Manor Gardens Primary School

On Tuesday the 16th of September a meeting was held at the school to discuss the aftercare programme. The meeting was attended by about 9 parents, but we are aware of many other parents who expressed a keen interest in discussing the aftercare programme but were not able to attend the meeting. We thought it would be worthwhile putting some of the key issues of discussion at the meeting onto the website. We want to encourage responses and ideas from anyone interested in the aftercare programme.

We are also planning to send out a short survey to all carers of children who attend aftercare. Alongside this we are going to make some effort to talk to aftercare kids about aftercare. We do this knowing that we are fortunate to have a well functioning aftercare programme with a staff who are very nuturing toward our children.

There were a number of issues raised at the aftercare meeting. We will just report on a few of these for your consideration and hopefully, your commentary.

HOWEWORK CLUB
Perhaps the biggest issue that was discussed was the structuring of the aftercare programme. There was a lively discussion in the meeting about whether or not the aftercare programme should be more structured or not. In particular, we discussed whether there should be a 'homework club' at aftercare, as there is at, for example, Penzance Primary. The idea behind a homework club is that children have an allocated time to complete their homework for the day. This could occur in one slot, say at 3pm or at two seperate slots. If we were to go this route, we would require more assistants/teachers in the aftercare programme.

Some parents felt that it is best for children to do homework at home with their parents or carers. There was also a feeling expressed that children enjoy aftercare because it gives them time to play with other kids which they do not do when they are at home.

Others felt that it would be good to have a homework club as some children come home late and tired from aftercare because they have working parents who are unable to pick them up before 5pm. It was also acknowledged that there are parents at MGPS who might find it difficult to do homework with their kids because they lack the skills to assist their children.

A further advantage of having a homework club is that children are often encouraged to do homework when they are with their peers or are assisted by 'older' children who can assist them.

MORE FACILITIES (GAMES/BALLS ETC)
While our aftercare is well resourced, it was felt that it may be necessary to buy new games, toys and sporting equippment on a regular basis for the aftercare programme. To do this we would need to consider how we fund such an initiative. There are a number of ways in which money could be raised. These include raising fees slightly; organising fund rasing events in the aftercare programme; requesting money from the school budget; looking for sponsorship from companies or sponsors.

Linked to aftercare resources was the idea that there are more structured activities in the aftercare programme such as arts and crafts. The current aftercare teachers noted that kids tend to prefer to play than to 'do structured things'.

SICK ROOM FACILITIES
Currently there is no sick room facility for the aftercare programme. The meeting agreed that it is important to have a bed (possibly a bunk bed) available in the aftercare room. This could be partitioned off. At present there is nowhere to put children who are feeling unwell. We would need to raise funds for a bed or look for a sponsor to provide a bed.

Linked to this we wanted a medical practitioner (doctor/nurse/paramedic/pharmacist) to volunteer to look at our current first aid kit and see whether we are adequately equipped and if there are other items that we need to buy to ensure that we have a full first aid kit.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE AFTERCARE PROGRAMME
The possibility of having parents more actively involved in the aftercare programme was discussed. Parents could, for example, volunteer to do reading with kids for a couple of hours a week. Parents could also come and do craft activities or sporting activities with the aftercare children. Fundraising events for the aftercare programme are another possibility.

What we came to recognise in the meeting is that children attend aftercare for a variety of reasons. We do not have a good sense of these reasons or the circumstances of the carers of children who attend aftercare. It was clear that a number of children attend aftercare even though they have other options available, such as a parent or child at home. This clearly indicates that children enjoy aftercare. It also raises questions about whether or not we would want to expand the numbers of children who atttend aftercare which would bring in greater funding.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Let us know your thoughts on any of these issues raised above. You do not have to have a child at aftercare to express an opinion on the aftercare programme. You can also ask your children what they think and get them to comment on the website or to get your to write their thoughts/concerns.

There is a small team of people who will be drawing up a survey questionnaire for parents and finding ways of asking children about their experiences of aftercare. Those who want to comment directly on this can email one of the team members, Monique Marks at marks@ukzn.ac.za

You can also pass on any thoughts - verbally or written - to Des at the aftercare centre.

We look forward to hearing from you.