Kids’ Clubs - Solutions Demonstrating innovation and good practice in

out of school childcare clubs

Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs, Bridge House, Station Road,

Llanishen, Cardiff. CF14 5UW. Tel: 029 2074 1000 Fax: 029 2074 1047

Email: info@clybiauplantcymru.org Web: www.clybiauplantcymru.orgCompany limited by guarantee 4296436. Registered Charity 1093260.

This project is part-fi nanced by the European Union through the Welsh Assembly Government

Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs exists to help communities in Wales by promoting, developing and supporting quality, affordable, accessible out of school childcare clubs

A company limited by guarantee: 4296436Registered Charity: 1093260

Registered Offi ce: Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs,Bridge House, Station Road, Llanishen, Cardiff CF14 5UW

Tel: 029 2074 1000 Fax: 029 2074 1047Email: info@clybiauplantcymru.org

Website: www.clybiauplantcymru.org

Extracts from this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial research, education or training purposes on the condition that the source is acknowledged. For any other use please contact the registered offi ce.

The Kids’ Clubs Project Making it easier for parents to work or train

We have made every effort to ensure the information contained in this publication is accurate! Please be aware that web links often change or disappear. We are not responsible for the content or safety of any of the websites we list.

Material relating third part information, products, and services is provided without any endorsement.

We encourage you to consider the safety and well-being of the children when using any of the content of this publication.

September 2008

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Introduction

The Kids’ Clubs Project, a 3 year project started in late 2005, supported the development of out of school childcare clubs in the fi fteen Objective 1 counties in Wales. The project trained new playworkers, upskilled current playworkers, and supported the development of new childcare clubs as well as sustaining existing provision. More than 4,700 people trained on the project.

A key fund awarded start-up grants to 116 new clubs. Other grants helped sustain existing clubs, provided funding for one-to-one workers for children with special needs, and subsidised childcare for families unable to afford fees.

This publication documents the experiences of setting up 16 special and innovative clubs funded by The Kids’ Clubs Project. It is supplemented with other examples of innovative and good practice from existing clubs in Wales. Its purpose is to help inform future club development.

The clubs in this study were selected because they address specifi c target areas:

• Clubs providing childcare for under represented groups, for example, childcare for older children, childcare for children with additional needs.

• Clubs using new or uncommon management models such as school or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) managed clubs, charities and companies managing several clubs as a consortium, social enterprises, community interest companies.

• Clubs which were innovative or successful in other ways, for example, providing care at unusual times, involving children in decision-making in interesting ways, healthy clubs.

This is a great opportunity for clubs to learn from each other! We hope that the information will help to support clubs in their efforts to make the best provision for children and families in Wales!

How to use this publication

There are fi ve sections. Each section looks at a specifi c target area. A glossary of terms is included at the back.

The 16 case studies set up and funded by The Kids’ Clubs Project are provided in detail in an appendix at the back.

Each section includes: • A short introduction.• Key points to consider when developing a particular type of club.• Snapshots of good and innovative practice. Further detail about each of the 16 new clubs developed in The Kids’ Clubs Project and the successes, challenges and lessons learned can be found in the appendix at the back.• Resources, publications and websites.

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Acknowledgements

This publication was developed as part of The Kids’ Clubs Project.

Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs wishes to acknowledge and thank the following for contributing to the innovative study of The Kids’ Clubs Project:

826 Club, BridgendActive 8 to 14, WrexhamBeddau Buddies, Rhondda Cynon TafBodnant Fun Club, Denbighshire Bridging the Gap Youth & Junior, Merthyr Tydfi lBriery Hill After School and Holiday Club, Blaenau GwentBroad Haven After School Club, PembrokeshireBryn Kids’ Club, CarmarthenshireBurry Port Kids Club, CarmarthenshireCaban y Maes, AngleseyCefn Hengoed After School Club, CaerphillyClwb Bananas Bro Ogwr, BridgendClwb Bodedern, AngleseyClwb Enfys Llandudno, ConwyClwb Hwyl Brynsaron, CarmarthenshireClwb Hwyl, Cae Top, Gwynedd Clwb Llangeler, CarmarthenshireClwb Plant Cemaes, AngleseyClwb Plant Ysgol Y Fali, AngleseyClwb Sbri Ni, CarmarthenshireClwb y Ddwylan, CarmarthenshireCoed y Garn Breakfast Club, Blaenau GwentC-Saw (North Wales) LTD Holiday Club, DenbighshireDafen After School Club, CarmarthenshireDyffryn Taf / OwnZone, CarmarthenshireDynamic - Centre for children and young people with disabilities, Wrexham Fairwater High After School Club, TorfaenLlanafan After School Club, CeredigionLlwyn yr Eos Out of School Club, CeredigionClwb Hwyl Cadeg, CarmarthenshireClwb Gofal Teilo Sant, CarmarthenshireClwb Gofal Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydamen, CarmarthenshireMenter Cwm Gwendraeth, CarmarthenshireMiri Mawr After School Club, Denbighshire Neyland Kids’ Club, PembrokeshirePied Piper, DenbighshirePlayaway Childcare Centre, Neath Port TalbotPlayworks Playcare St Helens, CaerphillyPlayworks Playcare Coed Y Brain, CaerphillyPlayworks Dowlais Infants (ASC), Merthyr Tydfi lPlayworks Tir y Berth, CaerphillyPlayworks Playcare, Caerphilly Pontypool Park Holiday Club, TorfaenPrincess Road After School Club, Conwy Rudry Rascals, CaerphillySt Giles After School Club, WrexhamSt. Oswalds After School and Holiday Club, PembrokeshireThe Fun House, PembrokeshireTots 2 Teens, PembrokeshireTraethmelyn After School Club, Neath Port TalbotVictoria After School Club, TorfaenWaunlwyd After School Club, Blaenau GwentY Bont, BridgendYsgol Heol Goffa Summer Playscheme, Carmarthenshire

Consultants Anne John and Mary Allanson

We recognise that there are many more childcare clubs with innovative and good practice that we were unable to include in the scope of this small study.

Section 1:Clubs for Older Children and Young People Nine to fourteen year olds often have diverse and contradictory needs. This section includes key points to consider when planning clubs for this age range and examples of good practice.

Section 2: Clubs for Children with Additional NeedsIt is the responsibility of every childcare club to consider the needs of all children in their communities, making reasonable adjustments to ensure the inclusion of all children. Examples of fully inclusive clubs and clubs set up specifi cally for children with additional needs are included in this section.

Section 3: Non Traditional Out of Hours Clubs: Evenings and WeekendsNot all parents work or train 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, so their childcare needs often fall outside those of traditional out of school clubs.

Section 4: Management Models in Clubs This section demonstrates innovative ways to manage clubs. Examples included reveal that there are many different management models clubs can use.

Section 5: Hotchpotch: Other Innovation and Good Practice in Clubs This section includes other innovative and good practice examples, not previously featured, which have helped to raise quality in out of school childcare clubs across Wales.

Glossary of Terms

AppendixDetailed case studies 1 - 16

Contents

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4

Introduction

The need for out of school and holiday clubs for older children and young people is growing rapidly. The 9 to 14 year olds (16 years for young people with additional needs) often have diverse and contradictory needs. They often say they are bored, they have nothing to do, but they also say that all they want to do is to chill out and chat to their friends, so providing a service for this age group can be challenging.

This section includes key points to consider when planning clubs for this age range and examples of good practice. Also included are some of the pitfalls and lessons learned by those who have developed provision for older children and young people.

Clubs for Older Children and Young People

Key points to consider

• Ownership - Are young people consulted on all aspects of the club?

• The ‘coolness’ factor - Have the name and premises got it?The ‘coolness’ factor - Have the name and premises got it?The ‘coolness’ factor

• Activities - Are they challenging and appealing to this age group?

• Staff - Have they got the right approach and experience?Staff - Have they got the right approach and experience?Staff

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Ownership• Involving young people from the outset is vital to the success of all clubs, but especially when providing care for this age range.

• Consult them on the name, venue, décor, equipment, activities and trips.

• Think of innovative ways to consult such as ‘Big brother Diary’, Vox Pop, conversation and discussion, video and questionnaire.

• Involve them in writing job descriptions, shortlisting and interviewing staff.

• Involve them in the management and day to day running of the club, e.g. agreeing rules and policies with the staff.

Name• Image is very important for this age group.

• Avoid any connection with babies and young children; the name must be acceptable to young people.

• Offer a prize such as cinema or ten pin

bowling tickets, for coming up with the winning name for the club.

• Holiday camp has more kudos than holiday club.

Venue• Is it ‘cool’? Will young people want to be seen there?

• Is it welcoming, relaxed and designed by the young people (décor, layout, posters)?

• Investigate premises such as youth clubs, scout huts, village halls, disused houses on estates or sports clubs (rugby, tennis, cricket). Remember, the school may offer the best facilities.

• Will the décor appeal to young people? Posters, screens, murals and cushions may help.

• Create the right ambience; essentials are a sofa, coffee table and magazines.

• Remember, young people must have facilities to make drinks, snacks and play music.

• Is there outside space?6

Staff• Are they in tune with young people?

• Do they have knowledge and experience in both playwork and youthwork?

• Can they offer a varied programme of activities?

• Can they fi nd the right balance between giving a helping hand but not being interfering and intrusive?

• Think about where to advertise for staff in order to get the right people, such as youth and community courses.

• Look at recruiting volunteers from the sixth form or students on college courses such as performing arts, sports coaching, photography and catering.

• Get young people involved in drawing up the selection criteria, and to sit on the interview panel. Before appointing, ask potential staff to work for a session - then get feedback from the young people.

Activities• Make sure activities are varied, interesting and age appropriate.Remember this age group often have diverse and contradictory needs.

• Activities such as sport, dance, art and craft, a pool or snooker table, TV, DVD player and computer games are obvious choices, but the young people will come up with a list of their own. Don’t ever pre-judge their needs and wants.

• If funds permit, organise workshops on fi lm making, disc jockeying, beauty therapy, kick boxing, but remember to consult with the young people before arranging a workshop. Let them decide.

• Provide a quiet area for homework. This age group can have a lot of homework and may want to do it before they go home.

• There shouldn’t be any pressure to join in an activity. Participation must be voluntary.

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University students union premises certainly have the coolness factor and offer a relaxed youth club type environment with a settee, TV, snooker table, Wii and other electronic games, music and drink making facilities. The young people have their say on all aspects of the provision and staff say they never preempt what young people might want as what works one holiday may not for the next. Last holiday, the young people asked for a pyjama party. They wore pyjamas, brought in sleeping bags, watched DVDs and ate popcorn.

When asked, the young people said they didn’t want a lot of excitable young children around. They thought this club was a ‘cool, calm but fun place to be that was full of surprises’.

Through the college, it is able to offer specialist sports coaching and scientifi c activities as an add-on to regular holiday club activities such as scalextric, karaoke, music and arts and crafts, and snooker. The club is also linked to the Children’s University, so modules for accreditation are written around the activities within the club.

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A tea and homework club caters for secondary school children who enjoy making their own tea before settling down to do their homework. After an hour, they go into the after school club as volunteers to help with the younger children.

Secondary school with a leisure centre in the grounds The hub of this club is the music room. It includes a suite of six computers, musical equipment and a soft seating area. It is also a place where young people can do their homework if they want to. A large drama hall is next to the hub which is used for drama, circus skills and various sporting activities such as kickboxing. The club also has the use of the cookery room, woodwork room and leisure centre, thereby enabling the club to provide an extensive range of activities. Specialist sessional staff are brought in to support a range of activities. They are always supported by at least one volunteer. The club has invited the police, a healthy living team, a sexual health co-ordinator and someone from the youth service to speak to club members

Case study 1

This club has forged strong links with the sixth form and many students, both male and female, work as volunteers. Several have undertaken playwork training and are now qualifi ed playworkers. So, if they go to university/college, they will be able to enhance their CV and also fi nd paid work at holiday clubs during their long holidays.

The sixth form drama/performing arts students also work at the club, putting on an annual Christmas show which involves a mix of children, students and teachers from the school. This adds value to the club and provides valuable experience for the students. Although this model is from a club for junior school children, it could be an excellent model for one providing for older children and young people.

Case study 5

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Innovative activities developed in partnership. Collaboration with a variety of community initiatives, arts centres, environmental groups and social services enables this setting to provide an exciting and challenging range of activities at minimal cost to parents in a socially and economically deprived ward.

Young people are currently making a fi lm, which has been scripted, storyboarded, fi lmed and edited by the young people themselves. They have learned about digital photography creating their own online blog.

The setting has secured funding from Communities@One to provide lap tops, digital cameras, a fi lm camera and projector and, very importantly, to buy in professional training for the staff.

They have accessed a ‘Breathing Spaces’ grant to help develop and manage a small woodland adjacent to the school grounds. The children and young people have helped lay a hedge, fell trees and landscape an area. Future developments include making bird boxes, undertaking a wildlife survey and creating a mural of local species.

A garden project got off to a great start but an army of slugs ate the proceeds before the children were able to harvest them! However they are determined not to be beaten and have plans to thwart the slugs this year.

This is an excellent example of how collaborative working can help to provide a very wide range of challenging, interesting activities that would normally be beyond the fi nancial reach of most settings.

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Secondary school premises for primary school children This is an excellent way to start off a club for older children and young people. The aim of this club is to ease the transition process for primary school children into the secondary school. It is hoped that by becoming familiar with the comprehensive school via the after school club, children will fi nd it easier to settle when they join secondary school.

A teaching assistant from the senior school works as a playworker in the club and two governors of the comprehensive school sit on the after school management committee, so a good relationship exists between the two schools. However, there have still been some issues. The club recommends agreeing ground rules at the outset so staff members in both the senior school and the after school club can air their concerns and come to a mutual agreement about such things as wall displays, storage of equipment (for example storing materials on the one side, and papers - including course work - on the other).

Different inset days can also cause a problem but the manager says ‘we inform parents well in advance when we will be closed so they can make alternative arrangements’.

Case study 4

‘Playwork training is vital for staff working with older children and young people’, says this successful holiday club. Playwork training helps staff become facilitators for young people’s ideas, to become more open minded and fl exible. Staff must understand how important it is for young people to make their own choices as this age group will vote with their feet if they are not happy. Staff must be good communicators, have negotiating skills and be very good listeners. This club knows that having the right staff is absolutely critical to its success, so it provides in-house training for new staff.

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The exception to the rule - nursery premises The ground fl oor of a nursery is an unlikely setting for a successful club for older children. However, these premises were designed at the outset by the young people themselves to include a fl at screen TV on the wall, comfy sofas, a breakfast bar with high stools for snack time, the latest electronic games, a multi purpose games table, a large outside play area and a vegetable patch.

The owner said “When providing a service for older children and young people, it is critical they have their say from the planning stage through to the layout of equipment, where to eat and where to sit. If they don’t feel a sense of ownership, they won’t want to attend”.

Case study 2

Marketing strategies to increase attendance When the year 6 pupils visit this secondary school before the end of the summer term they are shown a power point presentation and photographs of the after school club.

Club staff then play games with them and answer their questions, so by the time they leave they have a good idea if the club is for them. A letter with all relevant after school club information is sent to their parents along with instructions for registering. In September, an activity timetable is given to both young people and their parents, and taster sessions are run during lunch times. This is a positive way of encouraging young people to attend of their own volition.

Case study 3

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A club for year seven, eight and nine pupils was developed as part of a ‘Community Focused Schools’ pilot project. Initially, the club opened two nights a week for year seven, then progressed to fi ve nights a week - taking in years eight and nine.

Staff and management faced a number of challenges with this project. Firstly, they realised that starting with year seven was not a good idea as they were new to the school, unfamiliar with the building and unsure of protocols within the school. With hindsight, they realised it would have been better to start with young people from years eight and nine who were familiar with the school and then open the club up to year seven pupils. Doing it this way would probably have encouraged a greater take-up of places as it is easier to attract younger pupils to a club for older children than the other way round.

They also found co-ordinating the project

very demanding and realised they needed someone based in the secondary school to pull everything together and to be a point of contact for both pupils and staff. Distribution of information also posed a problem as the young people are in different forms with different timetables.

On the plus side, the whole school site is available with excellent facilities including a cookery room, sports hall, gym, library, IT suite and sports fi eld. Outside tutors are brought in for judo and self-defence sessions which are on offer at different times.

Use of the cookery room means young people can have cookery activities at least once a week. These are used to reinforce the healthy eating policy within the club. Omelettes, wraps, smoothies, fruit kebabs, fl apjacks and pasta dishes are frequently prepared by the young people, and ‘Ready Steady Cook’ competitions are held every half term.

Case study 3 13

Resources and publicationsYouth Zone, The Kids’ Clubs Project, Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs - an activity resource pack providing practical ideas for older children and young people, with things to make and discover, suitable for both indoors and outdoors.

Marketing Zone, The Kids’ Clubs Project, Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs - an activity resource pack providing practical ideas to market, promote and fundraise for clubs.

‘Growing Up: From Eight Years to Adulthood’, Jennie Lindon (1997). National Children’s Bureau. ISBN 1 874579 61X

www.funkydragon.org.uk

Volunteers from other organisations Pupils undertaking a Duke of Edinburgh Award, or studying for the Welsh Baccalaureate, are enhancing provision in this setting along with volunteers from the local voluntary alliance and the Millennium Volunteers scheme. These volunteers bring a wealth of skills and talents with them to provide a valuable service in a relatively disadvantaged area.

Case study 1

First name terms for staff This club uses staff who already work as class room assistants within the school. They are young and realise the atmosphere within the after school club has to be different to that of school but, as the club is on school premises, it has to conform to the school ethos.

The young people call the staff by their fi rst names which helps to break down barriers and create a more relaxed environment.

Case study 5

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