy, I know. Children were to be collected by 5:45 and the club had to vacate the school by 6pm. Also, the club had a mobile if parents needed to contact it as the school couldn't be relied on to pass on messages.
I think parents really just want to know that all eventualities are covered, ie that you have policies set down for situations like parents not turning up at the end of the day/children taking ill/discipline issues etc. I also think that, legally you may have to have all these policies to get registered. Maybe Social Services could help with this.
Anyway, good luck with it. I found it really hard work setting the club up but very rewarding and once it had been set up and the right staff were in place, it really ran itself.

My son goes to an after school club. He's in the nursery attached to our local state primary school. The after school club is licensed to take 3 year olds too (although he is the only one that young). He absolutely LOVES it. They pick him up from nursery (club is on school grounds) and he' s there until 5:45. I would prefer that it lasted just a little longer (I finish work at 6, so my dh has to do all the picking up). Otherwise, I think it's a wonderful experience for my ds. He has interaction with older children which is great for him. I'm not quite sure what they do, but he is always happy and has never said that he doesn't want to go. I think they just play really. They are given a small snack and drink at some point.

To answer your question...for me as a working parent, it's really important to have flexibility. I would pay extra to be able to leave my ds later on some days (not an option in our case since it's on school grounds). The woman who runs the club is a very motherly figure and is quite firm about the level of behavior that she expects from the children, although they are in a playing environment and not a learning one (I think this is quite important, by the way, otherwise the children will just have too much "school time"). She also has all older (ie over the age of 30) women as helpers...really inspires confidence. I have the mobile number of the woman who runs the club which is very handy for me if something comes up, or I remember something last minute.

Mine have a preschool arangment from 8 until school starts at 8.50. This is free (it is a fee paying school though). Afterschool they have a club that runs from 3.30 until 6.00 which you pay for. They children can have a drink and they make them toast in the after school. We pay for the afterschool for the under 7s. Over 7's get a free homework club.

DS doesn't start nursery until next year so have thoughts but not actual experience.

I would say time to relax is important. I'm worried that if he is dropped off at the club and then goes there after school too it will be a really long day for him.

Maybe somewhere where the little ones can have 40 winks

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn