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

Then book a babysitter?

See the crappy wrap around hours is why i think my idea of starting school at 8 and finishing at 12, then childcare taking over could work

The after school job is a proper 30 hours in a sensible block rather than split.

Teachers are done by midday and can then prep/mark so thier job isnt so shit. Might have to slim the curriculumn slighlty.

Parents can still pick up their child early.

That is what a child minder is for, I’m a teacher- I’m not a baby sitter.

No one wants to work for minimum wage from 7:30 - 9am then an unpaid 6 hour break (impossible to do any other paid work in that time) then 3 - 6pm.

Judging from your username, you have a pretty short working day anyway. Find a childminder. Pay a school mum to look after them for an hour either side. Get your dh to actually help. Ask work for flexible working.

Schools cannot afford extended days. Your child, your responsibility.

He can't do that and make it to work on time

But this attitude is part of the problem.

One of my friends is a single parent and a doctor. She does all the school runs, she doesn't have a choice. She has to work accordingly

Of cross post @arethereanyleftatall !

although I do maintain in most of the country, it’s outside of 8-6 childcare that’s the main problem unless you’ve got a helpful retired grandparent.

Get yourself a nanny or childminder if neither of you is prepared to lower their working hours

Not rocket science.

Plus of you can't afford your house, move.

BTW one of the limits around here on wrap around places is lack of staff. Parents can’t/won’t pay high rates for wrap around care. So it’s little above minimum wage. But 7:30-9am and 3-6:30pm hours are really shit working hours. Not enough to live off, odd times to make it hard to do another job. Rubbish if you have kids of your own.

there are easier jobs that pay better. I would make it that all schools have to provide wrap around care, but I would also make it that it’s paying closer to a teachers hourly wage. And the majority of the cost covered via tax payers- it pays long term to keep both parents working.

You’re not a teacher then 😂

I never understood why extra curriculars can’t be brought to the schools. run football club, brownies, cadets, violin lessons, gymnastics, dance etc from 4-6. Even homework club.

I’ve seen in the US where sports clubs will bus children from school to the local gymnastics or whatever facility for training.

yes you’d have to pay. But then most parents pay anyway, and it saves the rush of getting home and back out. Pick child up a 6 and go home for dinner, swim lesson done.

How many people do you think op want a minimum wage job from 8-8.40am in the morning and 3.40 till 6pm in the evening?

It's such an entitled train of thought to want a service which suits your situation exactly, but without following it through to think of who is going to do such a tying job for £5k pa?

For two parents who would, pre-Covid, work in an office for example, it should be possible for them to work from home with one of them doing 7.30am-3pm and the other 9.30-5pm or thereabouts, including lunch breaks. This doesn't quite equal full time hours but it does mean that the children don't need to go to wraparound care. Employers need to shift their mindset to understanding that they don't need everyone in the office for 40 hours a week for the work to get done. Only when there is less rigidity around working hours will this become less of a problem. It should be the norm for employees to be able to request flexible working hours like this, not just parents. That doesn't mean that every request would be approved but they'd need a proper business reason as to why. Once this happens this should free up wraparound care places for parents who this isn't an option for ie shift workers and those who can't work from home.

Most parents working long antisocial hours aren’t doing so because they want to bump their salary up from 200K to 300K at the expense of their kids, no matter what MN would have you believe. They are doing so because they work in low-middle paid service jobs where flexible/at home working isn’t possible or routinely rejected. They work long hours because they need to to pay the bills.

No I do not. You just carry on doing your job. Why does everyone think I'm on about the same staff covering these extra hours?

Has it escaped your notice that there is a huge national teacher shortage? Where do you think they are going to find these extra staff from?

Where it’s viable, schools usually do have wraparound care. When they don’t, it’s because there isn’t enough regular demand for it to be financially worthwhile.

Your suggestion of school providing this for anyone who wants it doesn’t work. What if only one child wants it? Is the school supposed to provide and pay for staff for the sake of one or two children?

Why is his job more important than yours?

Can you and your partner try to stagger your start and finish times? These should be split equally between you both. My husband and I have a very carefully worked out schedule which allows one of us to do drop offs at 8.30 and pick ups at 3.30/4.15 (if clubs). My boss originally said no to my hours change request. Me "that's fine, please accept my resignation". All of a sudden, it was 'doable'. Know your worth, negotiate and encourage your and your partners employers to be flexible.
And get to know other parents. There are odd times neither of us can make pick up, so another school mum will collect for me, and vice versa if they are struggling.
Same for school holidays, we take turns having a few children so don't need to take as many days off.