Is your primary wraparound care guaranteed?

[bigspoonlittlespoon]

Just interested in this... is wraparound care for your primary aged children guaranteed by their school? I have just changed my daughter's school, in her previous school she was guaranteed a place in wraparound care (breakfast/after school club), this was the case for all the parents. It was book as needed and essentially pay as you go. In her new school all the clubs are full and there are waiting lists with no guarantee of getting a place and no timeline on when places might become available. I am finding it really stressful. I had thought that most schools would provide wraparound care given that most parents need to work, but maybe am I wrong to think this?

Ours are full too, and a waiting list. Can't find a job, as no wraparound care.

Wraparound care provision was high up on the list of what we were looking for when picking a school. The school do have a breakfast club (run by school) and an after school club (external company) but you have fixed days and there's a waiting list. I thought that was pretty standard for a big school. Schools don't have to offer anything though.

I’ve never known anyone have trouble getting into breakfast club or after school club at our school. But there are lots of other after school options available locally, so the pressure on them isn’t too great.

Round our way - always full, and always long waiting lists. Actually am astonished to hear that isn’t the case everywhere!
We used a childminder for before/after school (the same one who had them as babies/toddlers).

There is a cap on numbers but it’s never close to being reached. There are 30 places for a 90 roll school and lots of parents are part time/SAHP/on maternity leave or have grandparents nearby. Can book ad hoc places at short notice or cancel and get a refund with 3 days notice.

It also runs at half term and holidays. I love it. So much easier than nursery.

It's very difficult to get wrap around care at my dcs school. My eldest was offered a place this year but we've had to turn it down because my youngest wasn't. I would have had to send ds (or pay for an unused space?)for a year whilst still picking dd up from school until she got a place. Childminders are like hens teeth too, I think many have given up over the last year.

Our school has wraparound provided by a private provider. The usual wait is 3 years to get a place which is a nightmare if by then you have 2 in the school.

Ours is first come first served. They obviously have limits on numbers due to space and staffing.
They are rarely fully booked though. A local nursery also does wrap around care (they drop off and pick up from the school).

Definitely no waiting list at ours.

No before or after school care at my kids school. No breakfast club. Bits and pieces of after school sport and other stuff but very oversubscribed and you definitely couldn't rely on it for care.

DD's primary school doesn't have any wraparound care at all.
I know other local schools do other it. Some have waiting lists, others you have to commit to certain days every week otherwise you lose your space.

What size is the school OP? This probably has a bearing. My DD goes to a one form entry primary & after school club is rarely full. We pay half termly & have to pay by a certain day to hold our place for the following half term. It’s run privately on-site.

However, several of my friends kids attend 3 form entry schools & competition at after school club is fierce. Waiting lists are very long. My friend was on the phone for 2 hours on National offer day to try get a place 🙈

But the difference is there are 210 kids at our school. There are 670 at the bigger schools. Still only one after school club. 🤷🏼‍♀️

There are local private nurseries in our area that run after school clubs as well. They pick from local schools. They also provide holiday clubs.

Nope not at ours. It's a private provider. Last year, at a weeks notice it closed. No breakfast or after school club for the whole summer term.

Put quite a few parents in a bit of a pickle!

Ours is first come first served, but I've never known them to be full up and breakfast club and only rarely at after school club - they send a text round during the day if they've run out of places. You can book regular days in advance, and if there's space you can book at the last minute. With breakfast club I have on occasion just shown up unannounced at 7.30 and asked if they could take the kids when we've had an emergency (eg car breakdown), and they always have. They just bill us for it after.

My DS is in a PRU and they have no after school provision at all (they do provide breakfast, the food, but at 9.00). I know of one specialist school locally that does have after school club but this is rare, basically if you have DCs with SEN you are supposed to live in a box during school hours and appear to be ready to pick them up.
The school next to his which is a mainstream primary has an after school club that's oversubscribed this year (I think one or two CMs have stopped working, which includes his, so he now has no after school care).

DD school has one which isn't guaranteed, you have to book early. If you book for the whole year you are guaranteed the days you book but otherwise no.

Wow thanks everyone. Seems that there's a big range. We're in London and I'm pretty sure it's standard to provide wraparound around here, it was certainly discussed on every open day that I went to. The whole thing is so frustrating. Where is the support for working families? Then parents get a bad rep for having to leave work early when wraparound is not available. I'm a single parent and I don't have any backup. I wish it would be better.