Why is there such a huge discrepancy between the school day/school hols and the majority of workplaces

[Lifeisbeaut]

Just returning to work after a career break and trying to work out the logistics of school pick ups, how to manage school holidays whilst minimising the children being passed from pillar to post without routine. It’s not manageable or affordable.
I wish more employers offered term time only or proper part time options. I feel like what’s the point in going back to work when I will barely see my children and I’m barely bringing much more money in. Whoever said we could have it all was lying (unless I am missing something?)

So TAs/instructors lead all these clubs instead of teachers, while teachers have their PPA time. Still on a 1:30 ratio, still the same number of teachers.

Am really interested to find out how the countries providing such good and cheap afterschool and holiday care finance it.. I believe the Scandinavian countries have very high taxation levels...increasing taxation here at the moment isn’t exactly a vote winner.everyone wants stuff from the pot...subsidised childcare, elderly care which doesn’t involve taking nearly all you have worked for, better help for the disable....all really important and morally imperative ...but in the UK we have an increasing population, a disproportionate number of older people (I’m one of them) how do we finance all these ‘wants’?

I used to know loads of people who worked in supermarkets at 16 or so. I didn't realize they needed specialist training. Doesn't seem right you only get minimum wage.

Well, the way it worked in Norway was they funded the better childcare services up front and then it got paid for by the women able to maintain professional careers paying more tax. Probably helps that they invested their oil money sensibly, of course. But let's not talk about solutions, let's blame women for being selfish. It's the UK way!

In Scotland the 2 hour licencing training is mandatory. Anyone under 18 cannot legally sell alcohol without supervision, usually a supervisor manually authorising every sale. People seem to think that supermarket jobs are piss easy but there is training in age restricted sales, health and safety, stock handling (lifting correctly etc), chill chain, stock contamination etc.

Phoneyer
Yes, I knew Norway has considerable natural resources and has invested the oil profits wisely, also quite a small population I believe? Short of hugely increasing tax how do we provide all these really necessary services and which party is brave enough to make this part of its manifesto...

I’m overinvested in smoggle’s idea.

Where are we going to find this army of subject specialists that are willing to work part time for what’s likely to be minimum wage. When you say specialists, you don’t mean ‘specialists’ do you?

Itcan’t work like the teacher covering PPA now, because all the teachers will be having PPA at the same time. A single form entry school is going to need 7 specialist non-teachers to provide the cover.

So a non-teacher adult per class, I think that's doable. Many schools still manage that now.
It might suit parents wanting term time jobs...

In quite a few Scandi countries, too, parental leave is more often shared between the parents rather than the just the woman on leave for an entire year. Again, that's simply not done here.

The term "specialist" is a bit ridiculous but that is what they tend to be job titled now.

Norway population just under 5 and a half million. Oil revenue $25.9 billion
Uk populationjust over 66 million. Oil revenue $19 billion

Like comparing apples and oranges

I'm surprised that working in a supermarket is so specialist and yet poorly paid. It shows how fucked up the jobs market is these days.

There are some really excellent holiday clubs near where we live. Mine have experienced high quality drama teaching/ sailing lessons/ sports coaching. I see it as a perk of my working that they are able to have these adventures, I don’t feel sorry for them at all! That’s for about 4 weeks a year, the rest of the holidays are covered by me / their dad.

I think “having it all” means “sharing it all”. So their dad should pull equal weight too. And then the children share the pressure by attending some after school clubs / holiday clubs. And our employer shares the pressure by allowing some flexibility. Pretty much all the parents I know follow this combination in some manner or another, there are plenty of dads at the school gates for instance.

I think the term you were looking for is cover supervisor.

That wasn’t really what you set out in your first post.

The irony of these posts being perfect fo people looking for term time only work hadn’t escaped me. Although, on reflection I’m not sure they are suitable.

No, I think cover supervisors are quite different and usually more a secondary school thing? And are more likely to be delivering work set by a teacher?

I'm talking about people who run arts & crafts, sports, drama sessions and are currently usually employed by outside providers.

Also I think this would narrow the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children as all children would be able to experience tae kwon do/ballet/french lessons, not just those with parents able to pay and take them to after school classes.

Smoggle

So what you are after is someone that is able to produce a different activity day after day, that children will enjoy, learn from and gain skills.

Presumably they will also have good people skills, be able to control a large group of children and work within the ethos of the school.

There is a name for a person just like that.

@SnuggyBuggy your total snobbishness in regard to retail workers is really starting to piss me off.
A couple of years ago wasnt there a terrible accident at Alton Towers. And they were heavily criticised for having temporary summer workers.

Boney, well yes - currently I think they get called instructors or subject specialists. Plenty of people run extra curricular activities without QTS.
At the moment private companies provide the staff but I imagine if it was taken in house schools could just buy the activity schemes/programmes.

I'm not being snobby, I think people with responsible jobs deserve to be paid properly.

where would all the money come from to pay these wonderful specialists that are just queuing up to work 3 hours a day?

Why just 3 hours a day?

It doesn't work for us. DS works full time and I didn't return to work. High cost of childcare, caring for elderly parents and no relatives to help.

If childcare responsibilities didn't have such a negative impact on jobs it would be easier for parents to share the load. With the system now it isn't always a good idea for both parents to shoot themselves in the foot.

Smoggle

You can do better than that, they are called teachers.