What are you doing about school runs?

[RosieLemonade]

DD starts school in September. I can pick her up Monday and Tuesday but work the rest of the week. DH works away during the week so he can’t get her. We looked into a childminder but they won’t take her as she would be mixing settings. The school has no wraparound after school and even in usual circumstances they don’t offer these to reception. I am blessed that she has at least 5 adults I can think of happy to collect her but do you think the school will let her go with different people? How are you getting around these issues?

Most schools have a system where you notify them of who is collecting the child. Normally something along the lines of the person collecting has a password and the school know the contact details of each person provided by you. A lot of reception age are collected by grandparents, family friends, school friends parents etc , the key is to make sure the school has accurate information all the time

I’ve had to change my contracted hours so that I can do pick up every day, my husband has put in a flexible working request to shift his day later so he can drop off to school.

Once after school and breakfast club are back, my work is keen I return to longer hours.

You might depending on your work maybe able to negotiate working from home to continue or just so you can do after school.

Unfortunately we are moving house so have no one to help at all.

I’m a teacher so can’t change my hours.
@Lightuptheroom I can completely see what you are saying but will they let her go with others If they are not in our household? Maybe a school mum in her bubble (one of my best friends’ child is in her class)

@RosieLemonade, hmm, not sure about the bubble thing if I'm honest, I work in education (not a teacher) and wonder if they will be putting something in place for keyworker children ?

Yes of course they will let her go with whoever you tell them will be collecting her. Unless they plan to mind her every afternoon til you get there what other choice would they have?

Have you tried another childminder?
Our school are going ahead with wrap around even though it undermines all the other work they are doing to keep "bubbles" seperate during the day.
Was your plan pre-covid for various people to pick her up?

You need to email the head and ask the question as each school is handling this differently at the moment. Dds school is allowing it but a school in the next village is only allowing the child's household to collect, no childminders etc

Childminders around here will look after children from school again. The mixed settings thing doesn’t seem to be applicable from September.

Wrap around care here is working as normal so I’m using that. School are not massively happy about it (it’s run by a private nursery) but hey ho.

Of course school will let her go to another adult. You’re a teacher, can you imagine the conversation if school rang social services because you hadn’t picked her up “well no, she hasn’t been abandoned, yes, there’s a responsible adult here who her parents have allowed to pick her up, but we’re not going to release her”. It’s not going to happen.

I would just get a childminder and tell school that’s the way it’s going to be.

You said they never had wraparound care for reception anyway so what were you going to do before Covid?

To those asking she was going to be picked up by grandparents on days I couldn’t.

Our school are letting other adults collect but have asked it to be keot to a minimum where at all possible. They have also cancelled after school club and changed collection times for each separate year although they won't tell us the times yet. It's causing chaos for childcare

All these schools who “aren’t allowing” people not in household to pick up - it’s unenforceable. They can ask if parents can try to minimise it, but they can’t refuse to let it happen. What would they do? Working parents are in the shit if no wraparound care is available, so school will need to “allow” it.