mandated after school clubs

[jessrichmond]

Hello, My daughter (Year 8) has just been told that she must attend two after school clubs every week. I don't think the school has any jurisdiction out of hours and I'm surprised and disappointed by the tone of this instruction, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has had a similar instruction from their school, and particularly when a child has to travel after dark because of attending the clubs. Many thanks.

State school? Academy or not? Do many travel by school bus? Could it be part of “catch up”?

It does sound unlikely. Are you sure she hasn’t misinterpreted someone encouraging them to attend clubs??

I dont think they can be made to go!

Do they mean any clubs of your choosing or are they bring offered by the school?

It's actually none of their business what your child does when they are not at school!

@JanglyBeads. Thank you. State School. Academy. Not catch up - standard extracurricular like sports and music. The language was very clear - You MUST sign up to two and the register will be taken. No consideration at all to travel - the school has a wide catchment area (because it's desperately unpopular) and most kids travel some distance.

Thank you!

So the school are providing them?
What about children who do after school activities elsewhere?

@dementedpixie - they are saying it has to be two off a list they have provided. No consideration at all to what the child might be doing out of school already. I'm pretty wound up about it.

Have you seen the mandate? If not ask to see it as it will be a tough one to enforce outside of school hours for all sorts of reasons - travel, other activities, family reasons etc

@olivermcfuddling - thank you. I don't think they can do this either but they run the whole place as if it's a borstal and parents are considered part of the problem, and therefore removed from as much decision making as possible.

Hi @Bellie99 - yes I have. It was extremely...direct.

A few secondary schools around here have introduced a longer day and the new/extra period is for clubs. So they are compulsory as they have been included into the school day. I wonder if it's part of a new trend or similar?

Hi @choosername1234, These are the school's stated times (from their website):

Period 1 - 8.30 to 9.50

Period 2 - 9.50 to 11.10

Break - 11.10 to 11.30

Period 3 - 11.30 to 12.50

Lunch - 12.50 to 13.25

CAPD/Tutor - 13.25 to 13.55

Period 4 - 13.55 to 15.15

Enrichment Time and Period 5 (Compulsory for Year 11 and Year 13) - 15.15 to 16.15

Our secondary doesn’t finish until 4:30 normally.

Hi @jessrichmond if it's in period 5 so timetabled time, I'm not sure you can argue so much? (If I've read correctly?)

Unless of course in every previous year there has not been a period 5?

The school has freedom to decide when the school day starts and ends. If these activities take place in period 5, they are not really after school clubs. They are compulsory. However, if they take place after 16:15 they are clearly outside the school day and cannot be compulsory.

Unfortunately, schools attempting to make extracurricular activities compulsory has been going on for a long time. A school near where I grew up told any pupil chosen to play for the school football team on Saturday that they would get a detention if they didn't show up. I don't know whether they ever actually did this.

DD's school does this in years 7 and 8. They say that school finishes at 4.30 on Mondays for those years.

Whether I'd be up in arms would also depend on what they are offering? I've told my DC I want them to do at least one extra curricular club at lunchtime or afterschool in addition to the other activities they do out of school.

Frm what you've posted it looks like its compulsory for year 11 and year 13 only?

@jessrichmond It sounds like you don't like the school at all from your posts, is there an alternative school you could move DD to?

My daughter school had the same expectation- they really put on a lot of choices as well! It gives opportunities to all children to experience and give things ago.

But our daughter already did dance and swimming outside of school, we were never challenged.
Once they hit year 10/11 there is then a lot of revision clubs & lessons that happen out side of the school day (drama, graphics and art especially)

They’re insisting that the exam years only do two extra curricular activities? That’s very strange!

So the school day ends at the end of this enrichment time? Is that a later finish than it used to be? 4.15 is not that late

If its within the school day, then of course they can mandate attendance much the same as they do with all other subjects.

What was her school hours in y7?

So if it’s within the school day, what do they do on the other three days a week - if two days a week they have to be in a club? Do they just go home?

We were forced to join clubs, but it was a boarding school thirty years ago.

Have they specified what the consequence is for failure to attend, if you have a note from your parents giving you their blessing? We've found quite a lot of rules that are presented as immutable, but actually suddenly become flexible once the parent writes a note.

I can imagine it could come from a good place of wanting everyone to get the "opportunity" for extracurriculars, and a rather more cynical boosting of participation so they can boast about their extracurricular offering and win more matches. However our experience is most "compulsory" things become optional if you have your parents backing you up. Maybe we're just lucky though.