Any playworkers here?

tiff

Not sure which forum this should be in, sorry if its the wrong place. Just wondering if there are any other play workers here? I need some resources, or ideas for cheap games and activities as I'm running out of steam!

We have little to no budget at the moment as it only just about pays for itself. I run the club on my own under the school umbrella as we can't afford 2 play workers (did have 2 but the play leader left) and therefore cant be ofsteded as a separate organisation.

We share the equipment we have with the breakfast club which is run by a separate committee and nothing to do with the school, it was to be this committee that woud take over the ASC but obviously this cant happen yet. I am a bit tired of working on my own and had no experience before starting in Jan last year.

Any tips and advice please before I go mad!

kingfisherblue

I did post, but it seems to have disappeared! If two posts turn up, I'll apologise now.

For games, see if you can borrow a school parachute and some sports equipment. There are lots of parachute games on the net, and sports equipemnt can be used for obstacle courses and relay races as well as the more traditional games.

For other types of games, look on Brownie and Rainbow websites (try googling Brownie games) - lots of units have their own sites which describe the games they play and some of the activities that they do.

Some websites have cheap crafts as well as colouring pictures. Try www.enchantedlearning.com, www.activityvillage.com and www.crayola.co.uk

www.dltk.com also has cheap crafts. It also has games such as bingo, dominoes, etc that you can print off (in black and white or in colour)

www.makingfriends.com has cut out paper dolls. Some children might like to make a house out of a shoebox for their dolls.

You might be able to use the IT suite in school one night, if you ask.

If you have a small budget, most children enjoy decorating biscuits. Maybe you could plant some seeds or do Aboriginal painting (use a cotton bud dipped in paint to make dots in a temaplate of an animal).

The children could make their own comic, joke book or newsletter.

You could have a runaround quiz - ask a multiple choice question and let the children run to A, B, or C in different corners. This could be linked to certain dates or festivals such as Easter, or to topics such as space, animals or countries.

Hope this helps - let me know if you want any other ideas and I'll see if I can come up with more.

Savvy_Sue

Unless I'm confusing you with someone else, you're in Bristol, aren't you?

In which case, are you / is the club a member of BAND, PEYTU and the Scrapstore?

Lots of ideas available through them.

Do you not have another adult present? That would seriously worry me, both as a parent and someone who used to be on the management committee for an out of school club ...

Little_Vics

Hey - I'm a youth worker and have tons of resources I can send you if you'd like to pm me your email address?

kingfisherblue

Little Vics, can I be cheeky and ask you to send me some resources as well, please?

tiff

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Unless I'm confusing you with someone else, you're in Bristol, aren't you?

In which case, are you / is the club a member of BAND, PEYTU and the Scrapstore?

Lots of ideas available through them.

Do you not have another adult present? That would seriously worry me, both as a parent and someone who used to be on the management committee for an out of school club ...

Yes, we're a member of Band and the scrapstore.(Yes I'm in Bristol.)

No, there is no other adult present and it worries me too. I am looking to move on once I have my NVQ. There is no committee at the moment, the school "runs" the club which is reviewed every few months so I'm on a rolling contract. We dont have enough children to cover the cost of employing 2 members of staff and the school cant run the club at a loss. Its been a nightmare from the start but the number of children is now slowly increasing.

tiff

Thanks kingfisherblue, I will look up all those links and see what I can come up with. Will also pm you Little Vics.

Savvy_Sue

tiff wrote: »

No, there is no other adult present and it worries me too. I am looking to move on once I have my NVQ. There is no committee at the moment, the school "runs" the club which is reviewed every few months so I'm on a rolling contract. We dont have enough children to cover the cost of employing 2 members of staff and the school cant run the club at a loss. Its been a nightmare from the start but the number of children is now slowly increasing.

This is such a serious risk, especially with numbers of children increasing - you're going to get to a Catch 22 where there are children waiting to come, but you can't take them because there's only one of you and that means you can only take 8 (is it 8?) children.

I can see that the school can't run the club at a loss: any chance of recruiting volunteers? I know they'd have to be CRB checked etc, but could you do a scheme where parents who helped out once a week could have a free or half price session? Or even recruit some students who want some experience with children, eg prior to teaching.

Can BAND give any advice on how to develop the club?

I know you're thinking of moving on, but get the right kind of development experience under your belt and you'd be well on your way to a Senior post if you wanted it, IMO!

kingfisherblue

I totally missed the part about you running the club on your own - I must have had my eyes closed!

Can the club get any funding from the Extended Schools budget?

Have you done a risk assessment and discussed it with the headteacher? What would happen in the case of a first aid emergency? Are SMT always on site until you finish the club? What policies are in place for non-collection of children? Does the club close if you are ill?

I think the ratio is 1:8 as Sue said, so what happens if one more child wants to join?

For the safety of yourself and the children, there should be a second adult. If I was the OP, I would do some research into the legalities of running a club alone. Then I would ask the headteacher to discuss it with me and ask what her plans are to involve an additional member of staff or a volunteer - it shouldn't be up to the OP to recruit somebody.

As well as OFSTED, try the DCFS website, teachernet, and the forums on TES. The OP could also google other after school provisions and see if any publish their policies online - these could be used as templates to update any policies for their own ASC.

tiff

What is SMT? When I was told they werent replacing the other member of staff they said that the school Bursar and other teachers were always on site when I'm working but thats not always true. I also work in an outbuilding (just across from the main building) , so have to rely on my own mobile in case of emergency. I was shown a list of emergency staff numbers on the wall in the school office and would have to call one of them.

The only time I've not been able to work they got a teacher to look after the children, so if I'm sick I suppose that is their back up. I can assure you I wont look after more than 8 on my own, they will have to provide back up.

I am going to speak to the Head and ask about getting volunteers. I am struggling on my own, doing all the work with the children, providing a snack, clearing up afterwards. I'm even supposed to hoover and sweep the floors but I dont unless its obvious they need doing! Its hard to do all that and think of something new to do every day with limited supplies.

Thanks for your posts kingfisherblue and savvysue, I'll definitely take it up with the Head.

Savvy_Sue

You are being given an impossible and dangerous task, IMO. If the school want to promote the club, they HAVE to find a way to keep it safe.

How many children have you lost because a parent won't leave their child with up to 7 others and a single adult, in a room away from the main school? I wouldn't, and I'm one of the most laid back parents I know in that respect. Although maybe because having worked in a club (the longest two weeks of my life when my Senior needed compassionate leave!) I know exactly what can go wrong, and how quickly ...

What's their plan if you resign?

PM me if you want me to know where the school is, if I have any contacts in that area who could be useful I'll let you know!