This is a very important part of family daily life in France.
Why do I need to know périscolaire?
You might be seeing the word périscolaire in French news recently because of a major investigation launched in Paris into the supervision of children in after-school programmes.
What does it mean?
The French word périscolaire, roughly pronounced pay-ree-sko-lehr (listen here) doesn’t really have an exact translation in English but it refers to activities, services, or care that happen around school hours but are not part of formal classroom instruction. It is largely designed to help families whose schedules extend beyond standard school hours, especially working parents.
In English you might refer to these types of roles as after-school care, recess supervisor or auxiliary staff.
In France, le périscolaire is a very important part of daily family life because many children spend hours there. Common examples include supervised childcare before or after class, lunch supervision, sports or arts programs run by the town
and Wednesday activities for children, when schools are closed.
This type of care is available to children aged three to 17 and is organised by local authorities or by an association (including school associations). Children are offered educational and recreational activities, as well as quiet time, all tailored to their age and needs. Fees are set by the after-school care provider and vary according to household income.
You’ll often hear – activités périscolaires, which refers to extracurricular or after-school activities, temps périscolaire, the period before/after school, and service périscolaire, which is an after-school care service.
If you want to refer to someone who does this job they would animateur périscolaire or animatrice périscolaire (for women) – these are not qualified teachers and the jobs are generally quite low paid. The role is different to a person offering nanny or child-minding services.
Use it like this
Chaque mercredi après-midi était consacré à une activité périscolaire comme une sortie à la piscine ou au cinéma. – Every Wednesday afternoon was set aside for an after-school activity, such as going to the swimming pool or the cinema.
Les enfants restent au centre périscolaire après l’école. – The children stay at the care centre after school.
Violences dans le périscolaire à Paris : la justice enquête sur 84 écoles maternelles, une vingtaine d’élémentaires et une dizaine de crèches (France Info) – Violence in after-school care in Paris: the courts are investigating 84 kindergartens, around 20 primary schools and around 10 nurseries.
