What to do with children after school is a major concern of working parents.

The disparity between the end of the child's school day and the parents' working day is at least one and a half hours, and while that might not seem very long in an overall context, it is more than enough for children to get into trouble.

With fewer women (the traditional care givers) staying at home, and the number of single parents constantly rising, the need for good after-school care has taken on increased importance.

Recognising that need, Government's Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation operates 12 after-school programmes throughout the Island, while others are privately run.

Using Government primary schools premises, Youth, Sport and Recreation's programmes offer a combination of homework and set activities between 3.30-5.45 p.m. Monday-Friday.

All have a common purpose: keeping children under constructive supervision until their parent(s) finish work.

As with all programmes, however, there is always room for improvement in content, as well as for motivation and rejuvenation of those who run them.

With that in mind, the Department is hosting an After School Programme conference on October 9 and 10, which will include workshops and a visiting guest speaker.

"Basically, we feel there will be some value in bringing together people who are working with children in similar situations because there are common needs and aspirations amongst the groups,'' Mr. Philip Guishard, director of the Department's after school programme, explained.

Noting that there were "common elements in providing programmes for the extended day'', Mr. Guishard said the conference workshops would be designed to enhance the skills and enthusiasm of anyone involved in such programmes.

"Child care is very broad and we felt there are similar problems which child care givers may have. Through the workshops we hope to improve the skills of workers, and rejuvenate and motivate them by coming up with ideas and activities which they may be able to share or do with young children,'' Mr.

Guishard explained.

The workshops will take place throughout the second day of the conference, with participants being able to choose from a variety of topic groupings.

Subjects within them include: Creative activities on a shoestring budget; Organisation efficiency -- fun and learning; Self-image in learning; Activities and sports which enrich the lives of children; Curriculum development for school-age child care programmes; and Parental involvement in after-school and pre-school programmes.

Referring to one of the subjects, creative activities on a shoestring budget, Mr. Keith Smith, the Department's youth coordinator, noted: "I think people will be very surprised at the number of things which can be done with next to no money. You don't need a lot of money in order to be able to entertain young people, you just need to be creative. We hope this particular workshop will interest all after-school programme operators.'' While the workshops will take place at the Princess Hotel in Pembroke, the conference will open on Friday, October 9 at No. 1 Shed on Front Street with an address by visiting speaker, Mrs. Sandra Vella.

Founder of the award-winning Homewood City Schools Extended Day Programme in Homewood, Alabama, Mrs. Vella's motto is: "Go ahead, extend my day'' -- which will also be the topic of an open, Saturday workshop conducted by herself and Ms Melinda Hollingsworth, who will also be joining the conference from the US.

Referring to the components of her motto, Mrs. Vella said: "Always look ahead, try to move forward, make progress, improve and listen to every child, and keep a positive outlook.

"Extended time after school is a time to enrich and challenge young lives ... in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

"This is the child's time of the day. They have gotten up early, hurried to school, gone through classes, and had a structured, busy day. Now is the time to present options which are fun, relaxing and non-pressured.'' Just as workshop participants will have a choice of topics, so too should children.

"Choices are a key ingredient to an extended day programme centred on enriching children's lives,'' Mrs. Vella said.

In recognising that after-school programmes and those who run them are part of a bigger issue, Mr. Smith said that his Department was using the conference as the first step of a wider process to train child care givers generally.

"We see the need for on-going training, specifically for child-care workers.

There are not that many of them (in Bermuda) who have specific training in this area.

"They may have skills which they can use to teach young children; they may have a love of children and be able to work with them quite well, but it is the honing of their skills that we see a need for, in addition to the conference,'' he said.

Registration forms for the After School Programme conference are available at the Department of Youth, Sport & Recreation, 81 Court Street, between 9 a.m.

and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For applications up to October 6 the registration fee is $10. Late registration costs $12.

ALL THAT GLITTERS may not be gold, but to these children in the After School Programme at Elliott School glitter painting under the watchful eye of instructor Mrs. Yvonne Foster is still a lot of fun.