starting up an afterschool club

[lostinteaching47]

Hi everyone,
I've recently secured a job and would like to make the best possible impression and become part of the wider school community.I thought I could offer to set up and run a club, I mentioned this at my interview and the head seemed keen.I have never run a club before and do not have any particular talents more interests.My interests are in nature, I know the school has an Eco club and in gardening.I also like baking. My confidence was severely dented at my last school where I was only there for a year but I had a really stressful time and one of the criticisms leveled at me was that I didn't contribute anything to the school, which on reflection was true but I was concentrating hard on my class!
I see this as a completely fresh start and for me to try and be the type of teacher/person that I want to be and know I can be.It's only a temporary position initially but I want to demonstrate that I can add value to their school and I'd like to be kept on.
Can anyone share the type of clubs they have run or have at their schools? I have experience in KS1.I am not very arty but like the sound of perhaps running a club or perhaps a maths games club but would have no clue really how to start.I am a returning teacher so do not have much experience of being part of a school.I know the school I will be joining does not run many clubs at the moment and I cannot see from their website any current clubs and obviously that would be something I would be finding out when I start.I thought I could offer to assist in a club currently running to begin with but perhaps have some ideas for potential clubs.

TIA

[JustThisOnceOrTwiceOrThrice]

What about a board game club? Or is that boring? I was thinking chess, draughts or something.

[JustThisOnceOrTwiceOrThrice]

I think its a great idea by the way although it sounds like your last school were very harsh. Sounded like you were just trying to be a great teacher to your class.

[20wkbaby]

We have Yoga, French, Dance, Tennis, football and choir as well as a traditional after school club. So quite specific activities. I think to be honest unless it was something with a concrete activity children would not be interested enough to stay after school and parents wouldn't pay for it. You could try and combine something along the lines of growing veg/ fruit with cooking?

[mindlessmama]

Great idea, OP. IMO lots of schools seem to do the same kind of clubs like sports or art clubs. How about doing something totally different like a science club (investigate making paper boats to float or experiment how to make ice melt quicker) or something like a history club (where you could explore a different era each week and investigate how things have changed) I think you'll get a lot more interest from the kids and their parents if you do something different. Good luck.

[afromom]

There are loads of clubs at my DS school. I will give you the list for some ideas then add some of my own:
Baking club
Eco club
Art club
Country dancing
Music (choir, recorder, rapping!- called Rhyme or Reason!)
Warhammer
Sports (football, netball, rugby, tennis, cricket, cross county)
Film club
Book club
French club

My ideas are:
A craft club (there are loads if ideas on the net that don't require you to be artistic)
Science club
Nature detectives
Multi sports club (a chance for them to try out lots of different activities)
Board games
Drama club

Sounds like you had a really tough time at your last school. The more you get involved in the school you are in the more you feel part if the school community and hopefully this school will be much more supportive!

The kids love after school clubs and by you volunteering to help with a new one you are showing willing, which will be appreciated!

If you need any more specific info about the content of the clubs above let me know.
Good luck with your club!

[hels71]

The favourite club for KS1 at DDs school is construction club. Loads of children and they are given all the construction toys and left to get on with it!!!

[lostinteaching47]

Thanks everyone, there are a lot of good ideas I appreciate this. In response to comments about me not being supported at my last school, quiet simply I wasn't, that's why I left but in fairness I didn't ask for help, I didn't feel I could.I have learnt a lot, mainly how not to do the same things again.I have learnt a lot about myself, a lot about myself as a teacher, a lot about being part of a school again after such a long time away (boy has the climate changed).I just need to be positive, I know I have a lot to offer.I left my last school at the end of July and had money (I budgeted) until mid September.I have been trying to sign up with agencies but you are only as good as your last job and I had to put my school down as a referee and they dragged their heels over supplying references and I couldn't work.I didn't leave the school with any bad feeling, I knew they didn't want me there so I gave them what they wanted.I was assured they would give me references and they knew I was intending going back to supply teaching.It's been an incredibly stressful and embarrasing time and I've had hardly any money!
I was put forward for this trial lesson observation and follow up interview by one of the agencies and I was as nervous as you could possibly imagine but it all went well and when the head offered me the temporary job there and then I could have cried, I almost did.I felt such relief, they liked me, they really liked ME and I felt validated once more, so yeah, a lot is riding on this little job that I want to try and make mine.

[afromom]

We'll do e on getting your job it must be such a confidence boost for you!

I think you need to put your previous role behind you and put all of your energy into this new one. A friend of mine had a similar experience to you at her first school as an NQT. She was completely unsupported, had an awful time and nearly gave up teaching altogether. But she applied for another job at a great school, they have supported her loads and her lesson observations have now gone from barely satisfactory at her old school, with no confidence to close to outstanding in this new school.

With the support of a good head and SLT team you can completely change around your past experience and by offering to support with extra curricular activities you are showing that you are willing to put in the work also, as it has to be a two way process (as you have identified).

As you don't know the school really well, maybe come up with 2 or 3 of the club ideas you are most comfortable with and then speak with the head about what they think would go down best with the children and parents.

[lostinteaching47]

Thank you afromom, it was, it is,I will :>)

I have this week to get some ideas about clubs and to just gen up on stuff to give me a bit more confidence.I am happy, very happy in fact and relieved, it's a good feeling to know there will be some extra money coming in especially with xmas fast approaching.

[UniS]

School newspaper club.
Natural art club ( twig weaving, flower pressing, leaf printing)
A craft club to make something to be sold at school xmas bazaar/ easter fundraiser etc.
pen pals club- does the school have an existing link with another school and can children swop letters.


-You can aim a club at a particular year group rather than whole school.
-A club can be quite small, I run one that can only have 6 kids at a time due to equipment and space needed, the cookery club for year 1 has same restrictions.
-Some clubs only run for a limited number of weeks- 4 weeks say to rehearse a piece of drama/ dance for assembly or focus on a particular topic.

[Ferguson]

As a TA (male) in an infant school I ran lunchtime recorder clubs for ten years, starting in Yr2; if children wanted to continue at the junior school, I also supported that while the interest was there. I was quite touched when some Yr6 children who had given up recorder some years before, asked me to coach them to play at the Yr6 leavers' performance. I had no recorder experience when I started, though I did play drums and keyboard. It is easy enough to teach yourself recorder from tutor books, then just keep a page or two ahead of the kids!

I coached Yr2 children to play percussion to accompany the Christmas performance each year. I also taught touch-typing to a few Yr2 children, but I chose pupils I knew would have the motivation and discipline to keep it up for a few weeks.

Twenty years ago I ran various computer clubs, but computers were fairly new then and more of a novelty. Today they are so common, it would need a very stimulating activity to engage the children. The Raspberry Pi £25 computer is being used in some schools to teach programming, but that needs some specialist knowledge. (A few weeks ago the millionth Raspberry Pi was made at the Sony factory in South Wales.)

When Yr2 finished SATs one year, the teachers let me have small groups from the two classes, and we spent about four weeks building a 2m tall tyrannosaurus Rex, from cardboard boxes the children brought in from home. We planned it from a picture in a dinosaur book, and as work proceeded the children took it round the other classes, explaining what we were doing. I was very impressed by the co-operation and involvement the children gave to the project. His 'nostrils' had black plastic bin bag linings, so felt quite cold and clammy. The tongue was layers of bubble-wrap, with PVA glue mixed in with the red paint, so it would adhere to the plastic. It was just glued in at the back of his mouth, so the front was free to be moved. Teeth were made from cones of white paper; start with circles, cut a line to the centre, then roll it round to the required size. (The Yr2 daughter of one of our TAs made all the teeth; she spent more time on Rex than any other child, and if her Mum couldn't find her at 'home time' she would come to the craft room, and she was usually there.)

At another school I did gardening activities with Yr6 (you would never believe how excited some children become seeing a worm; one of the most excited girls went on to read Law at university!)

Also at that school I had an after-school keyboard club; the children brought in their own keyboards, and I encouraged them to improvise and 'compose'. We also hooked up keyboards to the school's Clavinova, and to 'sequencers' (in the early days of digital recording.) All those kind of things can now be done via computers of course, and there are on-line recording studios and synthesizers, etc.

You have had plenty of ideas from other people, but consider what your own particular interests and skills are, and try and incorporate them.

[Leeds2]

Sewing club. My DD made a few toys, and enjoyed the experience.

Library club. The school where I volunteer has one, where the children are allowed into the library to borrow books (other than in class time). Could maybe become a book club.

Board game club. Doesn't have to be just chess.

Making a school magazine/newsletter club.

[juniper9]

How about a homework club? Somewhere where children can come to do their homework with a bit of support, if that isn't available at home? Probably best as a lunch home club though.

You could have a sudoku club, or chess (as previously mentioned). Both would be easy to organise.

Do you have any special interests or talents? You mentioned maths, but that would only a select few (although lots more under sufferance!)

The problem with baking / growing things is the finances. You could ask for donations but it wouldn't go very far.

[NynaevesSister]

In infants my son loved going to film club. Basically they just watched a movie. They got popcorn as a snack. Sounds like it could be dull but they thought it was brilliant.

Our juniors has a dinner club. They help with the growing of food in a couple of the planters, and they cook a dinner, lay a table, and sit down for a proper meal. Is really popular.

[aboardersmum]

Code clubs (computer programming ) are supposed to be very popular

[missinglalaland]

How about a science club? Younger children don't seem to get many "proper experiments" at school and they love them. Not many little ones do them at home either. So it might be a winner. Academic but still exciting.

You can find lots of neat demos and experiments to do online with how to's and explanations.

[BackforGood]

Various clubs I've seen in various schools I've worked in or my dc have been to (so you don't think this is some sort of super school with all these going on all the time )

Football / Girls Football / age group football (what I mean is, because there might already be 1 football club, it doesn't mean there's not space for a second)
Cricket
Basketball
Netball
Hockey
Rounders
Dance
Gym
Table Tennis

In my dc's school, most of these were run by outside people, and just needed a teacher to co-ordinate them, but the 'coaches' were outside people - some parents, one a grandparent, or sometimes coaches and volunteers from local clubs looking to develop the sport in the area, or sometimes from bigger sports clubs who have to give time to the community in return for receiving lottery funded grants, etc. Just saying, you don't necessarily need the skills yourself

Chess (again, was an outside chap that came in but a teacher was just 'around' in the classroom, and co-ordinated the letters going out at start of year, etc) - this was about learning to play, well
Board Games - just for fun
Business Enterprise - the children ran money making schemes in the same way the PTA might
School Council
Book Club
Debating Society
Cookery
Knitting
Recorder
Orchestra
Choir
Art - again, I've also seen this run with the club making things to sell at the Christmas Fete
Computer Club
'Safe Space' - a haven at lunch time for those who struggle with the playground, often run by Learning Mentors or similar, and go under a raft of different names
'Jobs club' - some dc just leurve to "help" in school, and, once you establish it's only one lunchtime a week, or whatever, staff will soon start coming up with stuff they can do to help out.

[BackforGood]

Sorry - forgot - gardeners (again, an outside person brought the knowledge, it just needed a teacher to supervise

and

Homework club where they can just come and sit and get on with own work, say on Monday lunchtimes when realise they've not got it done at weekend!

[ninah]

ferguson I love the T-rex!
I have run/helped run lego club, recorder club, football club, art club, cookery club. The only one I enjoyed was art club, which I did by choice rather than obligation. Don't touch recorder club with a bargepole.

[AnyWetCuntweaselsInTheFuckerGr]

Chess club was a surprise hit in our school. Low set up barrier and unlikely to attract the hellraisers .

My DD was oddly attached to 'Healthy Living' club. This seemed to involve making fruit kebabs and playing running-around games. Seemed to attract less-confident girls and give them a nice boost.

[AnyWetCuntweaselsInTheFuckerGr]

I'm not sure if you're primary or secondary - but my nerdy DH has very warm memories of Star Trek club.

Does what it says on the tin - they watched an episode of Star Trek one lunchtime every week & then had a bit of a chat.

I think the success of it was that it was a safe-space for some shy boys, supported by a sympathetic teacher.

[lostinteaching47]

These are all really good ideas, thank you, many I hadn't heard of.I will list all of them, to take with me from school to school.I may suggest, once I've been there a while and especially if I was staying, of compiling some type of questionnaire or open type response asking what they would like to do, perhaps either internally or as a send home type thing, not sure.Again, some really great ideas :>)

[iseenodust]

The most oversubscribed club at DS's school last term was Lego club.

[missinglalaland]

Lego sounds great. Maybe you could build up a horde from ebay etc.

[Kayakinggirl86]

I run a around the world club. The first week the pupils made there pass ports (lots of templates on tes). Then after that every week we have "visited" different countries. We usually sample some food from that country, do a tradition craft from that country, and play a game to do with that country. For exam