How do working parents manage the school holidays?

[DA1115]

Just a background, two DC both with additional needs. I’ve been a SAHM for several years. OH works long hours.

DC are 8 and 4. DD has just started school and I really need to find a job. There seems to be school hour jobs going but how do you manage the school holidays?

OH works on a alternating shift pattern. One week an early shift and the next a late plus overtime so it’s hard to work around that. It would be easier if he worked the same hours every week.

DC’s school do not have a school holiday club, all the local childminders (3 of them) are full. I know this because 2 are my neighbours who I chat to plus DS has autism so leaving him with a childminder with never be simple anyway.

Our familes don’t help. How do people manage it??

Well we use Childminders and after school clubs, and when they are at secondary they can go to and from school alone, mostly.
Lots use relatives.
I don't use anything as I'm a teacher.
Sounds like your area is pretty pants for care, plus obviously you have additional issues due to disability - though whether that excludes "ordinary" childcare really depends on how he is affected.
There are some term time only jobs outwith teaching but not many.

I'm lucky enough to have 32 days leave plus bank holidays per year. DH has bank holidays plus 28 days.

We book 1 week a year off together, the rest is school holiday cover, any that we can't cover with leave we either use a holiday club or take unpaid leave.

Everyone with a child under 18 is entitled to Parental leave - 18 weeks for each child under 18, spread over their childhood with a max 4 weeks per year

www.gov.uk/parental-leave/entitlement

After school club in term time, a holiday club in holidays. It only runs until 4pm though so either pay a friend to collect them till 6pm or I take a few hours off each day out of annual leave.

My kids are 4&7 and I work part time.

Spreadsheet!

As soon as I get the holiday dates I put them in my work diary and do a rough check with my annual leave to see can I cover it hem all.

I buy an additional five days.

I can wfh some days (mainly inset days).

I took unpaid leave this summer too.

Summer - clubs and childminders. I also have a child with SN and it is harder to get care in the summer.

Thanks all. Our school has breakfast and after school clubs but unfortunately it doesn’t have a holiday club. A school 20 minutes away does but I’ve heard it’s a bit pants (cancelled 3 weeks of the holiday last minute leaving everyone in the lurch).

Childminders would be a great option but like I said now full and 2 of them. I’m not sure how we’d manage it with DS, his needs are quite significant, lacks any sense of danger, can be quite full on.

Both our familes live nearby but aren’t in a position to help with their own work and commitments.

I’m finding it really hard. I live in a seasonal area. A lot of work in hospitality etc (the only area I have experience in) in the area are seasonal therefore they need you in during the school holidays and don’t allow you to take holiday during the school holidays. I would really love to study again.

Hats off to you all for managing being parents and working. It must be so hard!

I have just been through my first full year of this with DS in reception. It wasn't too bad in the end. If you work part time, you already cover a chunk of the holidays. For example, I work 4 days per week with Mondays off, so I automatically can cover 20% of the school holidays. On top of that I get 6 weeks holiday per year, and I buy an extra week. With my bank holiday allowance on top, I get a total of almost 9 weeks per year (or the equivalent of 36 days), which means I could personally cover all but 4 weeks of the school holidays (assuming 13 weeks per year). DH can use 8 days annual leave to cover a couple of weeks by himself, which then leaves 2 weeks (8 days) to sort out. In our case, grandparents have been very keen. They wouldn't do a whole week in a go, but can manage 2 days at a time so they do those scattered throughout the year. It doesn't feel too bad as DH still has plenty of holidays so we can take off some time together, or even just the two of us for the odd day here and there.

This year, DS also went to the childminder and holiday club a couple of times. Neither was ideal though - the childminder was expensive £5 per hour) and isn't something we could rely on as she will only take DS if it fits in with what she is doing on the day. The holiday club was reliable, but DS didn't enjoy it (not surprising really considering he didn't know any of the staff or kids there), and so they phoned me to pick him up early.

I work full time as a single parent with no childcare help. I use ever club I can find and book early. I always find the Christmas holiday the hardest. I can't currently find any holiday clubs in my area that are open, but the nhs doesn't stop working! I having a stress already 😱

www.mumsnet.com/jobs/flexible-working/how-to-find-a-job-within-school-hours

Have a read at this?

We use holiday club for usually 3 days a week (our school doesn’t have one either, but a nearby children’s centre does). Then we alternate the other days- dh takes one day and I take the other. If one of us is significantly more busy at work that the other, one of us takes both days off and the other will do it next time.

Currently, we have a nanny. Once we outgrow the nanny stage I am totally dreading it, I think it will be lots of holiday clubs (we will be enjoying a lot of sport as sports clubs seem to be plentiful and fairly reasonably priced) but god knows how we will manage pick up and drop off. I’m vaguely hoping our nanny might like to be a holiday nanny but let’s be honest, it’s nit very likely

I work term times only p

Easter and Christmas are only 2 weeks - cover that by using annual leave (a week each, each hol). Summer hols, get a summer au pair.

We just took leave, we both work 33 hours a week, so each took our two short days off in the holidays. We are lucky that grandparents live nearby and took them one day a week. It did mean that we only had one week in the summer and at Chirstmas when we were both off together, but it doesn't go on for ever! There are holiday clubs which operate independently of schools, so there may be more options.

DP and I are both shift workers, he's full time and permanent and I work for an agency on a 0 hr contract. I choose my own shifts based around DPs rota.

I always have a shift when I want one, and I can cancel shifts when I need to.

We don't use any childcare, and family very very rarely available to babysit.

I've worked 45 hours this week, DP has worked 39. DP has guaranteed hours and annual leave, and although I don't, there has never been a time when a shift is not available for me, and I can always join multiple agencies if I want extra choice. Works well for us.