Pupils pay up to £48 a term for free activities
Cost of after-school recreation is ‘postcode lottery’
A THINK tank says councils are charging up to £48 a term for an after-school recreation programme that the national organising body has said should have “no cost to parents”.
A report by Reform Scotland reveals a postcode lottery of free activity, with just five of the country’s 32 local authorities said they provide activities in the Active School scheme free of charge.
The think tank had called for the scheme to at least be free to disadvantaged pupils and called on the Scottish Government to use fundingaimedatclosingthegapinachievement between poorer children and their richer peers to make up the cost.
The Active Schools programme of after-school activities, which includes activities such as football, hockey, badminton and golf, is carried out in partnership between councils and sportscotland, the country’s national sports agency.
Reform Scotland’s research paper found the only local authorities that said they do not charge were Glasgow, Inverclyde, Angus, East Ayrshire and Falkirk.
All the others that responded charged in some way.
Moray Council told the think tank some of its activities were free, some have a weekly fee, while others cost about £20 per block, but others can cost up to £48 per term.
In Aberdeenshire, some activities range from £5 to £36 per term or £1 to £5 per session, while in Fife the cost to parents for a primary school football class cost between £6 and £18 per term.
The report said that in Clackmannanshire, primary school football was free at Banchory Primary School, Tullibody, but three miles away at Alva Primary it was £4.50 a term and at Craigbank Primary, Alloa, it was £9 a term.
The report states sportscotland told Reform Scotland it funds local authorities to provide Active Schools and its policy guidance is activities should have “no cost to parents”.
Reform Scotland advisory board member Keir Bloomer said: “Evidence suggests attendance in after-school activities is associated with positive academic and social outcomes for disadvantaged children in particular.
“As a result, Reform Scotland believes the Government should consider using some of the budget it has created for closing the attainment gap to ensure disadvantaged pupils have access to free afterschool activities. The Active Schools programme offers an easy way of delivering this policy.
“While it is up to local authorities and their leisure trusts to decide and justify their own charging schemes for Active Schools, we hope they will explain their decision to parents. Even with a nominal fee of one to two pounds per week, this can be prohibitive to a struggling family with a couple of children wanting to participate in a couple of activities.
“Ideally, we would want all children to be given an equal opportunity, but as a first step we are calling for all children in receipt of free school meals to also be in receipt of free Active Schools programmes instead of being subject to a postcode lottery as they are at present.”
A sportscotland spokesman said: “Sportscotland invests £12.5 million each year into the Active Schools programme and works in partnership with local authorities, who augment this investment with additional, local funding.
“Active schools activities should be free to all children and young people locally. While this approach is our guidance, some schools extend and widen their after-school activity provision, which can require a charge. This is a decision for local partners and schools, but it is an issue we will be discussing with them in the near future.”
A Government spokesman said: “Local authorities and schools are best placed to know their children, and make decisions on the best way to support them.”