May 2, 2023

You may remember earlier in the year we were exploring the possibility of providing an after school childcare club with a local sports provider which unfortunately fell through due to staffing issues on their part, which was hugely frustrating. 

Since that time, I have been working with SAST Finance to find a solution and we are now in the position whereby we can offer afterschool childcare on a trial basis after the May half term holiday leading to a permanent childcare facility in September from Monday- Thursday. (The caveat being that the provision can only be permanent if used as school budgets cannot be used to buffer financial losses.)

The club will be supervised by staff member Mrs Adams, who also runs our breakfast club and will take place in the old building. There will be two session options on offer: 3.15-4.15 at £4 or 3.15-5pm for £7.50. Parents will book and pay on Parent Pay. 

Because we are unsure of the need for the service currently, Mrs Adams will be on a zero hours contract initially. This means that during the summer term, we will ask parents to book one week in advance with the deadline on the Friday by 12pm for the following week so that Mrs Adams can organise her time accordingly. We will not be operating a drop in service. We will have to be very strict on this so please bear this in mind. We cannot accept last minute cancellations for the same reason.

If the provision proves popular, which we hope it will be, then we will move to the possibility of 'on the day' bookings in the new academic year from September. However please be aware that places will be limited and so forward planning is best. We would still prefer bookings by 12pm on Friday to ensure places can  be secured. Please note that we are not providing food or intend to compete with the longer hours that local provider Lower Covey provides although biscuits and drinks may be available.

If your child is attending a school club and you'd like them to stay until 5pm, then this is possible but you will still need to book the longer session until 5pm as clubs are not always guaranteed to run. 

We will be operating a late collection penalty. If the first session only is booked and parents/carers are late to pick up then the second session will also be charged to parents' accounts. If pupils are collected later than 5pm, a late collection fee will be incurred. More details in the terms and conditions to follow.

We hope that parents will find this provision useful and there will be a good take-up in time. We will monitor its popularity in the first year and then make decisions  accordingly going forward.