“My daughter loves Holiday Club! Loves the familiar environment and getting to play with friends and interact with the teachers.”
Launched in 2022, St Mary’s proudly runs its Holiday Club during each school holiday. With many exciting activities, games and themed arts and crafts, the club is a popular option for girls of all year groups. The club runs during every half term, with one week at Christmas and Easter, and two weeks at the start of the Summer holiday.
Current Holiday Club fees can be found here.
The structure is very relaxed. We have a light timetable (see below) but this is flexed by our experienced staff to reflect our girls’ interests and needs. The range of activities for the children is guided by the interests of the staff allowing the children to experience a wide range of opportunities supported by a passionate professional who is sharing their own interests.
“Our daughter is in a safe, familiar environment, where we know she will be well looked after physically and emotionally.”
The children have access to a variety of construction, creative and physical resources that they may not have access to during a structured school day. They also have the time to develop their play and skills, working together in den making and on creative and collaborative constructions. This encourages girls to collaborate, create and challenge themselves in imaginative and meaningful ways.
We recognise every family has different needs, so we offer flexible drop-off and pick-up times. The core booking is for 8am to 4pm, however within these hours parents may drop off and pick up at times that suit their needs and the needs of their child. There is the option to extend to 6pm for your convenience.
“It’s a great offering and very helpful for working parents.”
We provide “Film Friday” on the last day of each week of Holiday Club, when the children choose a film suitable for all age groups which they watch whilst enjoying some popcorn – it is a much-loved treat! During the rest of the week, they may use an iPad to explore fun and creative projects like new origami animals or paper flowers, but largely screens are not in use.
A typical day (with approximate timings) in Holiday Club looks like:
- 8am-9am: Arrival and outdoor play (weather permitting)
- Morning: Structured activities alongside free play with mid-morning snack then outside play (weather permitting)
- 12.30pm-1.30pm: Lunch then outside play (weather permitting)
- Afternoon: Crafts and free play with mid-afternoon snack and outside play (weather permitting)
- 4pm: Home-time
- 4pm-6pm: Outside play or free play indoors
Where the weather limits outdoor play, the children use the indoor hall spaces to enjoy physical activity, such as dance or dodgeball. Activities are adapted to suit different age groups and interests.
Structured activities could include craft-based activities, cooking, sport, themed events (e.g. Easter biscuit decorations). Children are able to spend as long as they like on these activities, returning to them throughout the day, as they choose. There is usually more than one (age appropriate) creative activity for the children to choose from, such as jewellery making or painting.
We are lucky to have our wonderful outdoor space where our girls are free to explore the full range of our outdoor resources and equipment. They love being able to play with bikes and trikes, water and sand, build dens, play on our climbing frame and with other outdoor toys, role play and make believe. In good weather, we may spend a greater amount of time outside, even taking our structured activities and crafts into the fresh air. All these types of activities, whatever the child’s age, support their personal and social and emotional development alongside their wellbeing. The slower pace of the day, with the time to focus on activities and develop games and interests, offers a welcome break from the children’s sometimes busy term-time schedules giving them time to slow down and recharge.
“St. Mary’s is a wonderful school with a great holiday club! My daughter loves this school!”
