One of the most useful services provided by schools outside of school hours is undoubtedly after-school care, which allows many families to benefit from extended school hours and avoid having to rely on outside help. After-school care is a great advantage for working parents: it allows them to pick up their children later than school ends, which has numerous implications for their daily routine.
After-school care is, in fact, an extended schedule offered by some schools to allow children to remain on school premises and participate in activities that vary depending on who organizes them.
Duration and availability usually depend on the school's municipality and, in some cases, the school itself, which can decide whether or not to offer it based on family requests and needs.
The schedule also varies greatly and depends on class schedules: not all schools in Italy offer full-time care, so after-school care may simply extend the morning hours into the early afternoon or even extend until 6 p.m.
Usually, public primary and secondary schools offer after-school care aimed at supporting children with their studies and homework assignments. In some cases, children are left free to play or engage in other activities under the supervision of adults who are generally not teachers.
After-school programs are usually provided by cooperatives and associations designated by the municipality or by employees hired by the municipality itself.
The main reason for requesting after-school programs is to extend the hours children stay at school, thus avoiding the need to pick them up too early. But it's not just working parents who can or should benefit from them and, even if one parent isn't working, after-school programs can still be a place for interaction and a time for children to spend time together in a safe place.
The decision to enroll your children depends solely on your family's organization and the child's needs so if you find your child is already very tired after school and needs a break, it may not be the best option for them.
The cost of after-school care in public schools is usually calculated based on the ISEE (Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator which comes from your tax return), but it can vary from municipality to municipality. To enroll your children and find out whether the service is available, it's best to contact the school's municipal office for information about whether the school is open for kindergarten, primary school, or secondary school. This is often done before the start of the school year or at the beginning. Most often, you need to enroll your children for the entire week, but sometimes you can request the service on an extraordinary basis. This also depends on the school, whose office has all the information you need about rates and schedules. It’s worth to remember that private and state-funded schools also offer after-school care, with rates generally different from those of public schools but offering more activities. Some public schools, however, also offer sports or cultural activities during after-school hours, particularly in elementary and middle schools.
In preschools, in some cases depending on the municipality, after-school care is free if both parents work.
After-school care takes place within the school premises but does not involve teachers, who have their own class schedule. These are usually educators employed by the municipality or selected cooperatives that offer the service by caring for children and young people. Where after-school care includes homework, educators simply supervise the children, providing assistance if needed. When the service offers more, however, providers may organize sports or recreational activities to entertain the children, usually in consultation with the after-school program manager and appropriate for the students' ages.
After-school care is a valuable service for parents and children. To take advantage of it, don't forget to check with your child's school when enrolling to avoid unpleasant surprises, such as the service not being activated which, unfortunately, it is still common in many Italian schools.
After school activities
