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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Before/After school clubs at Reception age?

22 replies

cakeaddict · 16/02/2011 12:02

Hi,

Just wondering what people's experiences are of using before and/or after school clubs for reception age children?

DS is due to start school this September, and unless I can rearrange my work somehow, I potentially need to put him in out of school care from 7.30am - 5.30pm 3 days a week (I'm at home on the other two days).

I'm very worried this is going to be too much for him, particularly at first, and would like to hear of anyone else's experience - good and bad.

Thanks.

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rickymummy · 16/02/2011 12:08

I don't have any personal experience of afterschool clubs, but my DS has been at breakfast club since Reception.

I was worried it would be too overwhelming, as it is not at the school, and started with a nanny (between jobs and happy to do school run for few weeks), but when we started breakfast club, it was fine.

Friends use afterschool club too, and again, the children enjoy it.

Other option was a childminder, but this didn't work for us.

CMOTdibbler · 16/02/2011 12:09

DS started school in September, and goes to school at 8, picked up around 5.30 - we try to pick him up at 3.20 on Fridays, but otherwise its the same each weekday.

He loves it, and doesn't seem to have a problem with it all. His school run their own before/after, and from 3.20-5, after school club is pretty much only reception as the years above have such a choice of clubs.

TheFallenMadonna · 16/02/2011 12:12

My dd went to after school club 5 days a week from the first half term in reception. It was fine, but it depends on your child and the club. Lots of DD's friends go too, there is loads of the stuff she likes to do best, she knew most of the staff already, and the setting. It's a really individual thing, as these things always are.

notanewmember · 16/02/2011 12:14

my dc was fine, but she has been to this nursery since since she was 6 months old. When she is back at nursery, after school she can lay down and have a good rest...Although it has happened when picking her up at 6-7pm she has fallen asleep in the car.

Original poster

cakeaddict · 16/02/2011 13:56

Thanks for your thoughts. Perhaps I need to look at the club in more detail and see what age children etc they tend to take.
Does anyone use a club that serves 2 schools? All the local ones I'm looking at do that and so I'm wondering whether or not the children tend to stay in groups from their own school or, whether they mix well together?

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Fiddledee · 16/02/2011 14:02

Does he start full time from September where you are, all start part time for the first term where I am and only go full time the term after they turn 5 - logistical nightmare for working parents.

Ben10isthespawnofthedevil · 16/02/2011 14:17

Our AS club at the local church has 5 schools that they have walking buses from. DS is at the closest school - 5 minutes walk for a 5 year old. They all mix completely and he has been going from after the first half term and he was a summer baby. He absolutely loves it and asks to go!

The breakfast club is at the school itself so is only for children from that school.

Original poster

cakeaddict · 16/02/2011 14:24

Fiddledee Yes, I think they do about 2 weeks of half days but then full time. He's young for his year so if I had to wait for him to turn 5 he'd do a full year of part time first. That must be really difficult.

Maybe I'll see if I can persuade my boss to let me work from home temporarily for the first few weeks and then he has a bit of settling time before needing to do the long days...

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ChestnutSoup · 16/02/2011 14:34

My DD1 is at pre-school and does all the wraparound care available two days a week because DH and I both work. It's at the local children's centre, which is attached to the pre-school, and also take children from three primary schools.

DD1 loves it - the breakfast club is pretty quiet (never more than 12 children - often only eight) and she feels it's a calmer start to the day than the scrum outside the pre-school door (and I agree, what with anything up to 60 children at a time plus parents). The after-school club she loves too, partly because she sees children she knows from her old nursery who are already at school, and she goes on the quieter days (no more than 20 children - some days they have up to 40).

But, DD1 is very confident (and has an October birthday so is old in her year), is super-sociable and loves being with older kids. I can see that it wouldn't be for everyone.

rickymummy · 16/02/2011 14:56

Our afterschool/breakfast and holiday clubs serve around 5 local schools. The children all mix, although they tend to play with their classmates if they are there and get on.

crazymum53 · 16/02/2011 15:04

I would check the hours of the breakfast and after school clubs and whether they let you do 3/5 days. Breakfast club at my dds school starts at 8.15am so that wouldn't suit you. A child-minder may be a more flexible option especially if you need child-care during the school holidays!

UpsyDaisyDo · 16/02/2011 15:20

My ds is in reception and does breakfast club and afterschool club 3 days a week. Its on the school premises from 7.30am until 6pm. He loves it and has had only minimal problems adjusting. He was at a private nursery before which was open 7am - 7pm so is used to the long days.

Fiddledee · 16/02/2011 16:13

do you have to work school hols? if so then a childminder would be a much better solution

Original poster

cakeaddict · 16/02/2011 16:50

I do work school hols, but hope that by using my annual leave, DH's annual leave and visits from (highly enthusiastic) grandparents to plug the gaps, we might just about cover the school holidays - at least for the first year.

DS is used to nursery 8 - 5.30 3 days a week at the moment, so the long days wouldn't be that much of a change for him. It's just that so many people have told me how tired their DC are when starting school that I was worried a long day plus school was going to be a whole different ballgame.

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UniS · 16/02/2011 20:15

For my DS it would be too much. He is shattered , started reception in Jan this year and is barely coping with school. This week is the first week* I have had to use wrap round care and its been tough for him. He is being collected by a childminder he knows and has spent whole days with in holidays over the last year. before school he is going to a friend for 30 min and walk to school.

BUT each child is different, a child who is used to full day care 3 days a week may take to school and wrap round quite happily.

I am self employed and have avoided projects that require me to work full days mon- fri for the last 2 months. I've worked some weekends and some short days.

BUnderTheBonnet · 16/02/2011 20:25

My DD was full time at nursery before she went to school, so she was used to a day being this long. She didn't seem at all fazed by there being older children there, and they seem to have "adopted" her a bit. She loves knwoing some of the big boys and girls!

I don't think she was any more tired when she started school with breakfast and after school club than she was at nursery (she's a summer baby too).

I started maternity leave a couple of weeks ago so she doesn't go anymore, and she says occasionally that she misses her friends.

ceebeegeebies · 16/02/2011 20:31

My DS1 started reception in September (also a summer baby) and goes to breakfast club and after-school club 3 days a week.

He had also been in nursery 4 days a week from 6 months old and, tbh, he has taken it in his stride. Both clubs are in the school which I am much more comfortable about and most of the friends he came through from nursery with also go to the after-school club. He has certainly not been phased by the bigger children at all.

He is not keen on breakfast club and moans every morning he has to go although he won't give me a reason and he is fine once we are actually setting off Think it is because none of his 'best' friends go there (even though there are quite a few of his classmates there) but it is only for 50 minutes so I am just ignoring his whinging

wearymum200 · 16/02/2011 22:47

DS1 was 4.6 when started school, went to afterschool club, not the one belonging to the school as it was full, but one run by staff from his nursery (so he knew staff and many of the other children). 3 days a week, I pick up between 5 and 6 usually (as near 5 as poss, but doesn't always work out like that)
He has been very happy, but very tired. I changed my working days so i could pick up at 3 on a Friday, which has helped a bit. I can't compare with how tired he would be if didn't do afterschool club. He doesn't go to breakfast club as we are lucky in that a bunch of neighbours share our children round, iyswim, on school mornings (so i take neighbour's child when I'm not working and so on). This shorten the day from the other end and has, i think, been invaluable. Any chance you can get together with other parents and set something like that going?

LittlePushka · 16/02/2011 22:51

Just making my place here to keep up with replies - same issue for me OP!!

3point14 · 16/02/2011 23:57

From my experience of a child who will start reception in September 2011 and who now attends nursery full time on weekdays, why not build up then rather than having a major jump when starting school. In fact, school will be shorter hours than nursery.

NewInKew · 17/02/2011 07:32

I'm a volunteer play worker at a local after school club, which takes children from 3 different schools. There are quite a few reception aged children, but it's a very mixed age range. The clubs are required to fill in EYFS paperwork on how the reception children are getting on, and are asked to note down anything and everything about how the children are settling in to the club, who they are playing with, what they are getting up to etc. This obviously means that the playworkers have to spend more time interacting with the younger children (which I think is comforting). Our club also has different areas for the children to go, so there is an art room, 2 outside spaces, back of the church (for the older children) and a quiet area (where the younger children are encouraged to go if it's all getting too much for them).

I've been working there for 6 months now and I have yet to see any reception age child NOT settle in really quickly. Most of the children there beg their parents to come pick them up as late as possible because they enjoy it so much!

Like a lot of the other posters have been saying - it all depends a lot on what your DS is like and also what the culture of the club is. Hope that's helpful!

Original poster

cakeaddict · 19/02/2011 21:35

Thanks all for your replies. It has been really helpful and eased my maternal guilt at the prospect of putting him in wraparound care.

NewinKew that was really helpful - I didn't realise that there were guidelines about dealing with young children in after school settings.

We are still waiting to find out which school he has got into, and the after school care would be different in each case so I think once we know I'll go and have a chat with the after school clubs and see how I feel after that. I'll also look into trying to juggle my work hours (or DH juggle his) a bit for the first few weeks to maybe give him an easier run-up to the long days.

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