Out of School Clubs

An out of school club operates during term time and offers breakfast and after-school facilities for school aged children. They provide childcare to enable parents and carers to access employment and/or respite. A service that operates for 2 hours or more by law should be registered by Ofsted.

Services that offer a meal service should provide healthy food of good quality. The staff that operate these services should be sufficiently qualified. See the training pages for a list of required and recommended qualifications that should be held.

Help with costs

Parents who access these services may be able to have part of the cost met by family tax credits. See the Inland Revenue website for more details. 

 For help with childcare vouchers, call the Family Information Service on 0118 932 255.

Advice on finding the right Out of School Club

Finding the right childcare provider is an important issue. If it is a breakfast club, afterschool club, childminder or holiday club, as a general rule the following facilities and information should be provided and available: 

1. If the service opens for 2 hours or more, they need to be registered with Ofsted. Registered services carry an EY – Early Years - number which identifies that the service has been registered. This enables you to find out information on the provision before making your final decision about whether to enrol your child or not.  

2. You should always be asked to complete a registration form for the setting, and update it regularly if your details change - ie: emergency contact mobile phone numbers

3. A setting should ask you to sign in and out with date and time at every visit to ensure a record of who has been at the setting.

4. Registered settings should display the following documents:

• A current Ofsted registration certificate
• A copy of the clubs public liability insurance
• A copy of Ofsted complaints procedure
• A copy of the settings procedures and policies.

5. All staff paid or unpaid who work with children or visit to provide services and/or workshops need to have a current CRB check – Criminal Records Bureau check- which checks the individuals suitability to work with children.

6. Settings that provide an afterschool and holiday childcare service should offer a range of equipment, materials and activities to support and meet the needs of the children who attend. These should include: 

• A quiet area to sit and socialise
• Access to arts materials

• Games, toys and board games

The daily activities should offer a minimum of 1 hour of physical activity with:

 An outdoor area for free play

• Space indoors for wet weather games

• An outdoor area for sports

• Sports equipment

The equipment and environment should reflect a multi-cultural and inclusive society. This should support children's development and help them to learn about the world around them.

7. Settings that provide a breakfast club service should try to offer the child access to play equipment and areas for games and activities, for example a hall or outdoor space.

8. Any service providing hot or cold food needs to have a current staff food hygiene certificate, and they need to inform Environmental Health that they are providing food. They need to prepare and cook the food in an sterile kitchen area. Food is stored in a secure, clean environment and at the right temperature. The food that is provided should reflect a healthy and balanced diet and be of good quality. For more information go to our food safety page.

9. Staff working at registered settings should have appropriate qualifications to perform their duties in line with National Childcare Standards.

For more advice call the Play team on: 0118 974 6185

Visit our Family Information Service page.