Municipal borders create stark differences in children’s after-school options
Friday 6th November 2026 on 06:45 in
Denmark
A municipal boundary just 500 metres away can mean sharply different after-school options for children, DR reports, following Denmark’s first mapping of municipal leisure clubs. Some children can attend activities after school, while others have no club nearby or no offer at all.
The mapping, published in a note by the National Research and Analysis Centre for Welfare (VIVE), found wide differences between municipalities in the number of clubs, their prices and opening hours. The number of offers falls particularly after third grade and again after seventh grade, according to the note.
Marie Bjerre, who lives in Vissenbjerg in Assens Municipality, says her son had no after-school club to attend after third grade and could only walk home alone. Having moved from Copenhagen, she has seen a marked contrast between the two places.
“Some of our friends are completely surprised. They can’t imagine there being no offer and ask what we do,” Bjerre said. “It really is a completely different world.”
Bjerre and a group of parents have since established a junior club in Vissenbjerg, which opened in August. The club receives 100,000 kroner a year from the municipality and is able to open three days a week. She said the situation would be different just 500 metres away, across the municipal border in Odense.
Senior researcher Bente Bjørnholt, who led the VIVE mapping, said more data was still needed. The maps showing the distance between clubs and their opening hours are indicators rather than a complete picture: several offers may operate under one management, and a large club may not be accessible to children who live far away.
Sofie Sauzet, a lecturer at Copenhagen University College who has researched children’s use of leisure clubs, said children need a genuine offer at this age. She said clubs with trained staff can help children join communities and find ways to participate, which she believes can support their wellbeing over time.
The mapping describes the structural conditions of municipal leisure-pedagogical offers, but does not show whether differences affect the quality of the clubs or children’s actual participation.