A CRISIS in recruiting staff for out-of-school clubs in York could mean some will have to close.

Carolyn Clarke, a recruitment officer for City of York Early Years and Childcare service, said there was an acute shortage of staff which had reached a crisis situation.

The problem could, in the long term, lead to a closure of some of the clubs or mean that new ones are unable to open.

There are presently 35 out-of-school clubs in the city which care for children aged between five and 12 from 2.45pm to 6pm.

The clubs, often run by voluntary management teams, provide activities for children including sports and help with homework.

Carolyn said the clubs were important as they allowed parents the opportunity to go back to work and provided children a safe environment after school.

She said: "The implications of a shortage of play workers are that there will be a gap in child care provision which could mean the difference between parents going back to work or not.

"It could effect people's ability to work or not, and the type of work they do, as well as the care and safety of their children."

Carolyn the recruitment problems are caused by the hours staff are required to work which coincide with children arriving home from school so parents are effectively ruled out.

Although some clubs do allow staff to bring their own children while they work, Carolyn said this was not an ideal situation.

And although students were recruited, many did not want to pursue qualification.

She said they were looking for older people, perhaps those who had grown up children or people without children.

The benefits of the job include getting useful qualifications and many people who worked in the clubs went on to other careers such as teaching, youth work and jobs related to sport.

She said: "We know that many people do not stay in it for too long but it can provide a good grounding."

Updated: 08:29 Friday, September 27, 2002