With the summer holidays approaching, families have started inquiring about holiday clubs and childcare. Organising holiday clubs on your school premises gives you a chance to help out the local community during the summer break and generate extra income by taking advantage of your campus facilities.
It is important that holiday clubs, as well as before and after school clubs, are made available to all your students. Sometimes it might be difficult for children from low-income households to take part. This makes them less likely to interact with their peers, and more likely to experience social isolation or unhealthy nutrition and physical habits during the holidays.
Free Holiday Clubs
Did you know that some children who are eligible for free school meals might be able to take part in holiday clubs for free this year? Spread the word with your school community and ensure every child is taken care of throughout the holiday period. Offering free holiday clubs aims to care for children with all types of financial backgrounds and gives them a chance to stay active and safe, eat healthily, socialise, and learn.
School Holiday Club Ideas
It is important that you offer something different for every child. Make sure that you have enough physical activities as well as creative ones. Below are some ideas for holiday clubs you can host!
Sports
As the most popular kind of holiday club, sports training or tournaments will receive a lot of signups from students. Depending on what facilities are available on your school grounds, outdoor sports like football, tennis, or rugby are some fun options to give your students. While offering outdoor activities and letting children enjoy the sunshine and warm weather, it’s important to also take advantage of your indoor facilities, like volleyball courts, table tennis tables, and dance studios. If you have an indoor or outdoor swimming pool, consider making it available for children at least once a week. Of course, you’ll need swim instructors to run classes or a lifeguard to supervise, but a pool is an amazing resource to have available during the summer.
Arts
Some children might not enjoy physical activity and would rather get their creative juices flowing. The best thing about art is that it comes in many, many different forms, so every day you could plan a different activity. An arts and crafts session is always fun: whether you are just using paper and markers, or natural items such as leaves and grass, or other materials like hot glue or wool, get your children to create their own personal masterpieces. Alternatively, organise music lessons in your auditorium, or use your classrooms for creative writing lessons or book clubs.
Languages
While some children will want to forget all about learning during the summer holidays, others might still be interested in acquiring new skills. Before school ends, send out some forms to your families and ask whether they’d be interested in a language club or anything of the sort. If the outcome is successful, set up some easy beginner lessons to learn Spanish, French, or any language of your choice! Language lessons can always be made fun by using interactive visual aids and catchy songs.
Games
Remember children always need playtime. Every once in a while, it would be fun to organise big group activities that can be run outdoors, such as capture the flag, treasure hunts, and tug of war. Be creative! Make sure you also reward the ones who win with snacks, skip-the-queue lunch passes, or certificates.
Are you a parent? Check your eligibility for free holiday clubs and find holiday clubs near you!
Managing school clubs and collecting payments can be tricky. Have you ever thought about using an online payments system to facilitate these processes? SchoolMoney helps your school staff save time and improve parental engagement. Easily check sign-ups for each club and chase parents and guardians on any outstanding payments. Make your holiday clubs worthwhile for students, their families, and your staff too!
Book a demo with our SchoolMoney team to learn more about club management today!