Out of School
The Out of school scheme is our oldest project and was one of the first of its kind in Europe.
We provide 100 places for children of primary school age who attend all year round, with an additional 20 places for Holidays Only. The Out of School Manager runs this project with a team of fantastic staff. Most of the staff have been trained in childcare, whilst others are working towards gaining this qualification.
The environment is organised, clean and well maintained. The scheme is a free play environment; children can choose which activities they wish to participate in. The activities stimulate and encourage development as well as teaches them to co-operate with each other.
Our aim is to provide a safe, stimulating and happy environment for children in our care. The children are introduced to a variety of activities, which are planned. Our activities are carefully designed to ensure that all children have equal opportunity to participate in activities of their choice. Relevant support is provided to ensure that all our children's needs are met.
Please choose from a scheme below
The scheme runs Monday-Friday from the end of the school day when the children are picked up from school, until 6.30pm during term time, and from 7.45am to 6.30pm during the school holidays, with the exception of Bank Holidays.
Our minibuses leave the centre shortly before 3pm to collect the children from school and normally return by 4pm.
When the children arrive from school a light nutritious snack is provided (see menu), after snack the children can then freely choose how they want to occupy their time. We organise a range of activities and clubs including sports, gardening, Lego club, board games, soft play, video gaming, Dance, cooking & role play. They can take part in one or all activities, create their own games or play in our Adventure playground if weather permits.
We are registered to collect 100 children from their schools. Most are collected in one of our four minibuses. Our junior children from Broadmead and St Mary's schools are walked back to club. The infant children are collected from their classrooms or reception area from within the school where as our junior children meet at a designated place.
If there is any doubt as to whether we should be collecting a child from school, we will always bring them to the safety of our facilities rather than leave them outside a school.
The minibuses leave at around 2.45 pm and are out for approximately an hour.
SCHOOLS WE COLLECT FROM:
- The Crescent
- ARK Oval
- Broadmead Infants & Juniors
- St Marys Infants & Juniors
- Robert Fitzroy Infants & Juniors
- Davidson Primary
- Elmwood Infants & Juniors
- Heavers Farm Primary
Please contact us if your child's school is not on the list as we may be able to add a new school.
The Breakfast club is run during term-time. It is open from 7.45 am until 8.30. Breakfast is available to the children, which is normally toast or cereal and is on offer throughout the session.
After they have had breakfast, the children can then play with a variety of table/board games and drawing materials. The play opportunities are limited to these as we do not want to hype the children up too much before school, where they should be arriving in a calm manner ready for the day of learning.
At approximately 8.30 the children are taken to school in a minibus and are escorted to their schools. Playworkers will not leave the school until the children are safely inside the building. Infant children will be taken directly to their classrooms where as the junior children join their respective class line in the playground.
If children arrive after 8.30am, unfortunately their parent will need to take them to school themselves because the register will already have been marked out and it is vital that our records are accurate.
SCHOOLS THE BREAKFAST CLUB DELIVER TO:
- Broadmead Infants & Juniors
- The Crescent
- Davidson Primary
Please contact us if your child's school is not on the list as we may be able to add a new school.
The scheme runs Monday-Friday from 7.45am to 6.30pm during the school holidays, with the exception of Bank Holidays.
For children who arrive before 8.30am cereal and toast will be provided. Children bring their own packed lunches. We provide the children with afternoon snack. (see menu)
During the day we organise lots of activities for the children to do, we often take them out on trips too, including parks, museums and the cinema. As with the After School scheme they are free to choose which activities they would like to do and we run the same clubs throughout the year, eg Lego club, garden, dance etc.
Our Staff
We employ a qualified NVQ Level 3 Manager (in Playwork and Early Years) and our Playworkers are qualified in NVQ Level 2 & 3. All staff members are CRB checked.
Our staff have training in Behaviour Management, the Early Years Foundation Sage for Out of School provision, Safeguarding Children, Autism training, Understanding, working with, and supporting children's behaviour, Understanding Play Types and First Aid.
Parental involvement
We encourage parents to be involved in all aspects of the their child's day but we understand that this is difficult when working full-time so we are happy for parents to telephone or write to us any time.
We involve parents in fund-raising activities and on outings with the children and hold parents evenings that provide the opportunity to discuss your child's progress with the key person and members of the team.