Developing School Age Childcare - Department of Children and ...

2.2.2 In a 1996 Report, the European Commission Network on Childcare 5 described SchoolAge Childcare services as“services which take over the responsibility for children when school is over but parentsare not available - whether because they are working or for other reasons.”The Report noted that these services are an important, specific resource for parents andchildren. They help parents to reconcile work and family life and offer play,companionship and cultural activities to children.2.2.3 In an Irish context, there is a need to provide a childcare facility to meet the holisticneeds of children whose parents’ work or educational timetables are incompatible withschool timetables. To fully address the gaps between school hours and the parents’timetables, such a childcare service may be required to provide for the care needs ofchildren before school starts in the morning, after school finishes in the afternoon andduring school holidays and pre-planned school closures.2.2.4 Again, in an Irish setting, care for school going children out of school hours and wherethe parents are unable to provide direct care due to employment or education andtraining commitments, may be provided by a child minder (either a relative or nonrelativeand formally or informally), or in a group setting. In Ireland it is not unusual tohear terms such as After-school Care, Out of School Care, After School Clubs, SummerSchemes, Homework Clubs being applied to services which meet the needs of parents ofschool going children. Some of these terms derive directly from the titles used forservices in other countries.2.2.5 The European Commission Network description closely approximates thedefinition of the range of services which are seen by the Working Group as falling withinthe remit on which it is to develop its thinking. Indeed, it may be easier to define whatdoes not fall within the remit of the Working Group as some of the names mentionedabove often, but not always, relate to more tightly focused services than are the subjectof the present Report. Accordingly, the Working Group sees the definition of School AgeChildcare as being wider than the popularly perceived concept of homework clubs.Similarly, its definition is also wider than the provision of a family support type servicefor the parent or parents in a disadvantaged area - although again, a School AgeChildcare facility may include an element of such a service.2.2.6 The Working Group noted with interest the following common features identified byacknowledged expert Pat Petrie 6 in defining School Age Childcare in the Europeancontext:School Age Childcare provision operates on the basis that responsibility is taken forchildren outside normal school hours and when parents are not available;School Age Childcare provision operates on the basis of an agreement between parentsand staff, which includes the hours that the children will attend the service; andfinallyChildren are not allowed to come and go as they please to and from the service.2.3 School Age Childcare - a definition for IrelandFor the purposes of this Report and the recommendations therein, the Working Groupdefines School Age Childcare as being“Childcare for school going children provided outside of normal school hourswhere the same children attend the childcare facility on a regular basis and accessto the service is clearly defined by agreement with parents and guardians.”10 5 European Commission Network on Childcare : School Age Childcare in the European Union: 19966 European Commission Network on Childcare : ibid.