Clubs til 730pm but no dinner/tea/snacks. What do other schools do please?

[NotDonna]

As the school has a duty of care I totally understand that the students are not permitted to leave the premises during the time between school ending (4pm) and sports activities starting at 5.30pm. These sports activities end at 730pm. They attend homework club during this ‘gap’. Unfortunately homework club is in the library with no eating or drinking allowed. It’s a long time to between lunch at 1pm and pick up at 730pm to go without any food.
What do other schools do please?

I'm tempted to say that most schools start activities as soon as the school day finishes so don't have this ridiculous set up.
Is this state or private?
Can't they eat a snack whilst slow walking to the library?

Never heard of sports activities starting at 5.30. School sports tend to be straight after school here so can't help.

Is this private?

At my boarding school years back we had lessons until 4, then afternoon tea, then more lessons or sport or prep until 6.30, then supper at 7pm.
Your school should be feeding them if mandated to stay until 7 30.

at secondary, ours would be allowed to walk into town at 4 pm, get food etc and then be back at school for the start of the late activity. In fatc both my dds are doing exactly that tomorrow for an open evening.
There is no reaosn why they can't leave the premisis between 4 and 5:30, with permission. Many secondary aged kids walk and then get public buses and trains.

I think it is odd to expect them to remain on site, with no food provision.
My expectation in this set up would be either that they could walk to a shop and buy food, or that they bring in a packed tea to eat before sports class.
If school is insisting they remain on site then they shoudl provide somewhere where they can eat their packed food and get a drink.

The younger years occupy the sports facilities from 4-530, hence the older ones having to wait in the library. My DD already takes in a packed lunch so would be very happy to pop 15 mins down the road to the many food options. Loads get the train to and from school so I do find it a bit odd. I guess if something happened to them though the sports teacher would have no clue.

DS2’s normal school day finishes at 4:30pm. If they’re staying late for prep/clubs/some other reason then the students go down to the dining room for tea and toast and take it with them to their next activity.

@steppemum can I ask how school will know if one of them doesn’t return? The school’s rationale is that they have a duty of care and no one will know if something untoward happens.

I suppose when they are on the way home parents will expect them. These are Yr9’s.

Is there an argument to allow them to leave and return?

Maybe they don’t have staff to supervise another room where they can eat.

I’ve never heard of a set up like this, but can’t you send them with a good snack for in between school finishing and sports starting?

@BuffaloCauliflower absolutely! If only they had somewhere to eat it. They must go to homework club in the library where there is a no food policy.

Wow that's a very long time without food and a long school day for a non-boarder.

Admittedly we are at a £ school but I think all the after school clubs tend to give the kids biscuits and squash to stop them flagging (clubs typically run 4-5:30/6pm).

The Junior school used to make industrial quantities of toast and butter/jam for anybody on site after 5pm.

If the school won't let them eat/feed them I suggest you pack a cereal bar/breakfast milk to help with hunger pangs.

Oh I see. I’d take that up with the school, it’s not reasonable to expect them to do a 2 hour sports session that late in the day without additional food beforehand

When my ds drama club at secondary they often stayed behind for rehearsals or performances.

As long as they were where they were meant to be at the right time they could leave school after the end of the day and return.

After all school has ended.

They weren't allowed out at break or lunch so this wasn't a norm as such.

The local cafes did meal deals for them in these evenings and they'd pop out for dinner.

Our school provides club till 6pm. After 3:30 If the student go to after sports club they get small snack and drink (water) - if they go to after school club/homework club they get fruits, vegetables, sandwiches and drinks.

Well, either they have a register already (or else how do they know that a child didn't just leave at the end of the school day with their peers) in which case they can note that the child is missing, or they don't have a register so they don't know anyway if the relevant children are all there.

If they are really worried, they could do a sign in/out sheet in the library, or have the sports coach take a register.

When my kids are doing an evening thing, as long as they turn up at the practice or whatever at the right time, I as a parent am responsible for what they do in between. I give permission to go into town, then they go into town.

It is completely unreasonable to expect a child to go from 1pm to 7:30 with 2 hours of sport without food. They are failing in their duty of care in that regard.

Honestly, I can't see why it is an issue for them to go into town, but if they insist not, then they should provide a place to eat.
As to supervising staff, well, they are insisting the children stay there, so they should provide staff to cover. Again, what is the problem with the kids eating a snack in a designated place, and then going to the library, they would arrive 10 minutes later.

Either the school provides food, or you take in food and they provide somewhere to eat it, with an optional extra of older kids being able to leave the school grounds to buy something.

Write to the head and board of governors and ask which it is. Start a parents WhatsApp group to get better provision if necessary. In the meantime send in an extra sandwich for them to eat, in the corridor for now if there are no other options.

That's sufficiently stupid that I hope that it's just that nobody has thought it through from the pupil perspective. Presumably some have a journey home before they get food too (although if I were picking up I'd be inclined to have fish and chips in the car). I doubt the sports leaders want them doing sport having not eaten for that long.
Raise it with the school, ask whether they could be allowed to sign out of the library to go and eat a snack (there must be somewhere near the library they could go and sit for 15 minutes, even if it's outside). I can see why they might think it's easier to keep them on the premises, but they don't really need to be in sight for every minute - I bet they aren't at break/lunch.

Is this a boarding school and your kids are day pupils? My daughter has been in private schools from Reception and I have never heard of days this long except in boarding schools.

My dds can go to the dining room to eat a packed tea, or go out and get food from local cafes. They have to swipe in and out, so school has a record. I would be annoyed if school didn’t trust them to pop out for food, when I trust them to commute by themselves on the tube.

For very late events (plays etc that finish after 8.00), school provides a packed tea in the gap between end of school
ans the event starting.

I doubt this would be a boarding school. The ones in my and DD's experience always had food available.
I was given tea/cake/sandwiches at 4-430 and DD had home made soup/cake at end of lessons and both had toast available at any time.

@NotDonna

This sounds a crazy set up and you surely aren't the only family this is affecting. I would phone the school and discuss it with them to be honest and ask them if the children can wait in the canteen and moreover can it be open with a simple food option for them??

Dd (bparding school) finished at 4pm and they had a 10 minute break where juice and biscuits were provided. They then went into their activity until 6pm when the evening meal was served in the school refectory.

For the short time that ds was at private school their coffee bar area was open from end of school at 4pm until 5pm and students could buy drinks and snacks.

However at ds's school they were allowed to leave the premises at 4pm

Really strange that teenagers are not allowed to leave the premises, and ordered to go to the library.
Is it a state school op? Or something omitted from the op - special needs school for example?

My daughter's school was the middle of nowhere (ballet school) and so they were not allowed to leave until the end of the day, even in Year 11 as to get anywhere you needed to walk up an unlit country lane with no pavement. But exceptional circumstance.