More than half a million children of primary and middle school age spend parts of the school day and holidays at after-school centers.
But not all children have a self-evident right to after-school care – in most municipalities, the right is conditional on the parents working or studying.
Therefore, participation also varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is higher and families' finances are weaker.
Against this background, the previous government appointed an inquiry into the extended right to free time, and the report was handed over to current education minister Lotta Edholm on Monday.
Like preschool
The proposal is therefore that all children aged 6–9 should be given the opportunity to attend free-of-charge after-school activities, in a similar way to how 3–5-year-olds have the right to free preschool.
With general free time, children of the unemployed, those on parental leave and those on long-term sick leave would also be covered.
- The biggest gain is that you make the after-school center available to all children.
Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges, says investigator Kerstin Andersson.
General leisure for 6–9-year-olds would mean that the activity grows by approximately 10,200 students (from 408,100 to 418,300), the investigation assesses.
The expansion would cost the state roughly half a billion kroner per year, and the investigation suggests that the money be taken from the equivalence grant, the purpose of which is to equalize differences between schools.
Different skills
The expansion also requires more staff at the leisure centers, in a situation where there is already a shortage of staff.
The shortage has been so evident that a previous investigation, from 2020, advised against expanding the after-school homes.
But Kerstin Andersson arrives at a different conclusion: Highlight other competent professional groups than teachers.
- The School Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate.
It is sometimes interpreted as other staff "may be present, but preferably not".
We suggest that recognition be given to so-called other staff and that they should be given a clear role in the work, she says, referring to, among others, high school graduates from the children's and leisure program, leisure leaders and social pedagogues.