What lunchtime clubs are there at your dc's school?

[Dancergirl]

There are none at my dds primary except French club which is run privately. Some sports clubs after school but that's all.

Dd is 10, Year 6, and has never enjoyed break/lunchtimes in the playground. Most of the girls do sporty stuff which she hates and she's always at a bit of a loose end. She's a keen reader so sometimes takes a book to read outside but she gets teased.

She would love something to 'do' at lunchtime, something like chess or a book club etc.

Is it usual for primary schools to have lunchtime clubs?

It's a one form entry state primary btw.

I don't know because mine are reception and Yr1 but I THINK there is a chess club and a homework club, there is certainly a choir and a couple of language ones.

Tap was very popular at DC's school last term. Not on this term but hoping it will return. Also creative writing, board games have been offered in the past. Sometimes TAs take groups of kids to the school library for 15-20min slots.

according to our website there is an animation club

Ours is a state primary but much bigger than yours

Lunchtime clubs include photography, ukulele, guitar, band, choir, netball, swimming, Bollywood dancing, Spanish and gardening.

None at the moment at the primary where I work. The Head keeps trying to get staff to run them, but we can't be forced compelled to do so. You need a willing volunteer or to pay for a profesional.

When my DCs were at state Primary there was very little at lunchtime until one teacher started orchestra. She was wonderful. Such a shame when teacher's don't want to know in my opinion . Schools do not always have suitable parents for running clubs. Later on there was sewing club, run by a parent and netball club run by a teacher. For a 3 form entry junior school it was not great. After eating lunch there was not much time though as the lunchbreak was really short. It was pretty poor really but the school was only "satisfactory" so it was doing the minimum really. I think it reflects well on a school if the staff are enthusiastic. We moved into the private sector where the lunchtime and after school options were fantastic and nearly all run by the teachers.

DD is at a state school and it doesn't have any lunchtime clubs. It has a few after school clubs (football, choir and one rotating club in the spring term like a gardening club) but they are generally limited to one or two year groups. DS is at a private school and there's a wide variety of lunchtime clubs (choir, debating, chess, sudoku etc) and no end of after school clubs and sports teams.

Library club.
Something run by the vicar (dc's were vague on what it is and it is new this year).
Chess club run by ds1 & his friend if they get their arses into gear, although they will probably wait until after half term as when the weather is good they want to be outside.
I am sure there is another one, but can't remember what.

Read the op properly now.
Can she talk to the teacher about organising a club? That's what ds did last year re the chess club.
His class teacher sits in the classroom but ds and friend organised it all, teach the younger ones, had a knockout competition.

My DD2's state primary is a / class in take with a good ofsted report. There are a variety of clubs, such as knitting, chess, cookery, gardening, animation, choir etc. some of them are over-subscribed so children get to do them for a short time e.g. 6 weeks. Most of the clubs are run by teachers, bug I think after school sports ones are often run by parents v

Oops - 2 class in take not /

a book club would be quite an easy one to run I think, perhaps a parent could go in one lunchtime a week.

When I was at school I used to like sewing club. Sometimes clubs were run by teachers and sometimes by parents. There may well be a hands on grandma who would love to come in and help with something.

I would help her speak to a member of staff about wanting to try and set up something and they could perhaps ask in their newsletter if any parents/grandparents have any particular skills they would like to come in and share with some children. Even if it wasn't a regular same club every week thing it might be that a few different parents could come in and do different things. so a craft club but it could be 4 different parents in some sort of once a half term commitment and each take it in turns?

Library, Lego, ICT, Choir, Running, Mini Sports at ours that I know of but suspect there will be more. Enough clubs anyway to occupy the children who don't want or aren't able to manage what is probably 45 minutes of free play.

I'm very impressed with some of your schools!

Interesting to read about parents volunteering. I think the reason that we don't have many is down to our Head - she 'doesn't like' asking staff to work extra hours and isn't keen on volunteer parents either even though the parent body has a huge variety of talents and skills and lots are willing to help out.

Maybe it's down to the CRB costs...?

Ours has a chess club which dd doesn't go to yet as she is doesn't like chess. There is also a recorder group off and on which she loves, and a few sport clubs.

None. We are too busy sorting out kids, marking, sorting last minute changes to lessons due to events of the morning and actually trying to eat lunch. We do have lots of after school clubs however.

The reason I don't do lunchtime club is that I don't have the time. My lunchtime is taken up with finding lost lunchboxes, making sure certain children are encouraged to actually eat something, clearing up my classroom from the morning's activities and setting up the afternoon's activities, phoning a parent about something, speaking to the speech therapist, advisory teacher, etc. and if I'm very lucky having a wee and eating half of my sandwich.
It would be lovely if we could, but the time just isn't there. I am in awe of the school that did orchestra in lunchtime. We have one hall, where lunches are eaten, and small classrooms. You really can't do something like orchestra without space.

Ours is a tiny state school with about 65 kids. We have choir, recorder, chess, art, football, multi skills, computing, cross stitch, science and hockey. I think we may have win the lottery with school choice as the academic side is very good too!

All at lunchtime applebread? How long are you lunchtimes?

Dancer, in our LA CRB checks are free for parent volunteers in schools. I'd imagine that is the case elsewhere tbh.

School sound a similar size, around 200 pupils. There a homework club for all years, a chess club for juniors and I think there is a recorders club too. DS informs me an impromptu hockey club has just started too.

No lunchtime clubs - by the time I've cleared up from the morning and set up for the afternoon I'm lucky to have 10 minutes to eat my lunch and MN on my phone.

But all teachers (including Head) run an afterschool club for 2 terms of the year, and there are several run by outside providers or volunteers. They don't all run each year but include football, netball, gymnastics, cooking, gardening, multi skills, recorders, craft, indoor games and Maths or English boosters.

Technically my "lunch hour" is 45 minutes BUT
a) once the children are in the hall I supervise a child with medical needs who requires 1;1 attention for between 10-20 minutes
b) make any phone calls needed
c) make a start on marking 33 literacy, 33 numeracy and writing up guided reading assessments for that days group
d) try to get into the ONE staff toilet we have
e) sort out anything needed for the afternoon sessions ( eg change for PE, photocopy anything needed, etc)
f) eat if possible!

Orchestra, choir, tag rugby, recorders, handchimes, lego, ICT, homework, story - all run by teachers/teachers and peris; plus cheerleading and multisports run by outside professionals.
Afterschool - football, hockey, cross country, netball, all run by teachers; multisports, athletics run by outsiders.

Dds don't have any at lunchtime.

The school where I work have Choir, Cross Country, Games and Yoga.

Both Primary.