What school clubs are offerred to Year 3 children at your child's school?

[Pernickety]

Because so far we have had letters home offering football, street-dancing and cheerleading and I am feeling a bit about it.

There is a cookery club, offered to 10 out of 90 children and an art club, offered to 20 out of 180 children. But that's it, as far as I can see, for Years 3 and 4.

Last year my son did african drumming, archery, and table tennis. He was also offered football, cricket, reading and German I think. Each club only lasts 4-6 weeks usually and is open for around 12-20 kids depending on what it is (out of a year group of 90). If clubs a over-subscribed the school will try and run them again later in the year.

Our school offers loads and lots are free:
Free ones are: Film Club, ICT, School Newspaper, French, Band, Choir, Recorders.
The ones you pay for are:
Dance, Cricket, Football, Drama, Yoga, Karate, Ntball, French for fun, chess, Brownies.

The free clubs they can pick 2 and change each term. The paid for clubs you do as long as you pay for them.

I'd raise it with the school as they need to offer a certain amount of free clubs to be fully inclusive.

Kittens. Are those all available for Year 3?

What do you mean free clubs to be fully inclusive?

Sports Focus - Pay
Junior Drama - Free
French Fun - Free
High 5s netball - Free
Spanish - Pay
Chess - Pay
Choir - Free
Keyboards - Pay
Jazz dance - Pay
Explore homework club - Free

The school is a primary - there are only 30 children in Year 3. The free clubs do tend to get over-subscribed, so if that happens, each child gets to do it for one term, before letting someone else have a go.

Some of the clubs take place at lunch time - the rest are after school. There are lots more but they are not open to Year 3.

Actually, I think there may be a french club at DD's school too. But I would like to see other sports on offer. DD1 is not interested in dance at all so street dance and cheerleading are certainly not up her street.

I'd like to approach the school about this but firstly need to garner what other schools typically offer to Year 3s.

Will you be offering to run these clubs? Lunchtime / after school clubs are run by parents at our school, with a few by the staff with parent help and a few on a pay basis by external clubs usiNg the school site.

Are you expecting the staff to run them, free of charge, in their spare time or are you expecting outside agencies to come in and be paid? Volunteer to run one yourself and get other parents to do the same.

Football, Netball, Rugby, Athletics, Spanish, French, Line Dancing, Cheerleading, Choir, Orchestra.

Pressure is getting greater and greater on Primary teachers to run these clubs, for free. One Head near me is well known for asking at interview what clubs you'll run. It's a favourite target for new teachers too to run a club. As I've got older and wiser I've stopped running clubs. It's always the same:

-work another 45min at the end of a long day and still work even longer because of late parents (our school record is 8.15pm to collect a child!!! 5-6pm has also happened a few times). You're left with a tired hungry child you would rather have seen the back of.

-Then you get the ones who hate the club but whose parents have made them go for the few childcare who then piss around the whole time. When they are kicked out their parents always drag them up to you the next day in tears to tell you they love the club really and want to come back, despite weeks of them telling you they hate art/ sport/ drama and them displaying that in class too.

-Don't forget the ones who tell you your club is lacking in some way. Little Johnie expects to use clay next week as art club mainly involves painting (well if anyone did some fundraising we'd have some supplies beyond poster paint and photocopy paper, didn't you here the lead off the roof was nicked again? We have run out of bloody books/ pencils let alone clay/ modrock etc)

-Discipline issues. It's after school so we don't have to behave for the outside provider. So despite getting someone else to do the club you still end up giving your time each week to police it.

-Other logisitcal issues you have, such as no first aider on site (often these are TAs who go home at 3.15) or extra risk assessments/ planning to eat into time.

Even the teachers who like doing clubs get run to the ground by them. Sorry that turned into a rant but after school clubs must be one of the most thankless bits of teaching EVER.

For the record I do still do a few clubs, on a invitation only basis! Now that REALLY winds parents up but it helps me filter out all the kids that don't want to be there.

I must say though I LOVE the parents who volunteer to run clubs and we always support them in doing so and make sure they never have to deal with discipline or other issues to make their lives hard.

Yes all the clubs are availble to year 3 - some are just yr3 and some are yr3 to yr6.

Free clubs allow parents who can't afford to pay for clubs to do some after school activities. It ties into developing the whole child, they all need other things to develop rather than just acedemic study.

The Free clubs are available to everyone, its first come first serve, but you are allowed to pick 2 per term and if you don't get a place you will the next term.

Definitely take it up with the school as the free clubs are all run by teachers. They are on directed time until 4.15 so giving up 45 mins once a week for a term is not too much for them to do.

Actually a teacher's directed time runs 25-30min after the end of the school day, of which 15min is spent at the gate dismissing children in most schools.

It is 'to much for them to do' if people take the piss, which happens frequently. Expectations are there, but support or consideration is lacking in many cases.

We have, I think, (mine are only YR and Y1), dance, library, maths, choir, tag rugby, football, playball, chess, maybe rounders? A mix of teacher and outside run, free and pay.

Ah, good old bitchy mumsnet and everyone jumping to the worst conclusion. I'm not expecting teachers to run these clubs - though in a school with a three form entry, I would expect there to be more teacher run clubs on offer than the schools which have a one form entry. There are plenty of outside organisations who come into schools and run clubs at schools - the cheerleading and . I am expecting to pay.

I would happily run a sports club if I was qualified to do so! But I'm not. I have thought about offering to do a book group though.

that should say the cheerleading and streetdancing are run by outside organisations.

I not referring to you thinking that, just stated why there are often a lack of clubs. Believe me it's depressing to run them in many areas,

We're just starting to get outsiders in. We've had the issue though of non-payment from parents and then being left to pay for the contracts.

Nowadays schools more and more are teaming up with other schools/ leisure centres etc. We have doubled what we can run by teaming up with the primaries around us. We'll happily walk the kids there at the end of the day, and we receive kids at the end of the day. Many schools open up to kids from any school, if you're in an urban area it's worth asking about extended services provision in your area.

It is a thankless task for teachers. Parents look on it as free childcare and there has been uproar on mumsnet if a teacher cancels a week because she has a meeting. I don't think parents realise that it is run on goodwill and not something teachers have to do.

Riding
string group
rugby
swimming
hockey
guitar
science
keyboard
karate
construction
ballet
string group
language group
art
chess
animal care
orchestra
gymnastics

In yr 3, they only have to be signed up in advance for riding and karsate

I really do appreciate that after school clubs are a bugger for teachers to arrange on top of their teaching day. Really, I do.

Though DH is a secondary school teacher and helps to supervise a lunchtime club - but at that age, and during the school day, I think the pupils are better at organising themselves.

I'm just pondering why some primary schools seem to offer loads of clubs and DD's school, the largest primary in the area, doesn't have many at all.

Sorry for the bitch comment. It's just I always try to write civilly to people's posts, even if I get the impression they may be teacher-bashing or something like that.

dd's old school had football and er..., oh yes, football for y3

her new school has art club, netball club, tennis, swimming, dance, streetdance, drama, football, recorder, choir, orchestra - the school-provided clubs are free, the ones run by outside providers are paid for but subsidised

I offered to run a recorder group and junior reporters club at dd's old school and got turned down (am qualified and have CRB check for the school) ho hum ...

At a one form entry school, we have choir, handwriting club, football and drama.

DS1 is rather underwhelmed by this choice, apart from football. He would happily do extra sports every night.