After school Childcare

[catherinec123]

Hi guys, I am interesting in starting a cooperative after school club at my kids school and wanted to get some opinions and feedback on this idea. This would be a Cooperative after school club for ages 6-11 (ages 6 up as you need a higher adult:child ratio for under 6's) which aims to provide cheaper childcare. Parents/guardians/family members volunteer to assist the permanently employed trained staff (male and female) and therefore the childcare would be available at a cheaper price. Parents are the owners of the club and they make up the decision making body i.e. they make all the decisions surrounding the care of their child/how money is reinvested etc. All profits reinvested into the club- the advantage to the parents is a cheaper price and quality childcare. We Propose a club running Monday-Friday from time when school ends until 6pm costing £120-£140 a month. The club forms a community unlike standard childcare services which is appealing to parents are children. We (the club) would fund one DBS check per child, any other family members (eg parents/grandparents/aunties etc) would need to fund their own check. All volunteers need to have a check. For each child enrolled, parents/guardians/family members would need to volunteer for approx. 2 sessions a month (ie approx. 6 hours). These sessions can be covered by different members of your family each month e.g. one parent and one grandparent as long as said members are registered with us and have valid DBS checks.

Some questions i wanted to ask you:

1. Would this club be something you would be interested in joining?
2. What time would you like the session to end?
3. How much time would you/your family members be willing to volunteer per month per child enrolled?
4. How much would you be willing to pay as a monthly membership fee?
5. What activities would you like to see included for your child?
6. Would you want the club to run 5 days a week after school, or have a day off eg Friday?
7. Would a discount for second/third/etc children make you more likely to join?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated- thanks very much in advance!

What happens if the volunteer parents don’t turn up for their shift? And the ratios are wrong, would you have to close? I would assume some parents would want the cheaper childcare and not want to do the shifts. On the other hand, if they need childcare due to working, how can they do the shifts? I work part time - so in this scheme I would get cheaper childcare but I’d have to put my dc in for extra days so I could fulfill my volunteer shift obligations.

I would only want 1-3 eves a week and never the same ones.

I wouldn't be able to volunteer as I'd be at work and have no one to do it in my place.

What about the 4-6 year olds needing childcare?!

I also don't think I'd feel comfortable with so many different people involved.
Sorry.

So other parents would volunteer to give other parents cheap childcare? What about if the working parents use it and work part time or don’t work at all but never volunteer? I think I’d feel resentful as a volunteer.
It’s a lovely idea but think by all parents running it it’d be hard to make decisions, no one is ever going to be happy.

The volunteering would not work for me as I need childcare due to work. Therefore could not volunteer on work days and on days not working have DC to young so still couldn't do it without finding other child care for them. Also chances are people will have sorted childcare for 4/5 year olds so would keep using that when DC turned 6 rather than swapping.

What happens when volunteers are sick, held up at work etc so are late or cannot make it? People need reliable childcare.

I think it would be hard to rely on volunteers.

Are you sure there is a demand for it?

My dc’s primary school ran a paid before and after school club and there were literally two or three children there, sometimes one, and my dc hated it.

When the school introduced a free breakfast club they were queueing outside the door.

My theory is most families in my area were sorted re childcare with some mums sahm, some on maternity leave with subsequent children, some flexible working, very few single parents and lots of grandparents at the school gate.

Also to answer one of your questions I would need 5 days a week and sometimes different days each week. Would there be flexibility for that?

A DBS check only means a person hasn't been caught doing something. Just saying.

I think some volunteers would not be prepared to pay for a DBS check just to ‘volunteer’ twice a month. What’s the incentive for them? Especially if they are say a grandparent and would have no other need for one.

This sounds like a recipe for disaster. 99% of people need after school care as they are working, so wouldn't necessarily have someone to volunteer, and would be unable to do so themselves. As well as this children thrive on consistency, having different adults each night, week etc would be very confusing. And I can imagine it would be difficult to monitor if that person should be there, and if they have a DBS.

What would you do for food? You would need food hygiene certificates for those handling food, and to make sure someone was capable and trained each night to serve food. The same is also true for first aid, there would need to be a qualified first aider on site throughout each session.

If parents/grandparents/etc are available to volunteer, then they may well have no need of a club (and n, workers cannot use annual leave if they already need to store it up for school holidays)

Also, by the time a child is 6, they'll have been in school for quite some time and it is very quite likely that parents will stick to whatever cover they have got.

Have you actually scoped demand amongst local parents with DC approaching and at the age you aim to cater for? I stress 'local' because I guess there wouid be quite a number of logistic differences between city/town/village

I wouldn't be happy with the lack of consistency in the supervising adults. Kids need consistency!
A clear DBS doesn't necessarily mean competency.

If they had an adult available to volunteer it's likely they don't need childcare. My child wouldn't like the inconsistency of having different staff.

Parents are the owners of the club and they make up the decision making body i.e. they make all the decisions surrounding the care of their child/how money is reinvested etc

Who is going to want to be the manager of a childcare facility on that basis? You? Sounds like a complete nightmare TBH. The difficult parents / there are always difficult parents - would be opposing every tiny thing and insisting on other disruptive practices. Don't do it as a cooperative model.

Also, by the time a child is 6, they'll have been in school for quite some time and it is very quite likely that parents will stick to whatever cover they have got

And this ^^

Generally, you have to completely rejig childcare arrangements for your child when they're four and start reception. Who is really going to want to do another rejig a mere two years later? Siblings will complicate it still further. It's just not an attractive proposition unless it covers 4 and 5 YOs.

It sounds fine in theory but I think that using volunteers instead of paid staff would be a mistake. I know that would increase costs but I think you would struggle massively to get volunteers of the right calibre. I'd bet my house (almost, and MrFairies wouldn't like it..) that parents would fall over themselves to use your club but would become invisible when you were looking for volunteers, committee members or whatever.

Have you considered setting it up as a Community Interest Company?

Yes why would a grandparent offer to volunteer to look after other people’s children when they could be on hand to look after their own grandchildren in a more flexible arrangement that suits them eg their own home?

I have a child with complex needs (severe learning diffs + ASD) but in mainstream primary. I struggle to see how untrained volunteers would be able to provide the right support/care (which you will have to provide also for disabled children under the Equality Act 2010.)

buttertoff33 that's a very good point. I really don't think the OP has done much research into this.

It's nice in theory but there are issues.

• if people are volunteering they are likely to be unreliable. You will need a set ratio of children to adults. 1 volunteer dropping out last minute means you can not care for all the children who are booked in. What will you do then?
• What about things like first aid training, public liability insurance, safeguarding training? These are all essential in a childcare environment. Who is going to organise and pay for these?
• Are you going to be Ofsted registered and inspected? You might need to be (but I'm not 100% sure). More £ and paperwork and time if you do need to be Ofsted approved.

I applaud your intentions here but there are reasons why childcare provision is generally run as a proper business with trained staff. There's a lot more to it that watching kids play.

I think I'd need it to sound more reliable, with paid staff

I would rather pay more for the staff. The nights I wouldn’t need childcare on, I wouldn’t want to then have to volunteer

DS went to a nursery that was run somewhat along those lines. www.childspacenursery.org

I think the drawback is people need childcare because they're not available. My initial instinct is 'that sounds good - can I pay a higher rate to get out of volunteering as I don't have time'. I do have a non working day, but only one each week and it's part of the luxury of that that the kids don't have to do afterschool club that day. They would be well pissed off if I said 'oh kids every 3 mondays we have afterschool club so I can volunteer!

I agree with other comments. Regardless of anything else, I need childcare for reception and year 1. I’m not swapping mid year and, if I’m happy, im not swapping 2 years in. So do it from 4 or not at all.