Providing Out of School Care

Out of school services are for school-age children to play and learn and have fun in groups.

They are usually based in or near schools, and more are being set up to help families where one or more of the parents or carers work.

Out of school services can be registered with OFSTED (the Office for Standards in Education) and inspected each year, provided they are caring for children eight years of age and under for more than two hours every day.

Out of school services are run outside school hours by a team of staff, usually called play workers.

Playworkers are responsible for planning activities to help children learn, play and relax with their friends. Play workers will often pick up children from local schools.

Out of school services have many benefits, both for the child and for the parent, including:

• Convenience - children can learn, relax after school and have fun with their friends
   
• Specificity - out of school services are geared specifically towards the needs of children with working parents or carers

Read about the National Standards childminders are expected to meet - please note that this is a large pdf file (253 kb.)

What to do next

If you're interested in setting up an Out of School service, then you need to pre-register your interest with Croydon Children's Information Service by filling in the pre-registration form.

Back to Setting Up Group Care

Wednesday, 27 August, 2008

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