After School Clubs in East Dulwich September 2018

[semgrilo]

Hello parents,

My twin girls are starting reception at the Fairlawn School this coming September and we were told that all their after school clubs are oversubscribed. The whole process is a bit daunting - how do parents usually address the gap between school and 6pm? Are there private after school clubs (if so, ay recommendations)? Do we look into a child-minder/nanny (anyone trustworthy)? Our kids are trilingual (German/English/Portuguese) so would be particularly interested in activities involving languages but at this point any ideas are extremely welcome!

Thanks in advance for your help

Daniel

[Cheryl_M]

I'm interested in this thread also. My partner, 6yo and I are moving back to London during the holidays and am wondering about breakfast and afterschool clubs.

[redjam]

Your best bet is probably a childminder or (if your house is big enough) an au-pair from Germany or Portugal. You can get nannies to do after-school jobs but you might have to do a nanny-share with another family or find a nanny with a young child of their own to make it practical (otherwise you'd have to pay them to do nothing while your child is at school). Reciprocal child-minding arrangements with friends is also an option once they've settled in but I appreciate it's not much use if you work full-time or before you know who your kids' friends will be.

Most primary schools offer an after-school/breakfast club which is run by a separate company but based within the school (I don't know of any separate ones that are off-site as you'd have the problem of how to get the kids there). But you're right, they do get very booked up in advance - plus I think it can be a very long day for Reception-age kids if they're effectively at school from breakfast to teatime.

So yes, childminder or au pair is probably your best bet. Hideously expensive and all a complete nightmare to sort out. And that's before you face the trauma of what to do over the endless, oh-god-is-it-that-time-again school holidays. But you somehow muddle through then before you know it they're off to secondary school and suddenly you've got a whole new set of challenges ... Ah, the joys of parenting. Good luck!

[jacqueline25]

JAM is an private after school/holiday club my be worth looking to see if they pick up from your school.

[Cheryl_M]

Thanks redjam and jacqueline25! I think for us we will have to go down the route of a childminder which is actually the option my daughter would prefer. So now onto finding a good and reliable one ...