MAGIK Out of School Club

A community room inside St George’s Church of England Academy gives MAGIK Out of School Club its practical character: children can spend their school day and their care sessions on the same site. Its offer spans nursery wraparound, care before and after school, and school holidays. These are different uses of the setting, rather than one uniform nursery day.

Ofsted rated the setting Good at its July 2021 inspection. MAGIK has 70 places in total, while its clubs cater for children aged 3 to 11. Whole-setting capacity should not be read as the number sharing an activity or attending a particular session.

The strongest practical features are the school facilities children can use, classroom collection after school and a choice of shorter or full-day holiday sessions. Nursery wraparound works alongside the school’s nursery sessions, with attendance dependent on the session a child already has.

Learning and Activities

For nursery wraparound, the Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for planning and tracking development: children learn through play, exploration and active involvement. This is the educational foundation, rather than an extra programme. Indoor games and outdoor activities sit alongside that work.

Breakfast Club combines free play with activities such as drawing, reading and games before children are escorted to their classrooms. The value is straightforward: care and the start of the school day connect on one site. Breakfast is an optional addition, rather than something every child has to take.

After School Club starts with collection from classrooms and a move to the community room. Children can choose games, crafts or time with friends; homework is another option, with access to the school library. That gives families a useful choice between recreation and getting school tasks started before home.

Outdoor and Community Life

The main playground, foundation stage playground and school field extend the space beyond the community room. Staff aim to take children outdoors on most evenings. This is a useful part of the after-school offer for children who want active play after lessons.

Holiday Club brings cooking, baking and themed crafts into the day, alongside outings. Past summer destinations include Preston Park, Raby Castle, Thorpe Farm and National Railway Museum Shildon. These are examples of previous visits, rather than a fixed itinerary for every holiday. Theatre and cinema trips are also planned for autumn and winter holidays.

Classroom escorts in the morning and collection after school connect the care arrangements to the child’s school routine. At collection time, authorised adults are identified through the registration or contract form, with a password system for collectors staff do not recognise. Families need to keep those arrangements accurate when collection responsibilities change.

Staff undertake child-protection and paediatric first-aid training. These are practical arrangements, rather than a substitute for an inspection judgement about safeguarding. Parents can also read the club’s policies and procedures at the setting.

Dietary requirements and allergies belong on the joining form, and parents are expected to update staff when circumstances change. Holiday meals combine snacks with a packed lunch supplied from home; children help make the afternoon snack through cooking or baking. The club asks families to exclude foods containing nuts from holiday packed lunches.

Outings require parental consent, and the club keeps written trip records and risk assessments. That makes consent part of the arrangement, rather than treating a booking as permission for every excursion. Cooking activities and trips give Holiday Club a different shape from the shorter before-school and after-school sessions.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St George’s Church of England Academy, Neasham Road, Darlington, DL2 1LD, in Middleton St George. Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 8.55am, Monday to Friday. After School Club starts at 3.20pm, with either a 5pm or 6pm finish.

Holiday Club offers three patterns: 7.30am to 1pm, 1pm to 6pm, or 7.30am to 6pm. The shorter bookings are useful where a family needs only part of the holiday day; the full-day option covers a different attendance need.

Nursery wraparound offers four morning sessions from 8.45am to 12.30pm or four afternoon sessions from 11.45am to 3.30pm, depending on the child’s school nursery session. Children can register for this arrangement once their nursery place has been confirmed.

Booking requires a completed registration form and a registration charge before the club takes a booking. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 07946 621848, by email at middleton@westparkdaynursery.co.uk or through the contact form. Fees are due by the tenth of each month; booked sessions remain chargeable during absence, and holiday or teacher-training-day bookings remain payable if plans change.

Getting There

The school car park is for collection and drop-off use only, with families asked to use the designated entrance and exit gates. Nearby public transport includes the Number 12 bus and Northern train services.

Funding and Paid Extras

Nursery wraparound provides 15 hours of care alongside the school nursery, and eligible families can apply for the Extended Entitlement for Working Parents, offering 30 funded childcare hours per week. The club also accepts Tax Free Childcare and childcare vouchers for payments; these payment arrangements are separate from funded-hours entitlement.

Breakfast carries an extra charge, while holiday packed lunches come from home; nursery wraparound allows either a packed lunch or a school lunch. Current prices are available on enquiry.

Sharing the school site does not guarantee a Reception place.

• Nursery-session fit. Morning and afternoon wraparound depend on the child’s existing school nursery session. At a visit, discuss how the proposed combination works for your child’s day.
• Charges when plans change. Booked care remains chargeable during absence, and holiday or teacher-training-day cancellations still require full payment. This matters for families whose working arrangements change at short notice.
• Food and allergies. Holiday attendance requires a packed lunch, and the club asks families to exclude nut-containing foods. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements before attendance.
• School-site care. The community room is the base, with access to school outdoor spaces and the library. A visit is the opportunity to discuss how activities are organised for a nursery-age child alongside older children.

MAGIK suits families seeking school-site nursery wraparound, before-school or after-school care, and either shorter or full-day holiday bookings. Classroom handovers, access to outdoor school spaces and the library give the offer concrete practical value. The July 2021 Good judgement provides its inspection position; the decision for families is whether the session combinations, food arrangements and booking commitments fit their child and working week.