To be struggling with nursery only opening at 8

[humpbackwhalestail]

I am a teacher and have to be at work for 8:20.

Nurseries only open at 8 which means I’ve had to choose the closest one. It still gives me a tight margin for getting to school, parking, getting into school and to morning briefing/meetings.

AIBU to wish there was a bit more flexibility with childcare?

Elpha said it best.

@ohh

Let’s hope your circumstances don’t change.

'Whats the pint of having children if they don't see you?'

That's it, lone parents, if your partner or spouse fucks off, leaves you holding the baby, literally, doesn't pay maintenance and you have to work FT, you should just hand the child back.

Honestly, it doesn’t bother me. It makes me realise my child is lucky. Ideally, yes, she wouldn’t be in FT childcare, but can you imagine if you had to spend all day every day with a parent like some of the ones on this thread?

Some of the nursery staff I know rent a room with a parent or get involved in drop offs. Could you ask the nursery manager if anyone would meet you 15 mins before work started and take your little one in? For some extra cash?

It's incredibly frustrating OP. We chose the dc's primary school with an eye on the fact there was a nursery onsite and they did 8-6 wrap around care. That was OK if incredibly expensive (£8 for 8-8:45) , then they only opened till 5:30 due to lack of demand !!!. Every Monday I was there waiting for the door to open at 7:55 to try to do a 70 minute drive in an hour.

Whats the pint of having children if they don't see you

Their small hands can reach places I can't when I'm cleaning and they look good in family photos (which is all I see ds in since obviously I work 7 days a week 365 days a year).

Plus he corrects my spelling and grammar for me.

Could you speak to your Headteacher and ask for your non contact time to be timetabled for the first lessons in the morning or if you could not have a form to register in the morning because of this issue?

DrJo1

That would be a hefty chunk of re-timetabling/cover, not to mention that not all schools have form time first thing in the morning.

I have every sympathy because I was in the same situation when I taught. In the end I paid a local lady to drop my kids off at school. It was £50a week which was a lot twenty years ago but the peace of mind it gave me made it well worth it and it was only for a couple of years.

As for your children going to your school, many of my colleagues did this and it was fine. They had arrangements to ignore each other in school and the management never minded them avoiding teaching their own offspring. The odd time they did a cover lesson for an absent teacher when their own child was in the class was fine too.

Complete sympathy, OP. I’m a teacher and understand the utter inflexibility of how things are run.

I understand you are a single parent and I don’t know how your finances stack up, but this time of year would be the time for a chat with senior leadership, before timetabling starts for next year, about the possibility of dropping to 0.8 and spreading that day across the week so you don’t start until period 2, or even not starting until period 2 for a few days a week would ease things a little. I know this is dependant on how the timetabling in your department is blocked, but it’s worth having the conversation.

I’m sure you’ve thought of it, already. If you have any financial wriggle-room at all, make an appointment for a chat with senior leadership.

im sure this has been suggested but have you met any of the other mothers at the nursery or is there afb group for it.if so you cant be the only mum with time issues like your own so could there be some that lift share?
is it worth asking the nursery workers if they no of any of the parents that help eacohter out and could you?

@strawberric I’ve never heard of arranging cover being the duty of a TA. Medication? What exactly does medication have to do with anything? Any child with a medical IEP will have all they already stored in a safe place. Unless they have a 1:1 and that will be part of the SEN’s role.

In our school the TAs are in by 8.30 - some are in at 8.00 by choice. One is responsible for arranging TA cover for any absences - including cover for the Internal Base.

Our students don't have 'IEP's' - they were done away with a couple of years ago. Students with medical needs (in response to your question 'what does medication have to do with anything?) are medicated by two TAs. One will medicate and one will countersign having retrieved the medication from the 'safe place'. These students will have detailed Healthcare Plans. Some SEND students have EHCPs.

The SENCo would not be responsible for the actual medicating of students given that they have a million and one things to do - including teaching and meetings that start at 8.30 right through to 4.30. HTH.

It will be worse when she starts primary school.Our local one has no breakfast club and children cannot be dropped off unattended until 8.50 for 9am start.This is because the school will accept no responsibility as the gates are open for access.During school hours they are locked with intercom access only.
After school clubs only run until4-4.30 depending on child's age.

I would suggest approaching your favourite member of staff at the nursery and asking if they can always be there for you 10 minutes early so that you can hand over. I think the negotiated cost would then be both appropriate and transparent.
it is worth asking.

This has been such a useful thread as I’m in a similar situation and will continue to be once our son starts primary school. There are no child minders in our town that’ll do the extra minutes I need before nursery (or school) opens as it is only half an hour, there are no au pairs, there are very few nurseries and they don’t open early enough for me to get into the classroom. I live in a smallish town and that seems to be why-nearby (but not near enough!) large towns have better provision.

I will be asking if any staff would be open to being paid privately for the extra I need before so thanks to pps who’ve suggested that!

Could you speak to your Headteacher and ask for your non contact time to be timetabled for the first lessons in the morning or if you could not have a form to register in the morning because of this issue?

I have seen this done but it is a logistical nightmare and requires both a very sympathetic headteacher and a very skilled timetabler. In both of the cases that I am aware of the teacher in question had to drop to a 0.8 timetable over five days, which obviously means a pay cut. It's almost impossible on a FT timetable.