After School Clubs
| Some schools have after school clubs on the premises. They may be run by teachers (either volunteering or paid - often by the local council's youth service, rather than its education department), or by play workers employed by the youth service. Sometimes, they welcome children from other schools. In addition to a range of fun activities such as sports, games and crafts, they sometimes incorporate a homework club, especially for older children. |
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In some areas, after school clubs are held in specialist play centres. These will often offer weekend and holiday provision, too.
After school clubs tend not to go on very late in the evening, but in addition to providing extra activities -such as music, sport and crafts - that may have been squeezed out of the regular school time table, they can help to fill the gap between the end of school and the end of many parents' work day.
If you want your child to attend an after school club, you may have a choice between one run at the school and one at a playcentre.
If your child is shy or unsure of himself, he may be more comfortable staying in school, since the environment, other children and maybe the staff will be familiar. On the other hand, a club at a playcentre may give children a chance to extend themselves, and to widen their social circle.
Starting an After School Club
If your child's school doesn't have an after school club, you might want to suggest they start one. It's a fairly big step for a school to take from scratch, so you'll need to be sure there's wide support for it - you can probably make a good start just by chatting to the other parents. While you're at it, you might check that there's no provision at a nearby playcentre - you never know what you may have missed!
Assuming there isn't, and that enough other parents are interested, your next step is probably to suggest the idea to a parent governor. Bear in mind that all of the following will need to be taken into account:
- Staffing (paid and voluntary)
- Charges for the use of the space (some councils have strange budgeting methods...)
- Clashes with other activities (particularly if the school is used for evening classes)
- Payment for the caretaker and cleaners
- Insurance
- First aid cover, and other safety issues
- Cost of materials and equipment
In practice, it will probably be necessary to involve the local authority at some level or another. Making it clear that there is plenty of support from parents can only help - especially if it takes a practical form, like fundraising or volunteering.
Volunteering at After-School Clubs
Most after-school clubs welcome volunteers, and some people may prefer to help out there than in class - the time may suit them better, or they may prefer the more informal environment and the chance to work with children without the need to actually teach them!
Many kinds of skills can be useful - sports, arts, crafts, music, drama, cooking, sewing, gardening... really, the only limits are the imagination (taking safety and budget into account) of the staff and the enthusiasm of the children.
If you decide to volunteer, it's important to remember a few things:
- The atmosphere may be more relaxed than in school, but there are still rules and limits that the children have to obey.
- The paid staff have to take final responsibility for what goes on - so the final decision about how things are handled has to be theirs, though ideally they'll take everyone's opinions into account.
- Don't play favourites - it can be hard not to like some children more than others, but you mustn't let it show. In particular, try not to favour your children over the others.
- Once you've made a commitment to show up at a certain time, stick to it. If you can't make it, let the staff know as soon as possible.
- Remember that the children don't have to be there. After-school club should be a fun place for them - and you.