To think schools should get with the times re working parents.

Or here's a novel idea..... Men could share the load?

The problem isn’t that schools aren’t open for long enough in the day, the problem is that parents don’t have enough flexibility or support. We don’t talk enough imo about the poor quality of life of many kids today because parents feel guilty enough about it as it is but we should because on a primal level we know kids should be getting to spend more time at home with their parents than many can. Support for working parents always seems to be about helping them to work more rather than parent more.

Im a working mum and love my career. We shouldn’t be discouraging parents, especially women, from pursuing meaningful careers but unless those careers come with the financial means to afford support then something has to give.

Too many parents now are at the pin of their collar, have no support network and are totally reliant on schools. My sister is a doctor in quite a disadvantaged area and has told me how it’s not uncommon for kids to be brought to school clearly unwell and parents not answer the phone when school tries to contact them. Easy to judge those parents harshly but she found they often had really crappy insecure jobs and risked not being paid or even being fired if they had to take the day off to care for their sick child.

We should be questioning why employers can get away with this, why so many people have no choice but to work long hours or even multiple jobs while raising kids and why quality of life for kids isn’t a bigger talking point.

@arethereanyleftatall My circle of friends and colleagues are all teachers and nurses/radiographers. We need wraparound so we can work. You can’t possibly suggesting public service workers need to remain childless?

Because my question is really - if you want to be a career person, that is great and lovely and wonderful - be a career person- but why have children who you won't see? What are you actually having them for?

Why does using wrap around care mean you don’t see your dc? @arethereanyleftatall Do you feel the same about parents who use boarding schools or private in general as they often have longer days/commutes? Why can’t someone with a career also be a parent? Do you hold fathers to the same standard?

Do you have an actual answer to the question @VivaVivaa ? That's what I'm looking for. An actual reason why.

Charging a pound an hour for after school care? When there's vast profits to be made from parents?

This sounds good, perhaps the UK should take some guidance from other countries

Plenty of countries have longer school days with wraparound care and I don’t think parents are considered bad for using them. Must be a British thing?

Just my personal opinion and it probably won't be popular, but why do people have children if they want to put them into some form of childcare for 10 hours at such a young age? They need a parent.

Because my question is really - if you want to be a career person, that is great and lovely and wonderful - be a career person- but why have children who you won't see? What are you actually having them for?

Tell me you are middle class without telling me you are middle class.

No. It’s too much for the children - they need to be at home. It’s why there are so many behavioural problems in school now.
It’s employment that needs to change.

Lots of people are putting forward how other countries do it to have your kids looked after by someone else, often very nicely, lovely list of activities.

But. Genuinely. Non-goadily. What is the point of having children if you want to outsource their care.

Does anyone have an actual reason which isn't just a defensive 'I can't put them back'.

Because my question is really - if you want to be a career person, that is great and lovely and wonderful - be a career person- but why have children who you won't see? What are you actually having them for?

That's why they have breakfast and after school club

I don’t think it would be unreasonable to make sure all schools have adequate wraparound care. Holiday clubs in the UK are also a joke with many finishing at 3:30pm having started at 9:00am

So not a change in school hours, just a change in childcare culture pRo idea or arranged by the school

People will complain about the bank holidays. 😂

YABU that’s an awfully long day for children and teachers to work.

However what does need to change is access to decent wrap around care. With enough spaces for everyone that needs it and is suitable for children with disabilities.

When my daughter starts school in September I’ll likely have to give up work because the after school and holiday club can’t cater to her disability.

Why should the school organise it? What if it’s not financially viable? Not every parent would want that.

I have an amazing idea. I just need a mate in govt to bankroll this idea for me. I set up a huge national wrap around child care company (I will ask my govt mate to make sure my company is an exclusive provider of wrap around). This company will provide 7am -7pm child care every day of the year except Christmas day, boxing day, New years day, Easter Sunday and Monday and bank holidays. All staff will be entitled to free childcare with the company for the hours they work. Of course as a mate of someone in govt, I will charge an extortionate amount for my services and barely provide but it will be all bankrolled by the tax payer. I will also charge extortionate amounts for extra services, like dressing the children, feeding your child all 3 meals, toilet training, bathing them, doing homework, researching extra curricular options for you, there will be a school uniform buying service every holiday where for an extortionate amount we will fit your child for their school uniform and have their feet measured.

It will be a fantastic company, as a government bankrolled organization we will take your child and provide for them from 9 months old so you are free to work every hour your job needs you. You will only have to worry about their welfare between 7pm and 7am and during bank holidays and Christmas day, boxing day and at Easter.

Now off to find a government mate to bankroll this for me, can't wait to be a multi millionaire this time next year.

PS families pay for these but costs are far less than a childminder would charge.

Most schools do offer wrap around care but obviously you have to pay for it. My DS can't even do normal school hours so I don't want them extended even more.
Tbf school hours have been standard for a long time so it's not exactly a shock when your child starts.

At the school where I work we have wrap around care everyday ftom 7.45 to 6.00 pm. Breakfast club is run by school staff and after school club by an outside provider. Only a handful of children from around 700 attend either, but that's due to the multicultural nature of the school whereby many mothers stay at home or grandparents care for the children.

My children's school, in a different area, also had breakfast and after school clubs. It's not that uncommon and probably should be available at every school. Theirs were run by school staff who knew all the children.

There aren’t enough people who would want to work those anti social hours. They probably have their own children.

Shouldn't the question rather be about adults all working less to get a better work/life/family balance?

I mean I theoretically agree. I would love to work less. I’m sick of working so many hours in a crumbling health service.

But I’m pretty certain the vast increase in taxes that would be needed to pay for more doctors/nurses/HCAs/teachers/teaching assistants/bus drivers/cleaners to cover the short fall would be pretty unpalatable for most. I’m sure smarter and hence less working is manageable in office jobs. But it’s far more complex in service jobs.

If your school doesn’t have wrap around care (which is usual) it must mean they either don’t have demand for it, or they can’t staff it.

lack of demand could be fixed with making it compulsory to offer wrap around care, even if it’s only for a few families, lack of staff can be an issue if you want care to be cheap unless the government subsidies it.

The hours do make it hard to get wrap around staff, there are often different people in the morning to the afternoon, there’s often problems with retaining staff. It’s not good hours for anyone.

@working8til4 what are you doing now or are you looking at September starting and panicking?

YABU

As a teacher I work long enough hours before/after school and once my kids are in bed. If I had to do 8-6 teaching I’d never see my own children!

My husband works as a teacher in Sweden, most schools in our municipality are open from around 7am to 6pm I think.

Teachers work normal teaching hours, 8am to 3pm-ish.

Then there are the non-teachers who often work one of two shifts: 7am-2:30pm or 10am-6pm. During school hours they work as Teaching Assistants, the rest of the time they provide wrap around care. Some will also have time during school hours to prepare after-school activities for the kids etc.

So it's certainly possible, but obviously it costs (taxpayers) money.