to be REALLY cross at the school

[SocksRock]

I have 3 DC's, from this September 2 of them will be at the local primary school.

I also work 4 days a week and I've just been through the long and tortuous exercise that is arranging the summer holiday childcare. Kids go back Wed 3rd and I need Wedneaday and Thursday off as YR are only half days for that first week. All arranged. Every scrap of holiday used.

Now school have just texted to say that they have decided to go back a day earlier so I need to have the Tuesday off as well. Except I don't have any holiday left and a day off unpaid costs me £170 (gross - not sure of net).

I am pretty cross that this is so late being notified - or AIBU to that this is late notice and is in fact plenty of time. Do I really organise too far in advance?

That's over 2 months notice.

That's early but I'm like that too. I'm organizing an induction around a reception start so once the plan is sorted won't be happy of it changes!

Let the school know that their change of plan is going to cost you money, they need to be informed of this. It is late to make these decisions, of course parents are making plans now and booking time off work.

It probably won't change their decision but it might help avoid them making last minute change of plans again.

For most people, it's plenty of notice. But I can see it's inconveniencing you.

How about the DCs' father/your partner/relatives - is there anyone else who can help out?

You do need to find a way to build more slack into your system. What if one of them is ill before your next holiday year starts, for example?

It's June now you talking about September. I think that's enough time. Do you gave a friend or family that could help.

Actually, if they are going back a day early, then you are saving yourself half a day? As you only need cover for half of Tuesday instead of the whole day noe?

Am I being thick, but if they are going back on the Tuesday, why would you need that off? What was the original plan for childcare for Tuesday?

YABU. That is not late notice.

Well I suppose there's more than 8 weeks notice...

If they're going back earlier, why do you need to take more rather than less leave (sorry if is obvious - brain in Friday slowdown).

My ds 2 is starting this year and I'll have the joy of half days from 9th to 22nd of September. Not even including lunch! Older dcs had 2 half days and then full time which worked brilliantly for them and I'm sure was appreciated by working parents.

I know it's over 2 months, but arranging the summer around our holiday, childminders holiday, grandparents, work commitments etc is a long process.

And the extra day is DS's first day at primary school, if I can't have it off because I've done all my arrangements already, I will be really quite sad not to be there.

Because my original arrangements for that day won't allow for them being dropped / collected from school especially as one is only there a half day and it's his first day, I would quite like to be there.

Surely needing one extra day doesn't impact the arrangements you've already made, it's just that you now need to make additional arrangements for that day?

You'll get less notice than that for future strikes/snow days/heating breaking down etc.

Presumably this gives you enough notice to ask for parental (unpaid) leave?

Could you maybe work 5 days the following week?

Sorry, but I think it's adequate notice really.

Fair enough, IABU. I'll juggle it the best I can, I'm just so tired of the endless struggle to make everything fit with work that when I thought is was all neatly arranged and now I have to start asking for favours, juggling hours at work, seeing what DH and GP's can do. I'm not working his first day at school, but might see if I can spread it out elsewhere somehow. Grrrrrr...

Some schools are like this. I amy have written notes to school on more than one occasion about late notice of events children are expected to attend at the weekend with a few days notice.

Aaaah, the PITA that is being a working mother... You think you've just about got it all working perfectly - against all odds - and then somethings crops up to eff it all up... This is why I hate being a working mother. Working = great. Being a mother = great. Being a working mother = shitemare

How come the juggling is down to you? Where's their father in all this?

YANBU It is late notice. Lots of families where both parents or the single parent work would find this problematic. Especially as the co-workers without DC will probably be heading off for their cheaper hols from then. In terms of the school working calendar it's about 3 weeks. Our local authority posts all school hols/inset days for 2 academic years.

But presumably even if they had told you 6 months ago, you would still have had the same amount of leave and the same lack of ability to manage it?

DC starting Reception and starting with part time hours is a total PITA for working parents however you cut it.

If the OP's set up is anything like ours, the father can be as hands-on as you like but the logistical planning is left to the mother. Always.

OP: welcome to the school years. It won't be long before a school receptionist is informing you that you will have to leave your place of work 10 miles away because your dc has a 'rash' which is actually rosy cheeks from running outside or you have to abandon a brew and the rest of your errands because you dc is 'poorly' which is friend quarrel induced upset and which happened this afternoon-. Soon, you'll be ranting about reading levels on here ("but she's reading War and Peace at home! Why is she only getting level yellow at school!!!") and decrying the school's communication because all your dc has to say about their day is "dunno".

Oh sorry YANBU. It can a year's notice and it's still v tricky. Especially when you work in a sector that places a complete embargo on leave at the start of term...

It sounds late notice from a school - deciding to open a day earlier sounds odd to me. Similar to dust our local authority publishes dates 2 years in advance.
With both of us working it was a struggle to cover all the school holidays - the first 2 years we didn't take a family holiday because we didn't have enough cover. And half days are a pIn as there is no enough time to get into work.
Can you take the extra day as holiday and get someone to cover one of the later dates?

*Pain not pIn

YANBU I can understand your annoyance. You have allocated your annual leave as necessary when you made your summer holiday arrangements, only to have another day to cover dropped in your lap.

To some it might only be one day to make additional arrangements for but your only alternative could be taking unpaid leave, something not everybody can afford to suck up.

DH and I have to be very careful from 1st January about how we use our annual leave. I was not happy to find that we had almost three weeks to cover in September because the school had decided to change the transition arrangements for children entering reception, they didn't inform parents until July. When you get just 5 weeks' AL a year you can't just magic up weeks of it from nowhere.