Quality School Age Care: What to Look for in a Service to Care for your Child Outside of School

Citation
Willoughby, M. (2020). Quality School Age Care: What to Look for in a Service to Care for your Child Outside of School. https://knowledge.barnardos.ie/handle/20.500.13085/241
Abstract
This booklet offers guidance to parents or carers who are choosing a quality service to care for their child during the time when they are not available and their child is not in school. Commonly referred to as ‘after school’ or ‘school age care’, these services include any early years service, play group, nursery, crèche or other similar service that caters for children under the age of 14 years who are enrolled in a school, and provides a range of recreation, development and education activities outside of school hours. These services must be registered with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. This means that Tusla can inspect them to ensure they meet certain requirements. Some childminders also cater for children of school age and they may also need to be registered, depending on how many children they are caring for. Other supervised groups for children of school age that provide particular activities such as in the arts (like drama or dancing), youth work, sport, tuition or religious teaching are not required to be registered or inspected by Tusla. While this guide focuses on school age care services, you may also find some of the information helpful when considering services providing specific activities.