Afterschool clubs to support school work - is this usual?

[splishsplosh]

Dd1 (7) has been invited to join an afterschool club - the aim of the club is to help children spell more confidently through games. There are just 15 spaces available (90 children in the year) and open by invitation only.

Dd is generally high achieving, has been selected for maths enrichment the last couple of years for example and got level 3s in everything at the end of year 2, but her spelling is not fantastic (which pains me!) - although she's in the middle spelling group in her class, and I think it's improved a lot lately.

Obviously I'm happy that the school want to support her spelling, and help her improve - but it seems odd to me that it would be done as an after school activity, rather than in school time. There is also a £15 charge for the club (for 5 sessions) and while I understand the staff are giving up their time to run the club I'm unemployed at the moment and so it's not easy for me to afford that suddenly with just 3 days notice.

Is this a reasonable and normal way for a school to support the children's learning?

Also, isn't this the kind of thing the pupil premium could be used for?

our school offers a maths extra class after school for yr 4/5 kids. there is no charge though

i definitely wouldn't pay for it. if your child needs extra help i would expect the school to provide it!

If it's an invitation, you can say no surely?

The only one I know of at ours (because one Dc did it) was a handwriting clinic, which ran before school. It was free and included hot chocolate.

pupil premium could only be used (I think) if the children offered the places were all ones who qualified for pupil premium, I don't think it can just be used for any pupil.

It may be it is being run by an external group, hence the charge.

I am inclined to agree that if they think she needs help/practice then I don't think you should have to pay for it but equally that would probably mean the help wouldn't then be available.

I don't think it is especially unusual for sessions like this to have to be held before/after school or in break time though.

If the money isn't available at the moment but if money wasn't an issue then you would like her to do it then I would contact the school and say thank you for the invitation to it but you really are not able to find the money at the moment. See what happens. Her place will either be offered to someone else or they may come up with some solution.

Thanks
Phineyj -yes I can say no, but obviously I'm keen for her to have any support and encouragement she needs, and if the school has identified she could benefit in this way then I would like her to do so.

periwinkle - I've done that, have replied that I can't afford at the moment, and will see what happens.

It's being run by one of the TAs, but obviously she's giving up some of her time so understand why they might charge - it's just speeling is a pretty basic skill, so am surprised any help isn't just part of their general learning

They should be doing spelling as part of their usual timetable, but with a class of 30, all with differing needs, it can be hard to ensure every child gets the attention they need.

I think you should embrace any extra interventions offered, but I would question having to pay. It may be that the TA is being paid overtime by the charge, but I think the school should be swallowing that cost. Also I would question why it's being done after school- that's going to put off a lot of the parents, especially with younger siblings etc.

If I were you, and didn't mind making a fuss, I'd ask why it can't be done during assembly times. I don't know why more schools, mine included, don't make use of these sessions. It seems like a waste of my time to sit through assembly after assembly when I could be doing interventions.

spelling not speeling !!

Yes the fact that it's after school is difficult as we live quite far and walk - so I'd have to hang about outside school for an hour with dd2.

Anyway - she is not terrible at spelling, it's just her weaker area. We have parent teacher consultations coming up, so I can discuss with her teacher what I can do to help. I wish she loved reading as I'm sure that really helps with spelling, but although she's a good reader she doesn't get the urge for reading for pleasure

juniper assembly does sound like a good opportunity to do some support work.

I think the way it's being done at your school isn't particularly good, but on the whole I do support out of school clubs - support with homework, enrichment, that sort of thing. Not just in primary but in secondary as well, because it would be hugely beneficial to those children whose home environment isn't that suitable to learning. It would have to be free though, and preferably include food to improve uptake.

The maths enrichment she goes to (because she's good at it rather than bad this time!) is in school time at least. I volunteer with her class as do 2 other parents, and children are taken out of class at those times to do extra reading or maths games etc - so I would have thought spelling could have been organised in a similar way.