first come first served for after school club.

[mumnosGOLDisbest]

There are only a few places for some of the after school clubs and they've been allocated on a first come first served basis. This seems really unfair. DS took his slip back the next day and was chosen butsome friends were absent, have useless parents, have younger siblings so arrive in class last, go to breakfast club and arrive later etc. It seems an unfair way to select children. I'm also a bit worried when it comes to school selecting pipils for music lessons. That too is first come and the teacher selects the instrument. I really want DS to play an instrument, guitar would be good (me and my df play).

I know not everyone can be involved but thre must be a fairer way!

Our school doesn't run any before of after school clubs other than football.

You get used to the first come first served for clubs thing.

I am EXTREMELY disorganised, and generally a bit shit. I do, however, tell my DC's to wave letters up my nose WHILE STILL IN THE PLAYGROUND. I keep a pen in my bag. They drag me to the office. It gets done.

I also now, after 8 years of DC's going through a school like this, have got used to the 'rhythm' of these letters - a new football (paid for) club letter out at the start of each term, new free clubs at the start of each half term etc.

The clubs are first come, first served, but with a caveat that each child can only do a term or half term in most of the free clubs. Only exception to this is for team sports.

I have learnt which times of year I need to pay for swimming, what year groups go which trips (and a rough cost, allowing for inflation and higher or lower coach costs depending on size of year group*).

*DD's year had 60, cost was X. DS1's year has 30, cost is 2X. DS2's year has 90, cost is 1.5X. Bit weird, but the coaches have 64 seats each. DD's year needed 1 coach, full up so each DC paid one 60th of the coach costs. DS1's year needs one coach, only half full up, so each DC pays one 30th of the coach cost. DS2's year needs 2 coaches, each having 45 DC's, so each DC pays one 45th of the coach cost.

But after a while, you 'know' this stuff, so you LOOK less disorganised. Even if you're not!

"Club days are now Tues - Thursday with Fridays and Mondays absolutely clear morning & afternoon"

Could be that the school needs Monday afternoon for a full staff meeting with every teacher present? And that the early closure on a Friday was either a one-off or that the Head prefers the staff to start their weekend earlier than most days of leaving at 6 (in my dreams I've 'finished' work at 6 with no planning or marking to take home) so it's a pay-off against all the Sunday afternoon working the staff will be doing?

Or, as someone said, it could be 'working to rule' instead of full-day strikes.

This is what I have never understood about teachers. This thing about working to rule is contrary to every other profession I can think of. So much of what i do in my job bears almost little or no relation to my job description but it I choose to do what I need to do to achieve the objectives agreed at my appraisal.

Anyway, back to the OP. The first come, first served thing bugs me because I am at school at 8am to drop my DCs off but the office isn't open then. My DCs would miss out every time under that rule. I have to bribe my good friend to deliver the letter for me. It does make life tricky for working parents.

"So much of what i do in my job bears almost little or no relation to my job description but it I choose to do what I need to do to achieve the objectives agreed at my appraisal."

Which is the same for 95% of teachers (and why very few primary schools at least are working to rule - it was just a suggested possibility), although we don't only do the tasks relating to our appraisals.

We operate a 'everything comes in by the deadline, then we allocate following established rules' process for clubs:

• So that as many children as possible can do at least 1 club, we allocate every child 1 club first, only considering a child for a second if there are spaces.

-Children are asked to name a 2nd or 3rd choice club in case they don't get their first, to maximise their chances that they get something.

• Siblings (or children who we know are picked up together by the same person) who have applied for the same club either both get in, or both don't.
• If a club is run for 2 consecutive terms, or is run annually at the same time each year e.g. Christmas crafts, then children who haven't done it before get priority.

I like the sound of that teacherwith2kids.

My son's school did the first come, first served, thing. For popular clubs with limited numbers this meant all the places were filled on the first day as parents completed slip at 3.15 pick-up and handed in. I did have a quiet word, as this system meant all the kids with working parents, who go into the afterschool club (my ds included) never got a place.

Now it's from the next morning, and anyone who doesn't get a place takes priority the next term.

I'm a teacher, who doesn't run an afterschool club, and I'm immensely grateful to the teachers at ds' school who do. I can't imagine how they manage it - I work non-stop from 3.20 to 5 when I have to leave to get to ds in time, and I never ever EVER get all the things done in school that I need to (physical classroom stuff that I can't do at home, meetings, planning with colleagues etc). I also love the fact that the school promises to honour the club even if the lead teacher is away/off/sick. All clubs have 'cover' teachers.

We've just been told about a dance club and it was forms in by Friday, then names picked out of a hat. I think that's fairer.

Think its definately fairer to collect all names in then allocate places. My dc do always get their forms in and usually get a place but i know the ones who dont are often the children who would really benefit from a place and do little else outside of school.