After School Activities

As well as offering a reliable and stable form of educating our children, most schools now offer a plethora of after school activities designed to engage our children’s imaginations and creativity and stimulate them into learning above and beyond what is expected of them without them actually thinking about it. This – in a way – is a subliminal form of teaching but one that is used to great effect and can provide your child with an outlet for creativity that they might not be able to draw upon in the classroom.

Typical After School Classes

Most schools now offer such things as after school swimming clubs, football, hockey, badminton, ICT (Information Technology) classes, book clubs and not only does this act as an additional means of educating them, it can also act as a cushion for parents who – for whatever reason – are not available to collect their children straight from school or work longer hours.

Many schools now operate after school activities with the assistance of their Parent Teachers Associations and parents themselves can participate and offer support and assistance while these activities take place.

Social Advantages

It is important also to consider the social implications of these after school clubs. Whereas many children may not interact outside the confines of their school because of distance etc the after school club gives them the opportunity to interact with their fellow students and also other pupil’s parents on a different social level. This is a good way of helping your child learn to communicate with other people on an educational and social level and break down barriers of class and in some instances ethnic origin.

Financial Implications

While on the whole these activities are funded by the schools themselves – with additional funding if available from the Local Education Authority – parents are encouraged to donate some of their time and money should they be in a position to do so.

Some parents may be able to offer transport home for other children and likewise they may be able to offer additional adult support throughout the duration of these activities, thus alleviating some of the pressure placed on teachers.

Most teachers of course are happy to be involved in such activities and see this as an acceptable and advantageous way in which to get to know their pupils better and indeed many after school clubs are seen as a means to break down the pupil-teacher divide.

As mentioned previously they can also help alleviate the pressure on parents who cannot collect their children from school at the end of the school day for reasons of logistics and this is seen by many as a positive way of bringing children to schools that they would otherwise not be able to attend.

Overall though these after school clubs and the activities they run are used a means of stimulating our children’s minds and imaginations and also as a way of increasing their capacity for learning and the understanding of those around them.

Bring education and social interaction together in the form of a subject that is not normally taught during the school day is a valuable and worth while means of ensuring that every parent’s child grows and flourishes in an environment that is both safe and secure whilst being informative at the same time.