[Preservation Edition] Tsuzuki Ward: Application Process for After-School Care before Entering Elementary School

Tsuzuki Ward : Application Process for After-School Care before Entering Elementary School

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October for the older students

First, there will be the Physical checkup at school (go to Tsuzuki Ward website), and around mid-October, the Ward Office will send a guide to the Physical checkup with the School Entrance Notification. The information includes the venue and date of the checkup, so please be sure to confirm the information.
You will probably find information related to After-School Care in the materials mailed to you. You should check the website to confirm when to apply for After-School Care. Materials are easy to lose, so it is advisable to have a designated place to store them in your house to prevent confusion later on.

School entrance examinations in Tsuzuki Ward are held at each elementary school from late October to early December. Basically, they are usually held on weekday afternoons from 13:00-14:00.
The following is an excerpt of frequently asked questions from the Tsuzuki Ward website. (Cited from the Tsuzuki Ward homepage)

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November-December

We are in the process of checking applications for after-school care. For " After School Kids Club (inside elementary school)" and " After School Children's Club (childcare for children after school)," please contact each club directly. Various documents can take time to complete, so you can rest assured that they will be verified before the end of the year.

An important thing to do at this time is to prepare proof of employment. The proof of employment used by schoolchildren is often in a different format from the one used at daycare centers, and many municipalities do not allow it to be used without modification. It may take some time to issue the certificate due to the convenience of the employer, so you need to request it as soon as possible.

Certificate of (planned) employment (Excel: 26KB ) (required for Sukusuku [Category 2A and B] )

*If you choose private school children, the certificate of employment is not required.

At this point, it will be smoother if you decide to some extent how your child will spend his/her after-school hours.

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January - February

This is the time when applications for After-School Care (mainly after-school kids' clubs) begin. Most of the documents are to be submitted directly to each kids' club.

The documents often required are as follows

Proof of employment (specified category)
Declaration of illness/disability (specific category)
Application form
Certificate of Residence (some municipalities ask for this to confirm household status)
Single-parent family Certificate

Proof of employment (specific category)	Certificate of (planned) employment (Excel: 26KB)
Application form for use	Application form for use of After School Kids Club, application form for change of classification (for 2025)* (Excel: 64KB)
Declaration of illness/disability, etc. (specific category)	-
Single-parent family Eligibility for reduction/exemption	Certificate of all items of the family register of the applicant and child (or a copy of the child support allowance certificate) Document issued upon application for the notice of deemed application *1)

Since the application cannot be made online, it is generally submitted at the counter.

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February to March

This is the time when the local government decides which families can use the service based on the submitted documents. Since it takes time to make a decision if there are any deficiencies, it is safe to check with the counter to see if the application has been accepted, if necessary. The use of After-School Care may be prioritized according to the working style of the parents, and this priority determines the availability of the After-School Care.

Each kids' club will hold a briefing session for enrollment in the school (briefing session for parents). (Confirmation is required.) Here, information such as what to bring, the first day's activities, and the flow of safety management for children will be explained. Since these meetings are often held on a different day from the school day, it is necessary to manage the schedule.

If you wish to start using the program on April 1, please confirm at this point.

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April

Finally, it is time to start enrollment and use of After-School Care. By sharing with your family who will receive your child at school dismissal and where, and how to work with the teachers of the After-School Care, you can reduce anxiety on the first day of school.

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Common Stumbling Points

The following are the most common mistakes made when applying for After-School Care

• Thinking the application documents were submitted to the school/ward office
• Missing the deadline due to delay in preparing the proof of employment
• Assuming that the proof of employment from the day-care center can be used as it is (handed it to the company by mistake)
• I missed the deadline because I overlooked whether or not the documents had to be received by mail.
• Lost the information material for the school childcare center and could not find the necessary documents
• Coordination with other childcare providers is delayed.

These things can often be avoided if you know the process in advance.

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It is important to "organize information at an early stage" when preparing for school entrance and applying for After-School Care.

There are several documents to be submitted when applying for a After-School Care, and the deadline and where to submit them differ from municipality to municipality. Since there are many events at day-care centers and families become busy during the winter of the child's senior year, understanding the process early on will reduce the burden on you. In particular, since it may take time to issue proof of employment, you can rest assured that your request will be made by the end of December.

After-School Care are an important part of the preparation for school entry, as they are directly related to the rhythm of your daily life. By understanding how the application process works, both the child and the family will be able to start the new school year calmly.

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What about private After-School?

Unlike "after-school kids clubs" and "after-school care" operated by local governments, private After-School do not have to submit any documents or have a fixed application period.
Private school children like Craftsman After School can basically be applied for throughout the year.

Looking at this, you may think, "So I can apply anytime I want?" You may think, "Then, I can apply anytime I want.

However, private school children are subject to the concepts of "capacity" and "staffing".

Unlike public services, there is no guarantee of a fixed number of staff.
Instead, we maintain quality by making our own adjustments to staffing levels to ensure that each child receives individual attention.

For this reason, even if there is a vacancy at a facility, we cannot guarantee the number of staff and the number of children we can care for,
We do not accept children who are not in our care,
As a result, we sometimes limit the number of children we can accept in the middle of the school year.

As a result, we may not be able to accept children in the middle of the school year.
It is not uncommon to find that there are no vacancies at the time you want to use the facility.
As a result, it is not uncommon to find that there are no vacancies at the time you want to use the service.

This is the reason why "early application" is recommended for private school children.

In order to provide sufficient support according to the rhythm of your child's life and growth,
This is because we carefully adjust our capacity and staffing to provide adequate support for your child's rhythm and growth,
During periods of increased demand, there is a possibility that applications will be turned down. If you are at all concerned about your child, a trial and early application will relieve the anxiety of both the child and the parent/guardian.