About
Out of school clubs include before and after-school clubs, breakfast clubs and holiday clubs or playschemes. Extended schools are designed to help parents balance work and family commitments while providing children with study support. This offers them a broader range of experiences and interests.
Before and after school clubs (wraparound provision) may be offered by a school or private or voluntary (charitable) provider, either on or off the school site. They often run from the end of the school day until about 6pm. Some will also provide care at the start of the school day which are known as ‘breakfast clubs’.
If they provide care for children under the age of 8 years they must be registered with Ofsted.
Each school has its own arrangements for extra-curricular activities. So, speak to your child’s school about what is available.
Increase in wraparound places
In Spring 2023, the Government announced its plans to expand the wraparound provision available to working parents. This is with the ambition that by September 2026, all working parents of primary aged children who wish to use it should be able to access wraparound care. This includes children who have additional needs and disabilities.
Somerset Council is supporting this expansion and helping settings currently offering wraparound to increase their provision. And to encourage brand new wraparound provision to start up.
Wraparound care may be run at school settings, by childminders or using neighbourhood cluster models, where a few schools which are close to one another may use the same wraparound care.