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Bombshell 
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Joined: 01 January 1900
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 Topic: after school care?
Posted: 12 August 2007 at 9:39pm |
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was disucssing this on weekend and hadnt really thought about it all before wondered -
=what people pay for an afterschool prog
=would you use one (guessing it would be no if SAHM/ SAHDs)
=do parents prefer them at the childs school or at a centre / hall etc...
=what do people expect such a programme to cover (eg homework, etc?)
=if it wasnt at the school would it matter if the kids were mingling with kids from other schools?
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 12 August 2007 at 10:23pm |
My DH used to run one with his last job and the parents were paying (Palmy prices here) $13 each day if in for 5 days after school ($12 if in 2-3 and $16 for just 1 day a week). They had time set aside for home work (but was never checked). It wasn't a schoolbased one so the kids mingled with other kids from other schools. They had each day set aside to do something eg Tuesday baking day, Thursday art day.
My own feelings - I would rather one based at the school my children went to (my mum's old school had this and it was great), I would like it if they did check the homework status (spec the older children (9-13 years old) as i'm sure if I picked my kids up after 5pm there won't be much time to get it down.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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sparkle
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Posted: 13 August 2007 at 9:28am |
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I think our school run one charges $12 an afternoon and kids's have to be picked up by 5.30. They get afternoon tea and a drink then pretty much play.
I used to work at one when I was at College. It was a centre ran one at an old house. I used to go and pick the kids up in the van, they then had afternoon tea, then it was homework time for all (even the 5year olds, I think from memory they just read their reader) and it wasn't until 4.00 that activites started. We either had an outside one or an art one inside. Pack up time at 5.30 which is when a video or music went on and the last kids got picked up at 6.00.
Personally I wouldn't go for a school based one as the kids are pretty much "at school" for up to 8 - 9 hours a day which IMO is just too long. The amount of 5 year olds you see in afterschool care for this length of time is astonishing at my school! And can be mixing with older, and sometimes more unsuitable children (although I know this can happen at centres too).
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caliandjack
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Joined: 10 March 2007
Location: West Auckland
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Posted: 13 August 2007 at 10:21am |
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Our local Montessori based pre-school offers after school care, they pick the children up from school and bring them back to the pre-school, which happens to be next door to a primary school.
They feed them, and if they have homework to do they supervise this.
Not sure of the cost.
I like the idea that the children are in the care of the same people from babies thru to 10. Its a great way to make life long friendships.
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Maya
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Posted: 17 August 2007 at 1:41pm |
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I probably wouldn't use after school care until the kids are much older coz I think at 5 a full day at school is enough, and I only plan to work part time until the kids are at intermediate. I'm lucky tho that my job is flexible and even if I change companies, I have a skill that means I can work from home so can fit it in around the kids.
If I was using after school care I'd probably prefer it to be at the school, I'd be nervous about someone else either driving or walking my kids to a different venue. I'd expect them to supervise homework etc. so that when I pick the kids up we can have chill out family time and not have to worry about homework. I probably wouldn't be 100% ok with kids from other schools either, just coz the school has less accountability for kids from other schools.
I like the sound of the one Mummy Becks mentioned right next to the school tho, that sounds like the perfect compromise.
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 Maya Grace (28/02/03)
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gemsmum
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Posted: 19 August 2007 at 11:02am |
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In an ideal world I wouldn't need to use after school care. But as I work 3 days a week (8.30-4.30) I actually don't have a choice. My 5 year old goes two afternoons a week and it's based on her school grounds but the school has nothing to do with the running of it. Gemma loves it (she keeps asking to go more often!!). I think the little ones get doted on by the bigger ones.
It costs $6 till 4 or $12 till 5.30, which I think is reasonable. They get afternoon tea (usually something hot eg pizza, small mince pie...), a piece of fruit, a biscuit and a drink. They don't seem to have homework time, which at the moment isn't an issue but may be more of a problem when they get to years 6-8.
Gemma had a term or two at school before she started. Unfortunately, I will have to put Cameron (my baby) straight into After school care as soon as he starts school (May next year) - which I think is a bit of a rough start to school life for a little guy - but I changed jobs earlier this year (I'm a nurse, and I now get to work in the community during the week but no longer work weekends or nights - it's the payoff!). *sigh* The trials and tribulations of being a working mum!
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gemsmum
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Posted: 19 August 2007 at 11:04am |
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Oooh, after lurking for some time I've just realised that was my first post. *waves a shy hi*
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Bombshell
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Posted: 19 August 2007 at 9:06pm |
HI Gemsmum!!! LOL!!! 
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Leish
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Posted: 19 August 2007 at 11:48pm |
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Christopher was in After School Care right from when he started school and he loved it. Always has. It cost us just under $100 per fortnight so $10 per day. It was run on the school grounds. If it wasn't run at his school it wouldn't bother me if Christopher was mingling with children from other schools. I would have been happy for him to make other friends.
They were given a healthy afternoon tea and then could do various activities like craft stuff in the hall or playing on the playground or playing games with a ball. During the summer they can go to the outdoor pool next door to his school which was always awesome. They had a no homework policy as they believed that a after a full day at school the children should have some down time. I fully agreed with that.
When Christopher turned 9 he started getting bored with it and since he was older, we let him start walking to either mine or DH's work and just hanging out. Sometimes he plays kicks on the field with a friend whos parents teach at the school next door.
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Katherine
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Posted: 03 September 2007 at 9:10pm |
DH ran the after-school programme at YouthTown in Auckland City for a couple of years, in his previous life. The regular after-school programme cost the kids $1 a session, and the holiday programme was more expensive and required pre-booking. The regular after-school programme was a drop-in thing. YouthTown likes to give the impression that they're looking after under-privileged kids, but it's not -- heaps of the TV personalities' kids came to his after-school programme! Knowing my DH, it was a pretty amazing after-school programme, but the mixed age group is my stumbling block -- there were all ages mingling and it used to cause some major problems. DH came home with some real horror stories about the kids' behaviour. The management and crappy pay finally drove him out, and now every time we pass YouthTown buildings, we give them the one-fingered salute... Naughty us!
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after school care?
