HOW TO HIRE · CHILDCARE & FAMILY

How to hire an after-school club in Ireland
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

An after-school club in Ireland costs €4–€6.26 per hour, typically around €5. Here is how to check that in a minute, what to ask before you book, and what you must be handed when the job is done.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an after-school club in five steps

  1. Are you on the Tusla Register of Early Years Services, and what is your number?A number you can look up yourself before you agree a price — vetted staff — everyone working with the children is Garda vetted, as the registration rules require of the service.
  2. How does hours each day change the price?An after-school club charges by the hour, so a later collection costs more. — ask before the quote rather than after.
  3. How does collection from school change the price?A club that collects your child from school may charge for the collection. — ask before the quote rather than after.
  4. How does area change the price?After-school fees are highest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at the top of the national range. — ask before the quote rather than after.
  5. What is not included?Activities — sport, art, games and outdoor play planned for children of different ages — get the exclusions named in the quote, because a after-school club job is priced on what was agreed and not on what was assumed.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Tusla Register of Early Years Services

Find the service on the Tusla register for its county and check that the type of service and the ages listed match the place you are being offered. The latest inspection report is published by Tusla. The register lists each service with the type of service it offers, how many children it can accommodate and the ages of the children it cares for. It is updated monthly, sorted by county and town, and Tusla publishes its inspection reports. A pre-school service (a crèche, playschool, naíonra or Montessori preschool) and a school-age service (an after-school or breakfast club) must each be registered with Tusla's Early Years Inspectorate, which registers, inspects and, where necessary, takes enforcement action.

Search the Tusla Register of Early Years Services for the name or the registration number before you agree a price. tusla.ie →

Garda vetting

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012–2016 A registered service has to obtain a Garda vetting disclosure for the registered provider, the person in charge and the staff who work with the children. Vetting is carried out by the service, not by a parent: ask how the service vets its staff.

Ask to see the garda vetting letter itself, with its date on it — not a statement that one exists.

Insurance

Expect the service must be adequately insured under the regulations; ask to see the insurance. Ask for the insurer, the limit and the Tusla registration number.

Ask to see the current certificate of insurance — the insurer's name, the limit and the date it runs to.

Trader or private seller

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 a trader must tell you they are a trader, and your consumer rights — work carried out with reasonable skill and care, and a cooling-off period on a contract agreed in your home or online — apply to traders and not to private sellers. On Locufy the trader status is shown on the profile.

Look for the trader badge on the Locufy profile, and ask anyone else for it in writing before you agree a price.

VAT

No VAT: this service is exempt, so there is none to add and none to reclaim. A quote that adds it is wrong. A trader under the €42,500 registration threshold does not charge it; one over it must, and must show it separately.

Ask for the Tusla registration number instead: childcare is exempt, so there is no VAT number to check, and the registration number is how you find the service on Tusla's register. revenue.ie →

“Are you on the Tusla Register of Early Years Services, and what is your number?”

A good answer: A number you can look up yourself before you agree a price — vetted staff — everyone working with the children is Garda vetted, as the registration rules require of the service.

“How does hours each day change the price?”

A good answer: An after-school club charges by the hour, so a later collection costs more. — ask before the quote rather than after.

“How does collection from school change the price?”

A good answer: A club that collects your child from school may charge for the collection. — ask before the quote rather than after.

“How does area change the price?”

A good answer: After-school fees are highest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at the top of the national range. — ask before the quote rather than after.

“What is not included?”

A good answer: Activities — sport, art, games and outdoor play planned for children of different ages — get the exclusions named in the quote, because a after-school club job is priced on what was agreed and not on what was assumed.

“Who insures you, and what is the policy number?”

A good answer: Expect the service must be adequately insured under the regulations; ask to see the insurance — food — A snack or a hot meal after school; ask what is included and how allergies are handled.

“What do I get in writing, and when?”

A good answer: A written scope and a price before the after-school club starts, and an itemised invoice after — homework support — time set aside for homework, with staff to supervise rather than teach.

Getting the quote right

  • Hours each day — an after-school club charges by the hour, so a later collection costs more.
  • Collection from school — a club that collects your child from school may charge for the collection.
  • Area — after-school fees are highest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at the top of the national range.
  • Food and activities — a hot meal or outings included in the club's fee raise the price per hour.
  • In writing before anyone starts — a message on Locufy counts
  • What is NOT included, named
  • The Tusla registration number, and whether it is on Tusla's register of early years services

Walk away if

  • They are not on the Tusla Register of Early Years Services, or the number does not resolve to the name on the quote
  • They will not talk about it: hours each day — an after-school club charges by the hour, so a later collection costs more
  • They will not talk about it: collection from school — a club that collects your child from school may charge for the collection
  • They will not talk about it: area — after-school fees are highest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at the top of the national range
  • A price for the after-school club before anyone has asked the size, the access or the condition of what they are working on
  • Cash only, or a large deposit before anything at all has started
LOW
€4
TYPICAL
€5
HIGH
€6.26

What an after-school club costs: €4–€6.26 per hour

Most after-school clubs quote the job rather than the hour; the hourly rate is what the small jobs are priced from. School collection and Homework time each carry their own band. After-School Club price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

After-school clubs near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. Look firstHours each day — an after-school club charges by the hour, so a later collection costs more — that is what the after-school club is judging on the first visit, and a price given without it is a guess.
  2. Agree what is being doneCollection from school — a club that collects your child from school may charge for the collection — put in writing before anyone starts, because it is the document you both read back at the end.
  3. The work itselfArea — after-school fees are highest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at the top of the national range — and anything found on the day that was not in that is priced before it is started.
  4. Check it togetherFood and activities — a hot meal or outings included in the club's fee raise the price per hour — walked against the written scope rather than against the feeling of it, while the after-school club is still there.
  5. What you are handedThe itemised invoice and any guarantee on the workmanship and the parts, subsidies — National Childcare Scheme subsidies are taken off the club's fee for children under 15.

Collection from school
Staff collect children from the schools the club serves and bring them to the club.
Homework support
Time set aside for homework, with staff to supervise rather than teach.
Food
A snack or a hot meal after school; ask what is included and how allergies are handled.
Activities
Sport, art, games and outdoor play planned for children of different ages.
Vetted staff
Everyone working with the children is Garda vetted, as the registration rules require of the service.
School collection
Children collected from local schools at the end of the school day.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the invoice and the paperworkAn itemised invoice with the trader's name, the work and the total — vetted staff — everyone working with the children is Garda vetted, as the registration rules require of the service, because it is what a buyer's solicitor, an insurer or a lender asks for long after the after-school club has gone.
Test what was doneActivities — sport, art, games and outdoor play planned for children of different ages — and something that does not work on the day is theirs to put right there and then.
Ask what the guarantee isOn the workmanship and on the parts, and for how long each one runs — they are usually different. food — A snack or a hot meal after school; ask what is included and how allergies are handled — under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 what was agreed is what can be relied on.
Leave the reviewOnly a booked job can be reviewed on Locufy, which is why the score on a after-school club's card means something — homework support — time set aside for homework, with staff to supervise rather than teach.

STEP 1Say it in writing, firstSay what is wrong and what you want done. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 the work must be carried out with reasonable skill and care, and defective work put right.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyUnder four stars you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then review.
STEP 3Escalate to the body that regulates itReport it to Tusla Register of Early Years Services.
STEP 4Small claimsSmall claims covers €2,000, once you have asked in writing and given them a chance to put it right.

Hiring an after-school club: questions people ask

Typically €4–€6.26 an hour in term time in Ireland, before any subsidy, with Dublin at the top of that range. Enter your area above to see clubs near you.

Yes. An after-school club is a school-age service and must be registered with Tusla, which inspects it. A club that is not on the register cannot take the National Childcare Scheme.

Yes, for children under 15, if the club is registered with Tusla and contracted with the Department. The subsidy is taken off your bill. You apply online through the National Childcare Scheme, then give the club your award code so it can register it.

Many do, from the schools near them; each profile says which schools it collects from where the club lists them. Check the after-school club on the Tusla register.

Many run holiday and mid-term camps, often charged by the week; ask the club before you book. Ask how children are collected from school and who does the collection.

Enter your town, area or Eircode above. The nearest after-school clubs come first, with the hours they run. Each profile shows the care types, the ages and the opening hours where the club lists them.

MORE GUIDES

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After-school clubs near you

After-school clubs in DublinAfter-school clubs in CorkAfter-school clubs in GalwayAfter-school clubs in LimerickAll after-school clubs on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Tusla — Early Years Inspectorate
  2. Tusla — Register of Early Years Services by County
  3. S.I. No. 221/2016 — Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016
  4. S.I. No. 575/2018 — Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018
  5. Revenue — Childcare, child protection (VAT)
  6. Citizens Information — Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE)
  7. Citizens Information — National Childcare Scheme
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2022
  9. Revenue — CHILDCARE - CHILD PROTECTION (Children and education) — Exempt
  10. Revenue — current VAT rates (effective 1 January 2026)
  11. Revenue — VAT thresholds: €42,500 for a person supplying services only