Is it typical for primary schools to charge for afterschool activities?
Posted by Any_Suggestion7619@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 137 comments
My 6yo has been asking to join football club after school. The cost of the club is £4 a session. When my eldest was in the same school ten years ago I don’t remember any fee.
I was talking to my partner about it and having some knowledge of how teachers in our area are paid he can’t see any of the funds going to the teacher for providing this service.
We are also charged for our child using the forest school area of the school. They get 3 days a year where they are taught outdoors on the school grounds in an area already funded buy fundraising and other avenues but we still get charged for our child using it like they went on a school trip.
Is this now typical for all primary schools in the uk?
Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit
Ours charges for after school clubs but they always did. Even 30 odd years ago when I was there. Our after school football is cheaper than that though. It’s £16 a term and it’s about 45 mins after school once a week for about two months
fat_mummy@reddit
I’m a secondary teacher. They want teachers to run after school clubs, they’re paying for them! My daughter always wants to do everything, so she does crafts, recorders, athletics (external company), and movie club. I don’t begrudge the £3 a session because I know teachers/TAs wouldn’t supervise the clubs if they weren’t being paid!
Cute_Ad_9730@reddit
So teachers are payed extra to run after school clubs ?
Cute_Ad_9730@reddit
It could be part of flexible working hours. Teachers don’t work 9-5 continuously, there are free periods outside of classroom teaching . Plenty of stuff teachers do is voluntary. Yes they should be paid. Why downvote a question ?
JC3896@reddit
Teachers do work continuously throughout their day, they get in before 9am, and when they aren't in lesson that time is usually spent either planning which is work. It's also not as glamorous as you'd think in the holidays either, a chunk of that time is also spent planning/preparing for the next term etc.
Source, was a trainee teacher, partner is a teacher, numerous friends are teachers.
It's a crap job and there's a reason they struggle so much to keep young teachers in the profession, if they're going to give up even more of their time as overtime they should be compensated for it just as you or I would be compensated for overtime.
CheesecakeExpress@reddit
Yep, I left teaching after two years (as a mid-30’s career changer). For me, I found the actual job relatively stress free. The teaching, marking and planning was fine; I’d had a lot of experience in high pressure jobs previously so it was fine.
However, the expectation that I would spend my lunchtimes attending meetings, plan during my holidays and weekends and come in early as well as leaving late daily was ridiculous. That was what was expected at every school I was at. Some schools also wouldn’t allow teachers, full grown adults, to leave school at lunchtime without permission. I had to beg for time off to go to the hospital to get a biopsy.
The expectation on teachers to work in their own time is so prevalent it is the norm. For me, that is not what I want in a job. Somebody further up was saying how well teachers are paid but if you work out how many hours they actually put in, not so much.
It can be an amazing job, but the severe lack of funding in schools means teachers (like other professions I’m sure) are overworked.
Plastic-Count7642@reddit
Do you know how little teachers get paid now? It's actually criminal! I'm not a teacher and I think they're saints for going into a career that clearly will never pay them a decent amount. They should have their little £3, they deserve it and more. Our kids are aresholes to them (not mine though, he's 3)
Life_Put1070@reddit
I'm never usually one to argue that teachers shouldn't be paid more, but a £31K starting salary is quite high for most professions outside London.
The pay progression is also quite regular, of a couple grand a year, is it not? Given that teaching becomes easier as you build a bank of resources, it seems like a decent deal when the rest of society is operating properly and it isn't all falling on teacher's shoulders (as it is currently).
Again, to reiterate, all UK salaries should be higher, and that means teachers as well.
fat_mummy@reddit
The starting salary is quite high to attract new teachers. Veterans teachers don’t get paid massively more. It will rise eventually, but not quickly.
We have had such massive de-funding in schools, it’s insane. When I started 12 years ago, it was unusual to have a class of 30+ pupils. Now it’s the norm to have 32. And rarely a TA in sight. Bottom set classes used to have 12 and TA support, now have 24 and no support.
Unfortunately the good will and voluntary work teachers used to do is diminishing as more and more teachers feel undervalued, and it doesn’t help that parents feel massively entitled to your time too (I had a parent make a complaint about me because I don’t do after school revision sessions - I’m a part time teacher and a parent myself - I don’t want to spend more time with their kids than I get to spend with my own!)
Life_Put1070@reddit
I mean, a teacher with a few years experience is earning more than the median in this country. I think you would find it hard to argue that a salary of £38K is criminal, especially given the DB pension teachers still recieve.
It is a shame that the boots on the ground teachers are capped where they are and have to take on leadership roles that either eat up their time or take them away from the classroom to progress further in their salaries.
Again, I am not arguing teachers shouldn't be paid more, just that criminal seems to be hyperbole.
fat_mummy@reddit
I agree with the hyperbole. We are paid decent. I don’t want to go into senior roles as I feel it basically becomes your life so considering leaving teaching for somewhere with better progression opportunities
mrshakeshaft@reddit
There are no free periods for teachers. They have planning time during which they have to plan stuff but that’s it. My wife starts at 8 and finishes after 5, comes home and works some more for a couple of hours. They don’t have the resources to do this stuff so most of it is outsourced to third parties. My wife is trained as a music teacher but very very few schools will employ an actual music teacher. It’s unaffordable luxury. Also, flexible working hours? For teachers? How does that work? You are either in school working or you are not and you do the hours that you are timetabled for. You work when you are needed. You can ask for flexible hours but you won’t get them because everybody is in the same under resourced and under funded boat.
CheesecakeExpress@reddit
Teachers don’t have flexible working. They also don’t work 9-5. They start work around 8am, or earlier. So doing after school clubs is additional time.
Any ‘free periods’ teachers have are working time. And for most teachers it’s an hour or two a week, at best, that they aren’t timetabled to teach. During which they need to plan or mark. They definitely don’t have free periods where they can do whatever they want in the same way as students might have. It’s just like if you work in an office but don’t have a meeting- you’re still at work during that time.
Just because plenty of stuff teachers do is voluntary doesn’t make it acceptable or ok. The system, wrongly, relies on the good will of teachers to do additional work for free.
Source: used to be a teacher.
OldGuto@reddit
You know this how exactly? Facebook? Daily Mail?
Unless primary schools have changed very recently the same teacher will be teaching the entire class from when they arrive first thing up until they leave (apart from a few exceptions like PE). Once the kids leave it's marking and lesson prep, go home and probably continue marking and lesson prep.
Melodic_Arm_387@reddit
Shouldn’t they be? I’d expect to be paid overtime for staying later than ususal, so why shouldn’t teachers?
tmr89@reddit
Do you think teachers work for free?
Life_Put1070@reddit
I don't think I paid for any after school clubs when I was in secondary school (from 2010-2018). Did all sorts over the years, including Friday badminton, STEM club, Magic the Gathering club.
I think if you were getting external training or music lessons you had to pay. But for most stuff I'm not sure the apparatus to charge students even existed.
TBF a lot of the teachers would set us on something and then get on with something else.
RowRow1990@reddit
I finished school 2007,and we were 100% charged for after school clubs
thepennydrops@reddit
Yup. Football or no football, if my kid doesn’t come home at 3:15pm, it costs me money.
My school asks for donations of toilet paper… they ain’t doing free after school clubs!
HeatherSilent@reddit
I'm a primary teacher and I run a club for 45 mins after school. My school charges a small admin fee but I don't receive anything. Many teachers will run a club for free.
r2dtsuga@reddit
Yeah. Though excluding certain school trips, it always seems to be under £10.
Major-Bookkeeper8974@reddit
Oh, looking at comments we must be lucky with our school. It's an solo academy though, don't know if that makes a difference?
All extra curricular school clubs like drawing club, puzzle club, football club etc are free of charge. They all last an hour after the school finishes.
The only two clubs our school charges for are breakfast club and after school club.
The breakfast club charge is a few pounds but I think that's to cover the breakfast charge as children on free school meals aren't charged.
The only consistently charged club (for everyone) is after school club, but that's because it's childcare for working parents more than anything (and they provide food too). That costs £7 a pop.
grouchytortoise@reddit
In some academy schools teachers can run after school clubs in exchange for days off. The school where my friend trained had that.
Farscape_rocked@reddit
It's weird that £7 a pop seems harsh but £35 a week seems fine.
haybayley@reddit
It’s £11.75 at my son’s school (3.15-6.00) so £7 sounds like a bargain to me. I also have to pay £5.75 for breakfast club. It’s way less than I was paying for nursery before he started school though and it means I can continue to work full time (and thus pay the rest of our bills!).
Farscape_rocked@reddit
£11.75 for nearly three hours of care is a bargain!
WoeUntoThee@reddit
Yes the difference is that wrap around school care will be someone’s contacted hours so wages have to be paid. Extra curricular clubs are often run by staff voluntarily. It’s rarely part of their 1265 hours so it’s essentially unpaid.
Soggy_Tangerine9340@reddit
Some schools also bring in external sports training companies.
mrshakeshaft@reddit
My daughter’s primary school is really small, less than 100 kids. Everything is run by external companies, all the sports and music and they are all really terrible value for money because they don’t have long enough with the children to actually teach or develop their skills. We’ve pulled our daughter out of almost everything to do with the school because it’s an expensive waste of time so we spend the same money now but on private things during the evening or at weekends so she actually learns something.
aloonatronrex@reddit
Our school is rather like this, too.
What’s more, a lot of the classes are only run for a few weeks, then they stop.
Gremlin_1989@reddit
I've paid for two sets of activities whilst my daughter has been at primary school. We try to get her to choose one after school club each term. They are usually free, unless they have an external company running them, although some of these are also free. I've paid for two so far. An animal club and a music club.
Inoffensive_Comments@reddit
Schools don’t have the budget to offer free stuff anymore. You want it? It needs paying for.
aloonatronrex@reddit
And schools aren’t allowed to have a single PE teacher look after 20 to 30 odd kids, on their own, after school.
mrshakeshaft@reddit
Yep, this is it. We have to pay for sports clubs, music lessons, pretty much anything that isn’t the standard school day. It’s not right but the budget isn’t there so if you want your kids to be involved, you have to pay. What I don’t like is that the quality of the lessons that they get is absolute shit. We hooked my daughter out of her piano lessons in school because she was only getting 15 minutes a week and it was pointless. It’s the same with the sports clubs, they are not actually learning anything. It’s just a themed babysitting session. It’s terrible value for money. We do pretty much all of our activities outside of school now.
Inoffensive_Comments@reddit
Presumably, - and just to play Devils Advocate for two moments - there’s an expectation that there’ll be some self-driven practice time at home on an electronic keyboard, if you don’t have a piano at home, rather than just expecting to become proficient during the school-based piano lessons?
mrshakeshaft@reddit
This is the point. My wife actually used to be a music teacher. We wanted our daughter to do music with the school because we all love and play music and wanted that to be part of her school as well. If my wife wasn’t supplementing her (15 mins a week for £140 per term) school lessons at home with a lot of 121 coaching and practice, she’d get nowhere. We have a piano at home, she practices loads but was coming home from lessons totally demotivated and not progressing so we pulled her out and she has private lessons. We also had her learning cello as well. The first three weeks they didn’t bring a cello for her (we still had to pay) and were just in the process of ditching that and putting her into music lessons on a Saturday morning instead. It’s a shame. Schools used to be able to run string groups, wind groups, choirs and all sorts and it’s all just being chucked away because it’s too expensive. Ultimately my point os that for the money we were paying, 15 mins a week is not sufficient for coaching anything so it’s a waste of money
cochlearist@reddit
It is exactly themed childminding. I think expecting quality music lessons after school for very little money is expecting a bit much.
I volunteer with a couple of wildlife watch groups, I'd love to do a vit more actual teaching about wildlife, but a group of kids after school just don't want a "lesson" and I can't say I blame them.
If, hypothetically, a kid's wanted me to tutor their child I'd be charging a reasonable fee for one to one tuition.
mrshakeshaft@reddit
Very little money? It’s £140 per term and provided by Perry specialist music teachers from the local authority. It also takes place during the school day. If I’m paying for that much I expect a decent level of teaching and so should everybody
mrshakeshaft@reddit
Yep, this is it. We have to pay for sports clubs, music lessons, pretty much anything that isn’t the standard school day. It’s not right but the budget isn’t there so if you want your kids to be involved, you have to pay. What I don’t like is that the quality of the lessons that they get is absolute shit. We hooked my daughter out of her piano lessons in school because she was only getting 15 minutes a week and it was pointless. It’s the same with the sports clubs, they are not actually learning anything. It’s just a themed babysitting session. It’s terrible value for money. We do pretty much all of our activities outside of school now.
Hcmp1980@reddit
Yes, normal.
Aettyr@reddit
Needs to be paid for somehow, and they absolutely won’t get the funding from our lovely government these days. When I was younger we paid for them too but it was definitely a little cheaper by comparison
screwfusdufusrufus@reddit
Yeah it’s normal You pay for after school clubs
ravenouscartoon@reddit
My kids school doesn’t charge for football clubs etc, but does for the after school club. After school club runs every day of every week (minus the last day of the term) sports and arts clubs tend to only run from wk2 of a half term to the penultimate week and sometimes are called off on short notice.
This stops them being used as wraparound care by parents who don’t/can’t pay for it
EddieIzzardOnToast@reddit
I’m a primary school teacher and all our afterschool clubs are run by external companies. The money doesn’t go to the school.
Brian-Kellett@reddit
I wouldn’t say typical, but state schools are massively squeezed for cash right now (my school won’t let me order any more lined paper until April for example), so are looking to find money anywhere they can.
It might also be that sports facilities in the school are owned by an outside company, and they’ve got some weird leasing agreement. There is a whole lot of PFI stuff in education and that can lead to some situations that seem to make no sense, but instead make (profitable) sense to companies and their shareholders.
newfor2023@reddit
I'm dealing with some schools coming out of PFI. So far it's been postponed 4 months and looks to be again. This is just initial planning....
Brian-Kellett@reddit
Oof. Glad I have nothing to do with it.
newfor2023@reddit
It turns out PFI companies really don't like to hand over essential paperwork. Why this is up to them I'm not sure.
Emotional_Ad8259@reddit
Unfortunately yes. We had to pay for all of the after school activities for our son in primary.
RespawnUnicorn@reddit
Very common. I've got a 19 yo, a 6yo, and a 3yo. That age gap showed me how much easier it was financially to have a kid back then. Things were not as expensive and while there was never a lot of space in the school budgets, there was a little wriggle room for kids who couldn't afford trips or activities, and a few cake sales and a dress down day a term were enough to keep the extras ticking over.
Now... Let's take my middle child's October-December term as they're also in primary school.
Panto trip - £16 Dress down days x3 - £1 each Buy your own kids art - £5 Christmas raffle - £1/ ticket, 10 tickets sent home Christmas play - free but suggested donation of £2.50/ticket Christmas card design - prices vary. Cheapest £7.50/10 pack I think
That's about £46.50 per child if you have 2 parents go to the play and buy the minimum of everything. There's probably some bits I forgot, too, but our primary school do at least that much fundraising every single term just to keep afloat. One big event plus almost weekly little things. The clubs are free, but basically subsidised by serious fundraising the year round. I'm also 90% sure some of our more enthusiastic parent governors are holding some local companies to ransom/have got them to sponsor the school, too. We get a lot of flyers fof the same companies home in bags.
At this point, I'd almost prefer school to say, 'this is how much it costs to teach your child to the standard we do per year. This is how much the government pay for your child. Would you like to pay the difference in a one off payment or we can set you up with a monthly payment plan.' At least I'd know what was going out to the school every month!
But, to answer your question... Yes. Yes it is normal.
BritishBlitz87@reddit
Buy your own kid's art is just evil.
RespawnUnicorn@reddit
£5 for a ceramic bauble you can get from Baker Ross in a pack of 6 for not much more money. Didn't even get ribbon with it.
The worst one was when they actually had an "art gallery" thing in the hall. Every kid in the school, plus some teachers and parents, did a painting, sculpture, or general art thing. We all got to go in and buy the things we liked. Nothing had a name on it. There were at least a dozen broken-hearted kids whose parents had promised to buy their art but it had already been sold to someone else. I don't know who thought that was a good idea, but it was a fucking shit show.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
30 years ago in Scotland and we would still pay. Although think the usual was a quid.
Breaking-Dad-@reddit
Our school uses the pupil premium to fund things like forest school and as a church school there are certain clubs provided by the church. Sport or dance or whatever cost money.
xp3ayk@reddit
FYI you should be able to pay for this from a tax free childcare account, which will make it a bit cheaper
Known_Situation_9097@reddit
It’s typical because it’s a public service. They’re all ran poorly. This is why they need more and more funding and charge for things that used to be free
Outrageous_Shirt_737@reddit
My daughter left primary school last year and we were never charged for any afterschool clubs. I think they may have charged if there was an outside company coming in to run it, or if it was one that was childcare and provided food, but not if it was an activity run by teachers. She’s doing 5 different afterschool clubs at secondary now, and we’re not charged for any of those, either.
JC3896@reddit
It depends entirely on the school and if they have the budget to cover the cost of it or not. When I worked in teaching the school I was at had an insane amount of children under the poverty line, school get more funding for children under the poverty line (was called pupil premium at the school I was at, not sure if that is an industry term). That excess funding led to them being able to cover all after school clubs, schools in the area with mostly kids above the poverty line were charging as their budgets were so tight that money basically covered costs of equipment or overtime pay to the teacher running the club.
TechnicalAd896@reddit
Very normal.
_Foxlet_@reddit
If it's a club where a teacher has volunteered (or been volun-told) to run it, it's likely to be free. If it's an outside agency (the football club at our school is run by a company) then it will cost money.
WoeUntoThee@reddit
Thank you for exposing me to the term ‘volun-told’ ! That’s exactly what happens in many schools…
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
I remember we had after school clubs at school that were free and run by the teachers. In hindsight I think it's terrible teachers are expected to do that.
fat_mummy@reddit
“Back in the day” teachers were valued and DID willingly volunteer. But the goodwill in schools is disappearing quickly!
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
Even if they volunteered I imagine it was kind of expected and hard to say no.
Loose_Avocado4670@reddit
Yes, it's normal. When I was in primary, I took part in a gymnastics club, which was around £5-£6 per class.
spyrobandic00t@reddit
This was the norm for me growing up. I was in primary school in the late 90s early 2000s, every club I was in my parents paid £2 a session.
orange_fudge@reddit
Honestly, as a community sports coach, it is more expensive for us to offer these days.
I carry my own insurance, in addition to what my club provides. I have to do ongoing training with my sports governing body for them to recognise me as a coach.
For adult classes I would take the risk and coach without the extra support or certification. But for kids sports, I am so scared that one day a parent will try to sue me.
When I bring people in to help, I insist to the club that we need to pay them, so that I can enforce them doing all the same training.
I’ve already had parents haranguing me in the stairwell about my coaching philosophy and asking me why I won’t ’take responsibility’ for their child’s completely normal minor injury (blisters). These kids are 11 and they want me to gauge their chances of a sports scholarship to America.
When it was a bunch of local kids who knew and trusted each other, whose parents were also participating, the kids were safe and the coaches were safe. Now that parents see what we provide as a service, we have to charge so that we are able to provide the level of service that parents expect.
mawarup@reddit
sad that it's come to this, and sad that parents are seeing their 11 year old kids' hobbies as a means to an end.
do you think there's a reasonable way to make things easier for people like you?
Mag-1892@reddit
Things like forest school are just part of the normal day at my kids school but after school stuff (dance gymnastics etc) i pay for but it’s like £1 a session
chooselove_@reddit
Yes, I thought the forest school example (during school day, on school grounds) sounded odd. Unless a third party is being brought in, I'd be pissed off!
ChihuahuaMammaNPT@reddit
Same in my kids school - anything during school hours (except trips) are funded, afterschool parents pay... our breakfast club is free too but I know other schools charge
Duranis@reddit
I work in a primary school and sadly this is normal. Need to sometimes pay staff for overtime, external companies for certain activities, etc.
Even the forest school on their own grounds they may be using resources that still have to be purchased. Some schools are struggling just to find money for the basics like books, pens, etc so just can't afford to pay even small amounts out for "extra" activities.
Gauntlets28@reddit
Yes, I think that's pretty normal. I remember people had to pay for after school clubs when I was a kid (which is why I never really did any honestly).
thatscotbird@reddit
I mean I’m 30 and my kids aren’t primary school age, but my parents definitely paid for after school activities for me when I was younger!
Opening-Abrocoma4210@reddit
I’m significantly older than 30 and I defo remember being refused after school activities because there was a charge, especially if it was sports or activity related
Popular_Sea530@reddit
It’s because it’s wraparound care which is charged for.
marvellouspineapple@reddit
Since when are extracurricular activities wraparound care?
ci_newman@reddit
When parents make their kids do it even if they don't want to, because they want wrap around care.
The school chargining a nominal amount is to dissuade people from just chucking their kids in for free, or taking a spot of a child who actually wants to do the afterschool club.
Life_Put1070@reddit
Not wraparound care, but you reminded me of it. My brother manages a sailing club, and during the school holidays he has a lot of kids whose parents are using their sailing courses as childcare, because it's cheaper than other forms of childcare.
ddbbaarrtt@reddit
That’s perfectly legitimate and we do something similar with other clubs
Our children don’t just want to go to summer camp and we can’t take endless leave, so we find activities/day clubs that we think they’ll enjoy instead
Life_Put1070@reddit
Oh, I didn't mean to imply it wasn't legitimate.
It was just something (both of us being in our mid 20s) we'd never thought about before. He was surprised by how candid some of the children were about it, saying they were only there for childcare and that they didn't want to be there. I think also that a sailing course (so paying for the instructors and boats and whatever) is CHEAPER than other childcare solutions was a bit wacky to think about.
Pearsepicoetc@reddit
Full time childcare can be obscenely expensive.
Some places still have community based childcare provision which is great and can be as low as £600-700 a month.
Most places don't and it'll be at least £1,000 a month for full time care (after factoring in tax free childcare) up to closer to £2,000 depending on where you are.
People tell you children aren't expensive (well they're not but care is) and old people do the whole "wait until they're teen-agers then you'll know what expensive is" but that's rubbish.
ddbbaarrtt@reddit
Sorry, I think you’ve misunderstood what I meant
People actively look for things like your brothers business to give their children some variety - the fact the children tell him that is a little mad. We’d much rather our children were learning how to sail, or at a science or tennis camp than at a franchise holiday camp with 35 other kids doing the same activities on a loop ever 3-4 days
Those holiday clubs are just franchises too
newfor2023@reddit
Does show there could be far better childcare options.
ci_newman@reddit
I'm a Scout leader and we see the same, we frequently get kids come through who clearly don't want to be there but parents see it as cheap childcare because it's fully staffed by volunteers
mand658@reddit
They're caring for your kids around (before/after) the regular school hours
SpiritedVoice2@reddit
It has that added advantage for us to be honest.
Kids going to a few after school clubs a week allows us to pick them up at 4.30 instead of 3.30 which allows us more flexible working arrangements.
Equivalent_March3225@reddit
I pay 9.00 per day for after school care 4.00 before school care 5.00 per dance session 4.50 football club
In reality it's not that bad. Some places charge considerably more. It's part of being a parent.
Coat-Trick@reddit
I pay £10/month for my child to do football at nursery
ben__j_@reddit
Yes, paying for after-school activities is standard now. Think about it - schooling is funded by taxpayers. Is it fair for someone without kids, or a parent who skips the football club sign-up, to subsidise your 6-year-old’s extracurriculars? Probably not.
That £4 a session? It’s covering the coach, equipment, or helping the school plug funding gaps. Ten years ago, your eldest was lucky enough to benefit from better funding. Now, schools are fighting just to keep the basics afloat, and extras have a price tag.
But the forest school charge? That’s a bit cheeky. If it’s already been funded by donations and grants, charging parents feels a bit out of order. Schools are desperate, but asking parents to pay for something that’s already built and on-site? That’s a hard sell.
ddbbaarrtt@reddit
I think it’s fair to charge, and our kids school does for after school club and activities
Even if the money doesn’t go to the person running the club, our school has an expectation that every teacher will run 2 of these a year so they have 2 terms where they have 1 day where they finish at 4.30 instead of 3.30.
MysticalMaryJane@reddit
On the path to become a Karen haha
BiscuitCrumbsInBed@reddit
My son attend forest school sessions but never had to pay. He has been doing football club after school, £60 each term. It's an outside company so not surprised we get charged, it's not compulsory after all! The school does the odd after school club for free, not every term.
SceneDifferent1041@reddit
You may find some staff may run something off their own backs but specialists will charge.
JonRoberts87@reddit
makes me feel lucky with our kids school, they don't pay for after school stuff.
Both my kids do a dance class on Tues, ran by an external company that comes in, and its free.
PigHillJimster@reddit
Yes, that's normal. The afterschool clubs may be run by teachers at the school or outside agencies who pay part fo the fee to the school for the use of the facilities. Sometimes the ones run by teachers themselves are using materials or content provided by an outside agency for a fee.
As to activities within school time that are part of the curriculum such as school trips, an external speaker or an external agency coming in during school time it's normal to ask parents to make a voluntary contribution for this. If parents don't voluntary contribute the activity can't go ahead.
The School budget will be stretched enough as it is. Believe me, I know. I am a Parent Governor at our Primary School.
No-Photograph3463@reddit
Sounds mad to me, and not something I've heard of tbh, but when people are calling afterschool activities as wrap around care it makes sense.
What i do know is that when i was a kid if it was £4 a session then i wouldn't be allowed to do any after school clubs as my parents wouldn't of been able to afford it!
BackgroundGate3@reddit
I was a school governor for 13 years at a primary school. We didn't charge for after school clubs, but the school was in a deprived area and not many could have paid. I ran a knit and natter and funded the materials myself, but occasionally I'd get donations. The PTA ran fundraisers to pay for some activities.
Sambuccabplus@reddit
Yes you tight bastard.
SpiritedVoice2@reddit
Yes this is totally normal and has been for a long time. I'm pretty sure your eldest must have paid too and you just forgot?
Not sure what your objection is. It's an after school club outside the legal hours school provides. £4 for a kids football session is a bargain, £4 for an hour of childcare is an even bigger bargain!
pikantnasuka@reddit
Ime breakfast clubs are sometimes free, everything else is always paid for
t90fan@reddit
I'm 35
And I remember my mum had to pay some money to do hockey club after school when I was younger.
So yeah normal
Terr0rBytes@reddit
My Sons school charge for aftershcool activities where an external company come in but don't charge for teacher led.
Example, we are lucky the PE teacher hosts football once a week so that is free. However there is an IT coding club where a company comes in and runs it, that has a cost.
The teachers here also run a homework help class once a week and a cooking class which are free as it's the teachers themselves giving the time.
To be honest, I feel very lucky and praise this school constantly.
CongealedBeanKingdom@reddit
Yes. Schools have no money and it's a great way to make sure those kids with parents who have a bit of money get to pull away from the rest of us. Unfair as fuck.
Fun_Level_7787@reddit
When i was at primary school 20 years ago now, all after school activities and music lessons i did were paid for. I thought that was the norm? Some sponsored after school activities existed but that was run by a charity and had other funding if i remember correctly
Zestyclose8744@reddit
My daughter plays netball after school and it isn't charged, but I could see why it would be.
LadyIvy_xo@reddit
I think it depends on whether it's a council run or academy run school. My kids are attend an academy and my sisters attend a council run school. We discuss it a lot and she does seem to pay for more than I do.
I don't pay for after school clubs, majority of trips are free too. Year 6 gets free access to breakfast/tutoring club, for other years it's £1.50 a day. The only clubs that are charged are the ones when olympians come to host them. Where as, my sister's kids attend a council school and they do pay for a lot, breakfast club costs more, there's always some fundraising going on but obviously they need the funding. For example, the Halloween disco, my kids tickets costs £1 each, my niblings costs £5. My oldest just attended a two night residential that cost us nothing, it's £120 for my niblings school.
Hyperion2023@reddit
They absolutely have to charge- there’s staff costs, equipment, and probably extra hidden costs (heating, insurance) that needs to be covered. For the token amount, usually just a couple of quid, you get an hour or so of very very cheap childcare. Certainly not complaining!
Affectionate-Boot-12@reddit
They usually use the money to pump back into the school.
A_Crazy_crew@reddit
Are you sure it is a teacher led football club? My son's school have an outside coaching company come in for their after school club which accounts for the cost
Justha-Tip@reddit
My kid’s school (small village school) charges about £3-4 per session for after school clubs but you book and pay for them termly. Can’t book just one session. My mum works at a massive school in a deprived area and their activities are free.
DontCatchThePigeon@reddit
We have an awesome fundraising group at our school so that's lots of free activities during the day like forest school and sports, trips are subsidised, there's a big summer fun day that's free for the kids, and they even go to panto for free. But the after school clubs are all paid for by parents. It's good stuff though - there's guitar, nerf battles, rugby, laser tag, dodgeball - so we don't begrudge it at all.
TransatlanticMadame@reddit
Breakfast club - £5/session, after school club - £15/session, and yes all the other clubs cost money. So if you're a working parent and you need coverage til 6pm, but your kid also wants to do karate, you pay for both.
Schools are hurting for money and overall do not employ skilled procurement people to buy things in a cost efficient way, which makes things cost even more.
vario_@reddit
I work for an after school club. Quite often, clubs are run by third-party businesses rather than the school teachers, so you would definitely have to pay if that's the case! I could also imagine that school-run clubs would like you to pay just for supplies and stuff, but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Just-Ad-7765@reddit
Local schools near me (Northamptonshire) outsource the PE teachers, so maybe that's why they charge as they're an independent company
thebottomofawhale@reddit
Yes, pretty typical. Is it actually teachers who run it? I've worked in different places and sometimes there is a teacher but often it is actually support staff and the money raised by after school clubs does go to them.
Forest school might be on school grounds, but probably they are paying someone who is trained in forest schooling to come deliver the lessons.
If there is any money left over after paying staff, I imagine the money goes to help balance the school budget. Which may seem rubbish, but also it's something schools have to do because the previous government has squeezed them dry. I'd be really surprised if there were any schools in this country not in debt at this point.
JamesL25@reddit
It’s more than 20 years since I was at Primary, but we certainly had some activities that were paid for, but tended to be from an external company
Feline-Sloth@reddit
My daughter is 23, and I definitely had to pay for extra curriculum stuff for her at primary school.
PandyAtterson@reddit
Things cost money, strangely enough. Schools aren't exactly flush with cash. Most barely have the budget to staff them properly never mind doing extra stuff for kids.
Ysbrydion@reddit
Yep.
My kids' school can't even afford trips anymore. So few students can afford the fees, the school can't cover them all.
superkinks@reddit
Yes. Ours didn’t used to but started this year so I was shocked. I spoke to my brother and he said his kids school always has and it’s pretty normal. So now I just feel happy that we got a few years of them being free. I think in general schools are really struggling with funding (or lack thereof).
mkaym1993@reddit
When I was at school it was free to play for any of the school sports teams (including after school training) - however primary school was 20 years ago for me! Just commenting as some of the comments are a bit sarcastic, and acting as if you are a moron, for asking a reasonable question
Logbotherer99@reddit
Ours charge, but it's a lot less than that, almost £10 per half term.
Mr06506@reddit
Jan - March is £75 for football club at my kids primary school!
The teachers don't run any clubs themselves, so the only options are external companies out to make a profit.
Various_Assignment78@reddit
Our after school clubs are free except the sporting ones, I guess they either have extra teachers or the use of equipment? Mine usually go for board games or lego club which are free, luckily for me.
ukbot-nicolabot@reddit
OP marked this as the best answer, given by /u/KingBenneth.
^(What is this?)
KingBenneth@reddit
We’re also charged for extra-curricular activities like book club, crafts, etc. I believe it’s the norm.
Any_Suggestion7619@reddit (OP)
!answer
darcsend_eu@reddit
Depends who's hosting the activity. Might be someone's side hustle.
Florence_Nightgerbil@reddit
My kid is part of football club during lunch time and we have to pay for it. And off the top of my head it’s £60 a term but I could be getting that wrong.
flash-gordonette@reddit
Our school doesn't charge for AFS that are run by the teachers, but they have a football club which is provided by an external service. Which costs £3 per week.
Breakwaterbot@reddit
This is perfectly normal and has been going on so d as long as I can remember. My mum used to pay a termly fee for me to play rugby after school on a Monday night.
1514-RobbieDye@reddit
Bottles of wine don't come for free.
AskUK-ModTeam@reddit
Not a sincere or helpful attempt at answering a question
knight-under-stars@reddit
Yes completely normal.
Cultural_Tank_6947@reddit
If it's outside of the mandatory school hours, then yes optional activities are chargeable. It's essentially late stay isn't it?
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