Who cares for children after school?

Nicola Woolcock writes:

Growing numbers of mothers are going back to work while their children are still young - and many schools now open longer to reflect that.

By the end of next year all schools will be expected to open from 8am until 6pm, providing breakfast clubs and after-school activities such as sport and music sessions.

But are parents taking advantage of so-called ‘extended schools’? New research by the government would suggest not.

A report published by the Department for Children Schools and Familes found that half of parents of primary aged children do not use any childcare. This indicates that one parent does not work, or has flexible or part-time employment.

Another quarter of children aged 5 to 11 are cared for after school on an informal basis.

They are picked up and looked after by parents’ ex-partners, grandparents, siblings, other relatives, and even friends or neighbours, dispelling the myth that a sense of community has disappeared from Britain’s streets.

Only one in 12 primary aged children is sent to formal childcare at the end of the school day. A further six per cent use a combination of out of school clubs with informal childcare.

Parents unable to collect their children from school, because of their working hours, left them with someone else for six hours a week, on average.

The report, Fitting It All Together - How Families Arrange their Childcare and the Influence on Children's Home Learning, said: “Recent trends illustrate that use of out of school childcare has increased since 2001, but started from a very low level of use.

“As more primary and secondary schools become extended schools, it is likely that take-up of this type of childcare will increase further.”

Somewhat controversially it says this could have a positive effect on children, adding: “There is some evidence to suggest that out of school activities are associated with better child outcomes.”

Will parents trust school to look after and entertain their children once lessons are done, seeing it as a safe haven? Or will they think that their child, needing a little ‘down-time’ at the end of the school day, is better off with granny?

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