Breakfast club or extended after school

[Dazedanddiscombobulated]

Hello,

Just looking for some feedback on whether you/your kids prefer breakfast club or extended after school?

We’re lucky in that 3 days a week we should be able to get away with our son (starting reception September) doing 8.45-4 (so school plus one of the 3-4pm clubs the school runs). But two days a week we need him to be in longer, so either he does breakfast club, or goes from his school club into extended after school care to 5.30pm.

Any thoughts on what works best for you as a family or what your kids prefer?

Thanks!

DS isn’t really a morning person so after school club works best for us. We struggle to get out the door for normal drop off time! He enjoys going to after school club with his pals.

Depends how good you are at getting up in the morning !
My dc did both and some days we only got there at 8.15 even though it opened at 7.45. They still appreciated a slower start to the day without the chaos of the playground in the 10 minutes between first and second bell.
They loved after school club too (except in the term or so post covid when they were still doing bubbles so limiting time outside). I often got complaints if I picked them up too early.

I really worried about this, despite my first DC doing fine in longer days at nursery. I felt very guilty about wraparound care particularly in reception.

Actually, despite only needing to be in for a longer day for 3 days a week I found they actually are MUCH happier doing breakfast club every day (and so having a routine start to the day every single day, and a softer launch into the school day) and then they do longer ASC 3 days a week. I could get away with 2 days longer ASC but if I pick them up at normal school time on the other day I get moaned at as I’m DEPRIVING them of the fun of ASC!!

You just have to try it and see OP. You will (both) find your groove in no time :-)

Is there an option to do a couple of long days and then be able to pick him up at school end once or twice a week? He’d then be able to walk out with his friends and join in the after school park play dates some days.

I would always rather do breakfast club.

Lots of asc don't give a proper meal so if you are picking them up at 5;30 you then need to get home and cook dinner etc it's all a crazy rushn with a hungry tired child.

I would just caveat to say we never counted on the school meal being their main meal.of the day and cooked them dinner every night. If you plan to do picnic tea for dinner then getting home late might not be such an issue.

Have you.checked that the after school club accepts Reception age children? At the school local to me there are limited spaces so priority is given to older children. The school feels that for Reception the compulsory school day is plenty long enough. Thyy do make some exception for breakfast club but not after school. It might be worth clarifying this with the school as you may find your options are more limited than uou would like.

We will have the option to do 3pm pick up on Fridays only, due to work.

Breakfast club for us is just a waste of time. It doesn't open until 8am, then you have to sign them in. By the time I've got home again I'm only 15 minutes earlier than just taking them to school!

Logistically ASC was far easier and far more use.

We have our first parents evening next week so I’ll ask then.

Mine prefer to do breakfast club and leave on time (Although at 9 & 10 they would do neither if that was an option)

This. Also, breakfast at breakfast club can be pretty full of sugar, and there's no actual activity after they've eaten. ASC has brilliant activities.

Be careful of relying on the school run clubs. At my school, these never run for the full term and are often cancelled at short notice. ASC however is completely reliable.

Plenty of reception kids in our ASC, not an issue.

I would ask your ds. It might pivot on which one his friends go to. I think the activities at both are largely the same.

Ooh thank you for the heads up. I think only a couple of them are the school and others are outside providers, but that’s still good to know.

That’s kind of my view too - that I can make sure he gets a better breakfast at home.

Echoing the comment about school-run clubs that run until 4pm vs after school club. The former sometimes are cancelled at short notice due to staff absences/commitments and don’t always run the whole term/half term. Definitely not an option to rely on from a childcare perspective. At our school, none are available to reception children in the first term and only a limited number after that.

Breakfast club works well for us as they are up at that time and they dont need their breakfast before we leave. We find they get less tired with it. Plus ours has a scheme where it's free from 8am!

In my experience, outside provider ones are completely reliable. Just the teacher ones that aren't.

Mine love both!! Never experienced any cancellations.

My daughter had been attending breakfast club and after school club since reception. She’s not that keen on breakfast club as not that many of her friends go compared to after school club which is more popular. Me and my husband work shifts so we try and avoid breakfast club and mainly use after school club. She loves it as gets to play with her friends after a day of being in the classroom.

Also, breakfast at breakfast club can be pretty full of sugar, and there's no actual activity after they've eaten.

Not at my dcs' breakfast club. They had all sorts of fabulous breakfast choices (and more courses) than they would at home. The one day a year they had sugary stuff was on Shrove Tuesday (when it wasn't in 1/2 term) as they had pancakes. Other days there were cereals such as Weetabix, cornflakes and branflakes. There was toast. There was always lots of fruit. Sometimes they had eggs. Sometimes I think there was yogurt.

ASC has brilliant activities. Yes, there is more time after school, obviously than there is before school starts, but ours could still run around outside if they wanted to as well as various things to do inside.

Be careful of relying on the school run clubs. At my school, these never run for the full term and are often cancelled at short notice. ASC however is completely reliable.

I'd agree with this. I'd also state that clubs after school will often fill up , and some schools will do that from older children down (others might be first come, first served, etc), but it is very unlikely that all children that want a place will get one. They also tend to run one year (or even term) but then not the next, due to staff changes or their other commitments.
Many people find that their Reception age child is shattered at the end of a day too - yes, even those that have been used to going to Nursery for longer days. Reception children are overwhelmingly exhausted, in that long Autumn Term. I don't think them doing clubs straight after school is helpful to most of them. Whereas ASC are used to this and can settle them down to somre 'chill time' rather than more learning time.

I'd phone and ask tomorrow to get ahead of the other parents. I put my second child down for ASC (where her sister was) before she was even offered a place at the school, and so did others. Some schools, like where I teach, have loads of spaces and there's no issue at all but others have waiting lists. It depends on the demographic of the area.

we found breakfast club easier, my husband usually did the drop offs and I could start work earlier. I found morning drops off more chaotic at the school start time (parking, if it rained etc) much more calmer if I dropped at breakfast club.
My eldest did 3 days ASC and youngest 2 days both enjoyed it & actually used to ask to go more!

You mention the 3-4pm clubs that the school run- but are they open to reception kids?

Most of them arent at our school, particularly not the ones that take place in the first term. They also change every term, which can be a pain in the arse!

Agree 100%. These are rarely offered for Reception kids, they often don't start until a few weeks into term, they get cancelled when there's a school trip or parents evening or staff absence, our school never run them for the first and last half term of the year and they change every half term. Your kid can be happily set up doing football on Fridays and suddenly you have to convince them they actually want to do tap dancing instead because otherwise you're short of childcare.
They also fill up fast and not all after school clubs will pick up from school clubs, especially if you're using outside providers.
After school clubs are great if you can work flexibly and absorb last minute schedule changes, but you absolutely can't rely on them for childcare.