Parents shared helpful feedback about our after-school clubs in the recent annual survey. This has helped us to think more about our programme, spaces, waiting lists and booking arrangements. Booking arrangements will change for the summer term.

 

Parents appreciate the wide range of after-school clubs that we offer in partnership with our external providers. Most suggestions from parents are already available at some point in the school year. Much as we might like to provide swimming and horse riding too, we would struggle with arrangements! Tennis and gardening are likely to return for the summer term.

 

We use waiting lists to help plan our programme of clubs.  The most popular clubs already have 4 sessions each week. We are going to try slowly increasing these clubs to 5 sessions each week. There is a risk that swamping our programme with the most popular clubs then reduces uptake of alternative clubs that are in less demand but equally enjoyed by pupils who participate. Lower uptake would mean that external providers drop-out, ultimately reducing the wide variety of clubs on offer for all.

 

Current capacity for outdoor sports clubs is limited by space on the artificial grass pitch. As soon as the field re-opens, from September 2023, we will increase the number of outdoor clubs, especially in summer 2024.

 

Over the last 2 terms, we have trialled new booking arrangements. Pupils are added to waiting lists and then promoted to join the club as and when spaces become available. Behind the scenes, this has not worked well. The majority of clubs now have full waiting lists. Parents have added children to multiple clubs, limiting the general availability for all. Where parents apply for multiple clubs, when children are offered a place, clubs clash and/or all requests are not wanted. This results in vacancies in clubs. For summer term booking, we return to a first-come, first-served approach.