What would YOU like to see in an after school club?

[domesticsluttery]

I have an interview next week for a job running the after-school childcare club at a local primary school.

I want to wow the interview panel (which includes the school Head and Deputy Head) with my plans for how I am going to turn around the club, which currently suffers from lack of structure.

So, within the obvious constraints of a limited budget, what sort of things would you like to see a child of yours doing in an after school club? Would you like to see structure, with activities planned which have specific learning aims, or would you prefer for children to have more "down time" playing computer games or watching DVDs? Or maybe a balance of both? Would you like the children to have a say in what they do, with activities planned around their suggestions and interests?

Also for any teachers reading, would you like to see the after school club at your school be an extension of the learning that they do in the classroom or do you think they should just be able to relax?

I would be really grateful for any ideas that I can put into my "action plan" for the club.

Thanks Pixie.

I was thinking that when (if!) I started the first thing I would do would have a meeting with all of the children to find out what their interests were, and then see if we could work out some activities from that.

The club runs from 3.30 to 5.30. They have a snack when they first arrive, so that could easily take up most of the time until 4. I then thought we could do some kind of organised activity for around 45 minutes (a lot depends on the age of the children, obviously a 10 year old's attention span is longer than a 5 year old's). Then they could have "free play" where they could watch TV, play on the Wii, draw a picture, read, play with the toys, play outside in the summer etc as they wanted until they were picked up.

I was thinking of maybe having loose themes for each week, relating to the time of year or a specific interest, then we could base the activities that week around that. Activities would be things like craft, cooking etc.

please pm me if you want 'insider info'

DD attends after school clubs

I think they shoulod be allowed to do want they want, however i wouldnt be keen on computer games/TV every day maybe once a week?

One we used had a giant crash mat for kids to bounce some energy out on, was very effective!

I dont like crappy food though, no iceland value fish fingers, smilie facies and beans. I'd rather cheap tomatoe soup and bread or toast and hot chocolate.

Do you think then that the Wii and TV should be limited to certain nights, eg Wii only on a Tuesday and TV only on a Friday? Then free play on the other days could be anything other than them?

The snacks would usually be things like toast/fruit/smoothies etc, they don't do proper meals.

DS goes to after school club. As soon as they arrive, they go out and play in the playground unless it is actually raining. This time of year, they go in when it's dark, otherwise they stay out till 4.30 when they have a drink,sandwich, and biscuit. Then go back out . If raining or dark, they do colouring/draw, play board games (theres a big selection just for late club), do homework, and some days they have a dvd on.

Apart from reception, most children are at other clubs till 5 and then just go into late club after that, so don't spend huge amounts of time

after school clubs shouldn't be structured at all, what qualifications do you have presently?

The fruit/toast/smoothies is what is currently given. I would make sure that there was a balance of carbs and protein along with the fruit.

I know that the parents are currently concerned by the lack of structure. I gather that the children spend most of their time watching TV or playing computer games at the moment.

There are clubs after school (sports, crafts etc) which children from Reception up attend soem nights, but not all children do and the clubs are only until 4.30 and not every night.

Regarding qualifications, I have a Certificate in Early Years Education which is equivalent to an NVQ4 and I also have a degree (but not in a related subject).

I'd actually like NO TV and no computer games. I feel like I don't want to pay lots of money for them to be warehoused: I could ignore them and let them have screen time at home.

I think it should be organised group games and physical and creative activity/music. In other words, the kinds of things they NEVER get time for elsewhere.

Proper organised activities with choice that appeal to all kinds of kids: some quiet crafty type things, some loud, running about and physical things, some messy/cooking stuff.

It should be about proper, organised, themed, planned PLAY. Which is what they don't get anywhere else unless parents organise it. They don't have to do all these things every day, but the organisers should properly schedule activities on a weekly or termly basis.

My kids' afterschool club is basically warehousing. However the local playscheme in the holiday (not run by the school) has really got the balance of organised play and free time absolutely right.

It should not be - and this is my universal experience - bored teenagers and women stressed by paperwork sitting ignoring kids while they punch each other or play computer games.

Argh at all the 'crafts'. When will all the well meaning women realise that EVEN girls like the opportunity to leg it around sometimes, and not just cut and glue things.

And certainly my three boys are bored out of their skulls by endless 'make and do' glittery sessions. Now if they made giant ROBOTS that were BIG and had noises coming out of them, that would work.

I suspect a fundamental lack of energy and imagination is part of the problem in many wrap around care settings...

Space is a big problem when it comes to buring off energy, although as the mother of two boys I know exactly what you mean! At this time of the year it is getting dark by 4, and in the summer the playground is usually being used for sports activities run by teh school. There is a park nearby though, which I planned to take the children to when the weather was better and it is lighter in teh evenings.

but are the children (rather than parents) happy with that, cause they're the ones having to attend.

maybe research playwork, which would help you alot imo.

Dd's afterschool club have craft activities,they make biscuits etc, there is a wii, computers and ds's, home corner,outdoor area with sand and water, skipping ropes, balls etc, board games, jigsaws.Occasionally there is a dvd and sometimes music/disco. It's pretty much free choice although children are moved round activities to give everyone a turn.
I too prefer better quality food and dd is encouraged to butter toast and crackers, make sandwiches herself.

'organised, themed play'??

If the ASC club includes nursery and/or reception children then don't forget you need to be aware of EYFS, but not to the extent of an EY setting (i.e. you won't need to complete a learning journey, etc).

PM me if you want more info - I'm the nominated person with Ofsted for our OSC (Vol/Com run on a school site).

I help out with a walking bus from a recently-opened nursery/wrap-around care place to our local school. Lots of parents have moved their DC there from other places in the area for after-school care, and the main reason they seem to give is that it organises lots of activities that the parents (as they are working) would find it difficult to fit in, and that other places locally don't offer. FWIW, they offer football (with a proper coach), Spanish, judo and crafts and are hoping to introduce some others too. Boys and girls do all the activities they want.

And I agree whole-heartedly with wilf that big messy crafts is the way forwards - enormous noisy robots, monsters, BIG paintings etc, not yet more glittery, feathery crap to take home and stick in the recycling bin.

Who says that the "crafts" aren't making big robots? As I say I have two sons myself, plus I have been working in a nursery school and so am quite used to coming up with craft activities which appeal to both boys and girls. Recently we made a castle out of cardboard boxes, with slits to shoot your arrows through and a drawbridge to make your enemies fall in the moat

As I say the organised activities would include craft (of both the glittery and the giant robot kinds), cooking, board games, music, sports when the weather was OK etc

should not be organised at all though, just be for children to do what they want.

why should they have to continue learning in an after school club?

Oh nobody ds, I'm sure. It's just that my heart sinks every time I go to any 'event' featuring crafts to be confronted by a table full of little bowls of pompoms, foam shapes, feathers and a few hairy glue sticks. You so rarely see good imaginative crafts activities. That's all. I'm sure yours are fantabulous.

I don't mean 'organised' in the sense they have to do it: they can opt out and sit in the corner. But there should be a 'main activity' each day and staff should be encouraging kids to join in because it is fun. Like all good playleaders do because they know kids often resist stuff they haven't tried or don't feel like, but will actually REALLY enjoy if they give it a try.

Just pandering to what they [think they] want all the time is not 'play'...

There isn't actually enough space in the room to use a parachute or do yoga, anything like that would probably have to be done outside.

One of the craft ideas I had was making a big mosaic or similar to hang outside to brighten the place up a bit.

The glittery crafts would be confined to the free play time, there would be a table with craft materials so that children could make something glittery and covered in feathers to go in the recycling take home if they wanted.

midnight your club sounds fantastic, however I don't think we would have the resources to offer football and judo coaching!