Help with childcare for 5 year old not in school

You can do both! Education doesn’t have to be formal. Obviously you can’t spend your days playing tennis and getting your nails done, but you can still live a normal life whilst home educating.

If you’re home educating, which it sounds like you are, you need to make sure the childcare is Ofsted registered I’m sure. And a lot of childminders don’t want the responsibility of a CSA child.

I think you’ll struggle tbh. I home ed and don’t have childcare. My daughter just has to come with me. It’s hard but there’s no way around it.

It is hard to advise OP without knowing the circumstances of what has happened. It depends on whether it is something you deem unsafe or something the LA deems unsafe. I would speak to your LA and possibly the SEN team, he is entitled to an education and if he genuinely isn't safe there then they should urgently be looking for an alternative and push for them to provide a tutor whilst they find him an alternative.

Do you recieve support from adult social care?

The problem is that the OP has significant MH issues and without any more info, nobody can say for sure if the threat to her son's safety is perceived danger or actual danger. Or whether the safety issue is actual physical harm/potential death or something much softer like disagreement about teaching methods or certain staff members.

The actual chances of a 5 year old child being seriously injured in school is vanishingly small. Age definitely plays a role here because serious bullying or physical danger is extremely unlikely amongst 5 year olds compared to teenagers.

As a PP has mentioned, making a school age child sit in the corner of a gym with an iPad and spending every day alone sounds more detrimental to his education and development than attending a few more weeks of his current school until a new school is found. If an effort is underway to find a new school why not just wrap up attending the current one instead of taking him out and expecting options for cheap or free, full-day childcare (?)

He's 5 if he's not in school you're legally obligated to give him an education. That means you'll need to stop doing your own things and concentrate on his needs!

Do you think it’s in your child’s interest to sit in the corner of the gym for an hour whilst you work out?

I can't really afford childcare so sticky one

To be frank, you've said it in your op already. I'm not sure what magic answer you're expecting.

If you can't afford childcare (even a teen babysitter will need paying) - then you don't have childcare 🤷‍♀️ Unless of course you do have a friend or neighbour who would do you a favour, for free.

At 6, you can't simply abandon him alone in the foyer of xyz for an hour and just hope he's there when you come back 🥴

Where is his dad? Can’t he help?

Yes, do you have a keyworker for your MH? If you are becoming overwhelmed with trying to balance your son's and your needs I think you need support and advice from professionals rather than Mumsnet (which can be mean, so not a good idea if you're feeling vulnerable).

It's called baby sitting and very common to ask the older children of your friends, or ask around locally. So, not really a random off the street, but yes, not a thorough background check.

She says he isn't safe at the school and there are legal proceedings ongoing . This isn't about him ruling her life! It's about him protecting him.
OP your LA needs to provide suitable education for your child and if he had an EHCP that plan should name that provision that meets his need. Does he have an EHCP? If not ask your LA to do an assesment. It's not an immediate solution but it could help eventually.
Meanwhile ask your LA to provide him with an alternative place.

Drop off forest schools
Drop off private tutor group/lessons for your child's key stage.
Home-ed child minders.
You may need to look at applying for a reduced contract/swapping your hours for different times/working part time for 3 months to establish connections.

He’s 5, don’t let him rule your life. Send him back to school and the teachers can deal with it

It does sound a bit nuts that you want childcare but don’t want to pay for it and are asking if there’s any magic options?

I think your best bet is a local teenager (neighbour?) that could do after their school hours for a bit eg 4-6pm. My 4 yo often goes to our next door neighbour (13) to play after school for a bit and I pay her. But there is another adult in the house

As you need ad hoc childcare for appointments, I would contact a babysitting agency and just book by the hour when you have appointments...this will probably be more expensive per hour than a childminder...but a childminder is more likely to want set days/hours...also once he returns to school or a new school, you'll probably need to give notice. I think then a childminder may end up as more expensive as I doubt many will be happy to do a couple of hours a week...I could be wrong.

So you’ve removed him from school and are going to sit him in a corner with an iPad while you got to the gym … or you’re expecting what? Government funding for childcare while you do this?? If you’ve taken his out of school you need to school him …. not find childcare while you carry on with your daily life! This situation sounds crazy!

It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate OP, do you have a social worker you could talk to about a few hours respite per week/month? Or you could contact local colleges or university and see if there are teaching/childcare students who might want a babysitting jobs for a few hours?

You can get a babysitter for weekends/evenings.

it won’t solve the appointments problem but it’ll give you time to study.

we used local teens (try posting on local facebook page) or sitters.com

Can you include your child in your exercise so he comes with you on a scooter and you run/walk etc.

have you given the school time to sort out the incident if it happened recently and put steps in place.

there is no free childcare in the school day. Have you called admissions to see where there is space for your child to move to on an in year transfer?

have you deregistered him from school yet?

you can apply for an EHCP as a parent and don’t need a school to do it for you.

No friends you could trade childcare with? Homeschool friends? You do some English for them in return for 2 hours of maths from them?

OR hire a tutor for a couple of hours out of school hours. They have DBS already because most tutors are teachers and the childcare will be thrown in and they can also cover an area of his curriculum that you are less good at.

Sounds to me like you’ve little other option than a childminder.
The things you mention should be manageable though without one. Surely you can do your coding while he’s in bed? Hobbies like the gym are going to have to wait till he’s back in school. You can’t make the decision to take your child out of school and expect to still have me time. I’m not saying it wasn’t the right decision, but right now you simply can’t do it all and your child has to come first.
It may be that you have to miss a few appointments until he’s sorted in a new school which I would think would be a high priority for the LA, so it shouldn’t be for too long.
People who homeschool have made the decision to do so because their set up allows them to do this. They either don’t work or only work part time/evenings and most likely either have to give up free time or have a good network of supports to allow them to have hobbies and attend appointments. It doesn’t sound like it suits your situation so he needs to be in school asap.

I used to work with SEND children. I suggest you speak to your local disabled children service. They maybe able to support you with appointment visits. They will also help you navigate getting him into an alternative school, which I know from experience is incredibly difficult for a mainstream child, let alone a child with additional needs.

@chelseaminx00

Why did you remove him from his school?

If you want him in school then that sounds like your best bet.
Otherwise a childminder but you will have to pay.

Call your LA and ask for all the local schools with spaces.

@Soontobe60 people do come with references and police checks!!