Juggling Work & School

[LittleMooli]

I've got the hang of the nursery run and work but how on earth do people juggle both when their children start school? We're not both going to be able to work 9-5 are we!? Also is it ok to put a child in breakfast AND after school club every day? That seems a bit much!

I think how hard it is depends on the jobs you do and how much flexibility you have. Do either of you WFH? Me and DH both work from home couple of days a we so can manage a day of school runs each. DD will just have a snack and watch some TV when she gets home while we finish off working then we'll get out for a walk or activity or whatever! The rest of the week we use breakfast and ASC.

I think 5 days in wraparound from reception is quite a lot, DD couldn't have managed it i don't think. As they get older it would be fine.

We are fortunate to have a lot of flexibility with our working hours and relatively short commutes which makes a huge difference. If we had fixed 9-5 working hours plus commute it would make things a lot harder to juggle.

WFH makes life a million times easier.
We tend to take turns to log on early, the other drops to school, ASC twice a week (that's the only availability), each take a turn to finish early, and I don't work the fifth day. It can be a bit stressful at times if we've both got meetings, or need to go in to the office, but options are limited locally.

Starting school made us decide to both drop to a 4 day week so it wasn't 8-6 in school and clubs every day. It's really tiring for them initially. Having said that lots of parents did use full wraparound care. I also used to get in super early so I could get back at a reasonable time for pick up and my DH shifted to a 9:15 start so he could drop off. Our school is where we live and we both have a commute so that still meant breakfast club needed.

Should add that post COVID we both do more WFH so it's easy now. My boss has no issue with me breaking my day to do school run then getting back on with work

MY daughter is lucky in that she has us to pick up the slack for her daughter. Now, said grandchild is seven, she can amuse herself while her mum WFH for the last hour or so. School runs are accommodated by her employer who lets her break for them. She doesn't have a lunch hour.

One of us is always WFH so we take it in turns to do the school run. Live nearby so can drop off at 8.40 and be home to log in at 9am. Childcare four days a week after school, I pick up on Fridays as I do condensed hours.

If you can't WFH at all it is tough, but plenty of children do do before and after school club. I would say though - mine was in nursery 9-6 four days a week and really struggled at first, it's a lot meeting so many new people, new routines and expectations. School seems a lot more formal and structured than nursery, even though it's still play-based in reception.

A LOT of my colleagues do the school run and then have their children at home for the last couple of hours of the day while they WFH. I didn't want mine in front of the TV for so long, but tbh I probably will when he's a bit older.

Well I'll be the lone voice for wraparound. Pre covid my 4 year old was in breakfast and after school club and has lived to tell the tale. She made friends with a wide variety of children from othe classes and really actually liked it. My husband's new job has a 10am start, so we don't need to use breakfast clubs anymore,but not everybody has the option and there's nothing wrong with it

I can do 2 days wfh so yes perhaps I could use my break. Dh can't unfortunately. I think we're both going to have to drop some hours

Lots of children really enjoy wrap around care. Some children find both ends of the day a bit much.

I would try it and respond if your child doesnt get on with it.

Don't drop hours unless you want to. And don't let it be you unless you really understand the impact it will have on your career in the future compared to your DH.

I'm a teacher so have early starts and DH works away midweek so late finishes 3x per week. Both of my DC (6&4) have been in wraparound since Reception. Friday afternoon nanna collects them so they do 5 mornings and 4 after school sessions.

They both love it - as PP said, they have made older friends that they chat to in the playground. The sessions are run by school staff so they are with familiar adults. They get fed a decent breakfast and tea. The activities and games are age appropriate and fun.

Yes the little one is tired as she's only just started reception but we're home by 5.30 most nights and have 1.5 hours of calm play and reading before bed. Older DC had adjusted well by Xmas.

Precovid, when DD was in reception she did Breakfast and After school club because it's what we needed in order to earn enough to pay the bills. She had been doing full time nursery before that so it was not that big of a change.

Wraparound in school is very relaxed, it's not more schooling. At breakfast club they have some toast/cereal/eggs and either chat or play with friends or watch some cartoons. Afterschool club they had a snack and then could choose from a variety of activities - craft, sport, film, reading corner or chatting/free play with friends.

If DD was tired she'd gravitate to watching a film or the reading corner, if she wasn't she'd do a craft or join in with football/rounders/dodgeball.

I WFH full time. DH does three days at home, two in the office. DS does breakfast and after school on a Tuesday and Thursday. On those days (DH office days) he drops off and I pick up. I do normal drop off Monday and Friday, and early pick up Wednesday. This means three days a week I start at 7am. On my long days I finish at 5pm so that's a 10 hour day. And days I drop off, I work til 6pm. I'm lucky that my employer is incredibly flexible and just focuses on my output not my hours. But I regularly work in evenings and will monitor and respond to emails at weekends. But WFH is the only way we manage really...

Pre covid my ds was in wraparound care 4 days a week for both breakfast and after school. Dh hours were unpredictable, so he could not facilitate school runs, and I had set working days, so that's just how it had to be. My ds did this from reception. Since covid, Dh has a different job, so he can do school runs a little bit now, so ds is in less wraparound care. We don't wfh in our jobs. Ds is in year 6 now, so wraparound care won't be a thing for too much longer. We use holiday clubs too.

I think as per some PP it depends on the child, if they are currently in nursery for full days all week, they yes will be tired, but they are already used to longer days.

I have 2 in school and since day 1 they have done 4 breakfast and after school clubs a week, and since the start of this term it's breakfast club all week now and the 4 after school clubs.

They are ok with it, more so as they have always done it.

I would maybe sign them up for all week (places can be like gold dust) trial it with maybe every so often you take to class or pick up from class (work allowing) and see how they get on, at first they will be tired, but that will also be down to a change of routine, new ways of learning etc, but you might find that they really like the extra hour or so with friends.

Mine often moan I pick them up too early as they haven't finished a game or got their snack ha!

Don't forget if the is ofsted registered and you are eligible, you can use the Tax Free Childcare to pay and recoup 20% of the fees,

Yes afterschool club and childminders, although depends if you both work 9-5 Monday to Friday, DH works shifts/away from home and I work part time so kids only need to go once or twice a week

My son is 8 and does breakfast and after school club . He enjoys meeting friends and going out to play . It’s relaxed time , not more lessons .