Starting school-what sort of wraparound/holiday care to use....?

[HappySunflower]

So, little sunflower will be starting school in the next year.
I'm currently wading through school choices and am also trying to consider what sort of after school care, and care in the holidays might be best.

Initially I wanted on site after school care. The two schools at the top of my list run their breakfast and after school clubs on site, and they are staffed by TAs and mid-day meals supervisors so familiar people which is good.
But, then I got to thinking about what I'm going to do in the school holidays
There's an organisation in my local area which runs holiday clubs, so that's one option. But I wonder if that is just one step too far for her to have such a big change in the holidays.
I am now wondering if a childminder be best for after school care, especially if I can find one who offers cover in the holidays as well.

Apologies for the rambling post....but I really would appreciate any thoughts and shared experiences from those of you who have been there and done it already with an adopted child.

Thank you!

I would go and see some childminders. If you find a good one I would say that would be best. They get so tired in reception and my dd just wanted to come home and flake out on the sofa some days.
With a good child minder they can play or just chill out.
One familar person would be best if you can find one you like.

Sorry just to add my dd isn't adopted but I have a adopted ds who hasn't started school yet.

I think child minder is best option if they can do some after school too and keep the relationship going
It was not possible for us. DD had very challenging behaviour and a childminder would not have coped unless DD was the only child
I did find an excellent nursery who did holiday club too so it could continue through school years
We were lucky though, they were very willing to support SN and gave DD a 1-1
Think about what you really need and have a look around as to what is available
My first choice would've been childminder if I could find the right one

I have a childminder and it works for me. She is lovely. I teach and while I understand that it is necessary for a lot of parents to use on site child care, I'm glad my child gets a break from the school environment and is looked after on more of a home environment.

I asked DD2 just yesterday whether she likes walking home from school on her own (childminder is on holiday so for one week she is taking herself to and from school, it's a 5 min safe walk and she's 9). She said she loved it, so I joked about sacking the childminder. She thought for a moment then said, "No, I still need those play days that I go to Cheryl's for when you are at work and my school is shut'.
Having one set of childcare that sorts out school time, holidays and training days is handy for me.

This is so helpful, thank you everyone :)

I'm no help at all as I ended up decided to stop working for a while when DS started school, he really wasn't in any shape to deal with wrap around care of any sort as well as starting school.

It doesn't escape me that it was the easier change we've ever had with him. It has however buggered me financially.

What kind of child care does DD currently have because I'd advise sticking with that whatever it is, at least initially to minimise the change.

Also DS was exhausted to start with and his behaviour regressed quite a bit outside of school hours, I'm not sure an after school club would have coped with him as they tend to be more used to older children as relatively fewer reception age children go into wrap around care here (though this might be different at your school) and there was way less attention given to the children (mostly tbf because they don;t need it)

Hi Happy. I am in the same boat. Having just visited my first primary school (thanks to everyone for the suggestions about questions to ask), I would be happy using their before and after school clubs - for the same reasons as you've said. It is run by teachers and TA's and there are young ones in there.

But I have no clue what to do about holidays - all flamin' 13 weeks of them . Thankfully I think I will be able to keep my part time hours, so only for 3 days a week, but none seem to run consistently here - it is a week here and a week there. I think I need to start looking at CMs too.

It is such a minefield isn't it, Rhinos?
Its suddenly dawning on me just how great the nursery I chose is. From 8-6 each day that I need to be at work, I know she is safe, happy, having fun and well cared for. I've kind of taken that for granted a bit, I think!

I am planning to visit some childminders and school holiday clubs.
On one hand, I figure that if I manage to find a childminder who does after school and holiday care that might be better as at least it won't be another new experience in the school holidays. But on site care was my first choice. If only schools ran such a thing.
I work 3 days a week too....if only we lived near each other.......!

Does the nursery do an afterschool service for reception kids? Ours does.

No, unfortunately, very few nurseries in my area do.
There is one private enterprise who run a lot of the after school and breakfast clubs. I really don't want to use that as their staffing seems quite inconsistent which also raises other quality issues for me.

I think it's worth visiting the after school care facility and judging it, much in the same way you would with the school generally. My adopted little one loves the wrap-around facility at his school, but I think that this is because it is run by people who understand his circumstances and engage positively with us. The people who run it make all the difference - in our school, it's the SENCO for the middle school and she's a more mature lady with some excellent strategies for dealing with children with emotional and social delays. Also, the activities they offer appeal to Little Willow dude. When he goes to breakfast club, it gives him an hour or so to blow off some steam before having to settle into the school routine, and in the afternoon, it's just like having a huge play date (although there is also space for quiet time, should he need it). The time in the afternoon is really useful because, if he's had a bad day, he often talks about this with the play leader, and this extra help means that he transitions really well when I pick him up for home time. Of course, if he's had a good day, well, it's just like a play time extension, which is fantastic because he's an only child, and it gives him the chance to practice all those new social skills he's developing.

Having said all that, he doesn't go to wrap-around care every morning or every evening - I find it tires him out, even at 8 years old, if he's at 'school' all day from 8am until 6pm - we do try to limit it to morning or afternoon wherever possible, but I appreciate that this isn't possible for some families.

Good idea-thank you.
I had booked to visit schools but not the out of school care places.
I'm more bothered about the school holidays now. Getting a hurty head from thinking about that!

Vacation time is a nightmare! We are more flexible than many families, so this might not work for you...

Over summer, husband takes one week off where he looks after little dude all week by himself, then we have a week where he's in holiday club near my work for the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday - we break the week by dropping him at Nan's house Tuesday night and collecting him Wednesday night. Then we have a week's holiday as an entire family. Then there's another week of Holiday Club/Nan, then I take a week off where I look after little dude for the whole week by myself. There's usually a half week on either side of the plan and we try and get support from friends or family for the two/three days, but if it doesn't work out, we resort to Holiday Club.

We've been doing this for the past 3 year and it works really well! Little dude gets dedicated daddy time, dedicated family time, dedicated Mummy time, and dedicated Nanny/Grandad time, as well as the social interaction he needs at the holiday club. Mind you, the holiday club we use is amazing! I want to go there, rather than go to work!

Half terms are trickier - either husband or I tend to try to take the Monday and Friday off work, and we try to get him doing a sleepover on the Wednesday with Nan, so he goes to holiday club on the Tuesday and Thursday only.

It seems to work, but is a nightmare to organise, and seems more expensive than I ever imagined.

That sounds like a very organised plan, but I'm a single parent with no family support!

I am planning to visit a few local childminders and school holiday clubs to get a feel for what might be best.

Have you considered getting together with other mum/s and hiring an au pair between you to look after the kids over the holidays? It doesn't have to be an expensive agency hire - if there is a responsible teen (thinking more 16/17 year old, rather than 14/15 yo) perhaps they could work over the vacation period doing au pair work for you and a friend? I'm sure they would appreciate the spare cash, especially if they're saving to go off to College or University? The reference is also helpful for them.

My daughter has attachment issues, hence finds transitions hard and needs extra support.
For that reason she would need quite a consistent arrangement really-which is where a childminder who offers after school and school holiday care might work out well. Once she is a bit older I am hoping that she will be a bit more adaptable to change.....
I haven't decided on a school yet but am hoping that I can organise reciprocal support with other parents once we have got to know people and she has made some friends.

How I would love a term time only job!

I know you said your nursery doesn't do before and after school care - but have you asked about your DD being back for day care in the holidays (when you can drop off and pick up as you do now)

Private Nurseries are registered until Aug 31st until after their 5th birthday (and some for the older age group too) They tend to have spaces in the holiday especially if they have children off due to the funding ending...if they don't, you could ask them to think about it - it's revenue for them in quieter periods (unless of course they are a term time nursery!)

Could DD then cope doing wrap around day to day as she would be returning back to a familiar environment?

Chris-that is a really good idea.
It would sort out the first school year anyway which would mean that dd would be almost 6 by the time I needed to put her anywhere else.

I am going to ask them when I drop her off in the morning. Thank you! :)

We've got a CM who does out of hours and holiday care, and although it's not the most stimulating environment I think we may well use her, especially to start with as our DS gets very tired so the after school club may be too much for him.