After-School Care in Saskatoon
Saskatoon Public Schools elementary days generally run 8:30am to 3:30pm. Very few jobs end at 3:30pm. That two-to-three hour gap is the most predictable childcare problem in the city and the hardest one to solve well.
We cover it in your own home: a certified caregiver collects your children, gets them settled, fed and through their homework, and stays until you are back.
What a typical afternoon looks like
- 3:15pm - caregiver arrives at the school, on foot or by vehicle depending on distance and weather.
- 3:40pm - home, coats and bags away, snack prepared by a Food Safe certified caregiver. Allergies and dietary rules are written into the care plan, not remembered on the day.
- 4:00pm - homework and reading. Actual help, sitting with them, not a tablet handed over. Screen time follows your rules.
- 5:00pm - play, outside when the weather allows and indoors when it does not. Saskatoon winters make that distinction matter for five months a year.
- 5:45pm - toys away, kitchen tidied, and a short message to you about how the afternoon went before we leave.
School pickup, arranged properly
Your caregiver must be on the school's authorised pickup list. We will not attempt a collection that has not been arranged, and schools will normally ask for identification the first time. Add the caregiver and the named backup at the same time, so a sick day does not become a scramble at 3pm.
The same applies to Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and to the Willowgrove shared site, where the public and Catholic schools sit in one building - convenient for a family with children in both systems, and worth telling us about so we plan one pickup rather than two.
PD days, breaks and the days everyone needs cover
A professional development day means every working family in the city needs cover on the same weekday. Our capacity on those days is finite, and clients on a regular after-school schedule get first call on them.
Check the Saskatoon Public Schools and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools calendars at the start of the year, send us the dates, and we will hold them. The same goes for the winter and spring breaks. Booking a PD day the week before rarely works.
How this compares to an after-school programme
Programmes are cheaper per hour and they are the right answer for many families. The honest differences:
- Your child does not travel. They go home, which after six hours at school is usually what they want.
- One caregiver, your children only. Not a group ratio.
- Your routine. Your snacks, your homework habits, your rules on screens.
- No waitlist. Programme spaces in the busier neighbourhoods fill in spring for September.
- It costs more. From $25 per hour on a weekly schedule. For one child that is more than a programme; for three siblings the maths often reverses.
What it costs
From $25 per hour on a recurring weekly schedule of eight hours or more - which a normal after-school pattern reaches easily at two and a half hours a day, four days a week. Each additional sibling is $4 per hour. Full breakdown on our rates page.
Book after-school care
Call or text 306-700-6576 with your children's ages, their school, and the days you need. A free meet-and-greet comes first, always - and the children meet the caregiver too.
See also regular nanny care and our full babysitting service.
Common questions
What time does after-school care start in Saskatoon?
Saskatoon Public Schools elementary days generally run 8:30am to 3:30pm, with slight variation between schools. Most of our after-school bookings are 3:15pm to 5:30 or 6:00pm, which covers pickup plus the gap until a parent is home.
Can the caregiver pick my child up from school?
Yes, on foot or by vehicle. Either way we need you to add the caregiver to the school's authorised pickup list in advance, and the school will usually want to see identification the first time. We will not attempt a pickup that has not been arranged with the school.
Do you cover PD days and school breaks?
Yes, and these are the days worth booking early. A PD day means every family in the city needs cover on the same weekday, and our capacity on those days is finite. Clients on a regular after-school schedule get first call on them.
How is this different from an after-school programme?
Location and ratio. A programme means your child travels to a centre and is one of a group. This happens in your own home, one caregiver to your children, with your snacks, your homework routine and your rules. It costs more per hour and it suits some families and not others.