Teachers - how to manage drop offs and pick ups at primary?

[Caramelbiscuits]

I’m guessing the only solution is wraparound care, but am conscious that my children would end up there until around 5 once a week, which seems like a long day for younger children, especially with breakfast club too. I’m guessing there’s no easy solution, just interested in what others do.

Mine are in wraparound every day. I did work 0.6 until the youngest was year 2 so was able to do a couple of drop-offs and pick ups before then.

The hardest thing is communication. I often feel the school office must get sick of emails from me.

My two are 5 and 7... reception and year 2.. they get dropped off at breakfast club at 8am and I pick up from wraparound at around 5:45...

It's absolutely fine and what loads of other working parents do!

I love being full time, find it much easier! I get all the holidays with my children so that's the pay off!

I appreciate the problems. I have non-teaching friends who do day/night shifts so they can cover childcare ... but who hardly ever see each other. I had this with a job which meant I could think I'd have a day off to cover childcare but 7 days a week I could be asked to cover my job at no notice (eg getting up at 3am to travel some distance and not get home till 11pm). My DP took the brunt with an 9-5 job half an hour away but we still needed care and in those days the very country primary school didn't offer wrap around ("we're not childcare, we're teachers" - but no realization there were people who needed it or people who could offer it)

Teachers do generally need to be in school before 8. Most of my colleagues arrive at 7 30. There's marking to be done and data to be entered into a computer.

A good solution OP is to find a childminder near your school. If it's a primary there will be some who pick up and drop off kids at that school anyway.

Unfortunately, there aren’t … it’s a tiny school and I think most will access the wraparound if they need to, or have flexibility with their own work or have grandparents or other family to help.

Obviously, this isn’t unique to teachers, but a thread with ‘have a job with very set hours, how to manage school hours’ would probably have people wanting to know what the job was!

@Caramelbiscuits how old are the kids? Could you find a teenager or someone from a local college to take them home and do hwk with them?

I was very lucky and had grandparents to take and collect when mine were young. I get to work for 7.30 and leave at 5.30-6 and they did it all. I was part time which helped. I don’t think I could have relied on school breakfast club as that doesn’t start till 8, so it would have had to be a childminder.

I doubt I’d be able to find a teenager or if I’d be comfortable with that if I’m honest.it would need to be someone who drove and would need to be 100% watertight and reliable, which no one person is (another reason I’d be hesitant over a childminder, even if we had any local.)

DD has been 7.30 till 5.30 4 days a week since she was 8 months old.

She lives.

btw Im not allowed to wfh and have child here except in unusual circumstances like snow days and even then I have to take a days holiday but still check in with work by emails to make sure I'm not urgently needed for something.

@mogtheexcellent no1 did a year of FT nursery too. But I do feel like FT nursery is a bit different to breakfast club, then a day of school, then ASC. Probably projecting here a bit.

Do you have a partner? If so are they a teacher too?

DH isn’t a teacher but works away,so it lands on my head, unfortunately.

I got to work early DH did all drop offs. 1 day a week in after school club so I can go to staff meeting and finish at 3 the other days and my ta covered the last 15 min, the agreement was I got 1 hrs less ppa to make up the 4 x 15 mins - very lucky. Now I only do 2 days in school and they are older so they walk home and by the time they get there I am back within 10 min, still do asc when I have a late meeting. I still do all prep and marking before school.

My friend's six year old (year 2) is now in an after school club three days a week, he wasn't until this school year when a place came up (plus covid was an issue for his first two years). When he started I remember thinking he might not be thrilled to stay at school longer, but actually he really enjoys it! He would probably go more, given the choice. After school activity/hobby clubs are available and he's said no I don't want to do XYZ that's on an [afterschool club] day, he doesn't want to miss it. He plays with friends and eats three slices of toast is the usual report after he's picked up!

Wraparound is fine, after school club is quite different to school, they play and chill as they would at home.

Aww that’s really nice @givemushypeasachance

“On the topic of WFH and not paying for childcare...I prefer my children being at ASC and having a great time playing with their friends, rather than being at home and babysat by an ipad/ TV for 3 hours.”

yes, this.

anyone WFH with a reception child after pick up may well be catching up once child is in bed, rather than having them there’

My kids go to my school. They just appear in my classroom at 3.30 unless they are doing an after school activity. They do afterschool club once a week and it's fine. They also do breakfast club because I need the head space when I get into school rather than having to parent as well as get my lessons ready.

It's really hard! They're dropped off at BC when it opens at 7:30. Fine if DH can drop off before he WFH but on the days he commutes, I drop at BC and then don't get into school until 8.
Two days a week I have to leave meetings early, before 5:30 to pick them up from ASC by 6. They're knackered and I'm frazzled. It's not ideal and one of the many reasons this will be my last year teaching.

I love the fact that it takes only about 3 posts for someone to basically remind teachers that they aren't special, and everyone has to blah blah. OP was specific about teachers, to be helpful/to direct readers. But nooo, always opportunity for a dig.

OP - both me and partner were full time as soon as our child started school (having both been part time before that). My child started breakfast club and after school club right from her first day in reception. She went in at 7.45 (dropped off by partner who went straight to the station and was at work by 9.30), picked up by me at the latest I could possibly do, which was 5.30. Since covid partner now works from home, so does drop off at normal time. I still screech into the carpark at 5.29 for pick up. I'm part time now, and on the one day I do normal school pick up, we go to the park with a load of other kids - if she did that every day, she'd be bored. I actually think after school club is great. Breakfast club is functional.

If your children have been in nursery, they are probably used to a 'long' day of 8 - 6 anyway. Mind definitely didn't mind it. No issues at all.

I've got teaching friends right now who are trying to move to a school closer to home for drop off reasons (especially where both parents are teachers), so you do have to manage things a bit.

Teaching is my second career, when I first started I couldn't believe that anyone was around in the middle of the day to collect children, 3pm was 'lunchbreak' in my old job. School hours are bonkers really and don't suit the modern world where we need two salaries for a mortgage/rent.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot i used to find that so odd on maternity leave and on my days off; half two comes round and the school day is almost over but it doesn’t feel so intense!

It has been helpful, thanks. At the moment, I’m just trying to work out what’s best to do. I know children are fine and in the context of a happy childhood wraparound care is neither here nor there,I suppose I’d just rather minimise it IF I can

Wraparound care. My youngest did 8am -5pm twice a week from F2 (4 years old). It was fine.

Mine gets fed up if I turn up 'early' on a Friday - which means anything before 5.25. Friday is the best ASC day apparently.

Breakfast club and after school club. It's tricky this year because my school has decided to open earlier but breakfast club doesn't open earlier.

When I worked in a school pretty much all teacher were in school by 7.30am. Most didn't leave until gone 5.