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.

I know Queenswood has compulsory after-school clubs.

@Bellie99 Thanks. She's in Year 8 so not part of the group that has the timetabled longer day.

Thanks @TwoLeftElbows - certainly willing to write a note. The school doesn't respond to any emails.

Have the school bus times been adjusted accordingly? Have the considered the impact on a child if they have an after school activity then still have to get home, eat, do homework, and go to scouts or a sport they have already made a commitment to on the same day?

I’m going to go against the grain and say it’s brilliant- particularly for children from families which are unable to afford enrichment out of school, or who just aren’t providing it.

Speaking generally (because i know there’s tonnes of exceptions and lots of families on low incomes do so this stuff- mine included) but generally children from higher SEG families tend to have more access to arts and culture and sports outside or school, and this has been proven to correlate with good educational outcomes, more civic and community engagement and even better health and well-being in later life, with a strong suggestion that correlation may also be causation for some. It sounds like the school might be trying to level the playing field by making provision that some or many of the school families may not be able to.

Whilst it’s not great that the school have had to make this mandatory, they clearly see both need and reason to do so, and they must also believe strongly in the potential for good it could do- because it won’t be cheap to cover the costs of the longer day and the activities.

If you have practical concerns about travel or it clashes with a pre existing out of school enrichment then by all means talk to the school - I would expect the school to excuse a child who had an existing dance or drama class or whatever - but taking issue with it being compulsory just from an ideological perspective seems a bit... I don’t know... daft to me?

School is about more than being force fed information to pass exams, and your school is being lovely enough to build extracurricular enrichment into the timetable. I don't really understand why you wouldn't want your child to make the best of the education they're being provided. It also serves as another way for them to build new friendships and skills that will follow them through life bHow odd.

[quote jessrichmond]@Bellie99 Thanks. She's in Year 8 so not part of the group that has the timetabled longer day.[/quote]
Looking at your post setting out the school day, the timetabled day for all years ends at 16:15 but, up to now, they have allowed years other than Y11 and Y13 to leave early. They are now saying that Y8 can only finish early 3 days a week.

In any case, the school is allowed to change the end of the school day at any time. A 16:15 finish is not unreasonable.

You will have to take the school to court if you want certainty on whether the school can do this, but my view is that you would lose.

@jessrichmond so they are offering extra sports and music for free? And you are slagging the school off for that?

Just goes to show you can't please all the people all the time.

I can really relate to the concerns of travelling after dark. My DD wouldn't do clubs on days I couldn't pick her up, because of the long walk back in the dark, alone. Having so many students leaving later would mitigate that though. Also if she coordinates with friends she might find she can walk with them everyday, whereas if she doesn't she will be th only one leaving early every day and end up walking home alone more often.

*if she doesn"t do the clubs, I mean

i have heard schools in the Outwood family try to force this on their students

@Tailendofsummer

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

@Tailendofsummer 4.15 is quite late once you factor in travel home, homework and any extracurricular outside of school.

Our school doesn't end until 4:30 and has clubs run until 5:30. When I was in school we were timetabled until 3:50. 4:15 isn't late. Also, why in the world would she believe her daughter could leave before the timetabled day is up? You can't leave just because you don't care for what is timetabled.

Our school has this, they call it “period 6”. Your dds periods are longer, ours have 5x1hr then period 6. The first 5 periods are the ordinary lessons, period 6 is not compulsory but it is strongly encouraged and loads of kids stay. They have fun stuff like art, dance, sport, cooking, and also have academic catch up, particularly for maths and English and for the exam years. You can also just stay for “homework club” where you basically just do your homework which is brilliant if you lack a computer or a quiet space at home and you could use it to do art or dt coursework.

If you don’t want her to go, and it isn’t part of the school day then I doubt they can make her. If it is part of the school day then she has to go.

Are they offering these extra curriculars for free? Or are you expected to pay?

To me it's a fantastic way to get all kids to try new stuff and finish at 4.30pm which isn't late. I used to finish at 4 and walk / bus across town to get home at 5 from age 11.
To be it reads that yr11&13 must use it to study if not clubs. Our high has tons of clubs but most parents would love a push to ensure every child did at least a couple.

Tbh OP I don't get why you wouldn't encourage your child to do these.
Millions of kids have to navigate themselves home in the dark in winter.

This is a non issue. School is not only a place where sit down learning happens, it should be a balance. Stand up learning also matters in other words. This is a opportunity, grab it literally and make the most of it really is my advice. My cousin who is almost eleven goes to three after school clubs as his mom works.

All the independents that I know of finish well after 4pm and some later than that on several days, and that is so that these types of activities and sports are accommodated within their school days. (My younger son has finished school at 4.30pm since Y3).

A good education is about more than curriculum lessons.

Having said that, if the school day finishes later, then school transport should be altered to reflect this.

I wondered if it’s a way of getting more sport/arts into students without it being at the expense of core subjects.

This is part of DDs schools offer. There's an extra period two days a week for enrichment. Chn get to choose from a wide range of activities. Its seen as a selling point of the school.

She has enjoyed it and met a wider range of people including those in different years. It didn't run last year (covid) but has started again this term which dd is really pleased about.

Is it a new thing the school has just started? We knew all about the enrichment programme when we applied in year 6. Gtr London state, small MAT.

I know my neice and nephew have to one compulsory enrichment activity at their state academy (South glos)

But if the school catchment area relies on pupils being able to get buses there and back, how does that work? Round here, the school bus runs at a set time. DD has a bus pass for it provided by the council due to how far the school was (6 miles, and that was our closest by some distance!). There isn't another bus until 6pm, but that one is a public bus and therefore she would have to pay to catch it and then not be home until 7pm. There would also be nothing for her to do and nowhere for her to go between 4.15 and 6pm, unless we paid out more so she could sit in a cafe. The library is hardly even open, the school closes at 4.30. We don't all live in cities with decent transport links etc!

@DancinAtTheDisco yes that's different and if it's rural then different considerations re transport. But I'd say most kids go to a high school that they can navigate to and from easily enough at 4.30pm

@DancinAtTheDisco

But if the school catchment area relies on pupils being able to get buses there and back, how does that work? Round here, the school bus runs at a set time. DD has a bus pass for it provided by the council due to how far the school was (6 miles, and that was our closest by some distance!). There isn't another bus until 6pm, but that one is a public bus and therefore she would have to pay to catch it and then not be home until 7pm. There would also be nothing for her to do and nowhere for her to go between 4.15 and 6pm, unless we paid out more so she could sit in a cafe. The library is hardly even open, the school closes at 4.30. We don't all live in cities with decent transport links etc!

Why would the school buses leave before the end of the timetabled day?

Round here, the buses leave at 3.15, because that's when most children finish lessons. There is a period 6 timetabled but only for 6th form and sometimes for GCSE students who are doing 2 foreign languages (a combination the school can't seem to timetable in any other way). Getting your child home after 6th period is a massive PITA but the school give zero fucks.

I can only imagine the stink that parents of kids who finish lessons at 3.05 would kick up if they had to wait until 4.15 for a bus And that's the majority by far, it's only a small number who stay on for 6th period on any given day.

You might find this bizarre, but I assure you it's how things are done in this (large) county! Our school is not the only one with this ridiculous arrangement.