Danish municipalities offer sharply different after-school clubs

Children’s after-school activities vary widely between Danish municipalities, with some clubs open every day and others offering nothing, DR reports. A new mapping finds that the number of activities tends to fall after third grade and again after seventh grade.

In Vissenbjerg on Funen, parents set up a club after the summer holidays because there had been no provision for children after third grade. It has limited opening hours and funding, and relies on volunteer parents. The rooms lack a lamp, donated craft supplies are used, and the table tennis table is broken.

Even so, children say they are glad the club exists rather than having to go home alone. “It’s fun to be here because there’s a lot to do. I don’t really know what to do at home,” says 10-year-old Vigga Damsgaard. Emilie Skaarup Henriksen, also 10, says she would otherwise sit at home watching television.

The contrast is stark at Vesterbro Ungdomsgård, a youth club in Copenhagen. It is open every day and offers activities including DJ lessons, theatre, band practice and sports. Its facilities include music rooms, a craft room, a 3D printer and a Nintendo Switch, as well as a café serving hot and cold food.

Twelve-year-old Ava Luckow Bønnelykke goes to the club every day. “If you’ve had a bad day, you kind of forget about it when you come to the club, because something is always happening,” she says. Katinka Reguer Kåstrup, also 12, says she would feel sad if she could not go there after school.

Ayse Kosar Larsen, head of the Center for Youth Research, says clubs provide children with a place to relax and take part in a community without having to perform. She says access should not depend on where children happen to live, and argues that all municipalities should prioritise staffed activities that support children’s wellbeing.

The mapping, produced by research institute VIVE, covers municipal leisure and educational activities. It describes differences in provision, opening hours and prices, but does not show whether those differences affect the quality of activities or children’s participation.

Assens Municipality has allocated 100,000 kroner a year through 2027 for the Vissenbjerg club, covering staff wages and activity materials. Mayor Søren Steen Andersen says differences in provision reflect financial inequalities between municipalities and the choices they make with their available funds.