Is it time we all helped to provide voluntary child care

[Maryjane3227]

So I've read all the frustrated threads from parents wishing their children could return to school, and working in a school I know that September could mean "blended learning"(part-time hours in school, continuation of home learning).
How many mumsnetters would be happy to give 2 hours a week voluntarily to their communities to help with the child care provision that will be required if/when children are not in school come Sep?
If for example church halls or empty office spaces could be used, and all the necessary legal bumpf was completed, how many of us would help out for the good of everyone?
Or is this mess someone else's problem to sort out?

@Smallsteps88

I would, yes. I would resent it being all women though. As usual.

Imagine how suspicious a fair proportion of mumsnetters would be of a man volunteering to give up his time to look after little children.

If you want to do it, start thinking and planning now - if you're doing it you'll need DBS clearances for every volunteer, you'll need someone to take on safeguarding, you'll need first aid trained people and so on. I think you also need insurances and might need to be registered - in which case you're also inspected by Ofsted.

It's possibly the only way through it, but just be prepared for the setting up time required. It's not just a case of 'we're open, drop em off'.

@LaurieFairyCake

God no

This, with bells on

Nope.

I know its been said already, but how were you thinking it would be safe to be with all those random adults and children, if its not safe to be at school full time, its very obviously not safe for this set up.

Hell no!

I would if I thought it was organised properly.

I'm retired (early) and in non-Covid times I volunteer once a week in my children's old primary school. I therefore already have an up to date DBS check and I'd be happy to add a few more hours.

This just seems a strange idea. People need work. People who are working have the ability to pay for childcare. Childcare is a skill and it's labour and you should be fairly compensated for it like any other job. So why wouldn't you employ a childminder? If there aren't enough, training/certifying them should be the priority, not telling people to volunteer.

Voluntary childcare would give schools even more leeway to not pull their finger out and open quickly.

Here, I'll correct that for you: Voluntary childcare would give the government even more leeway in not providing a workable solution for schools to open.

The safeguarding aspect of this would be nightmarish. My SEN child, mainstream educated, would not be able to hack it. However I can imagine groups of friends doing this on an informal basis if lockdown is eased but schools aren’t in full time and good luck to them.

Yes it would need to be organised not just rocking up to watch a bunch of kids. I've also got. A full disclosure.

No chance in hell. Looking after people’s dogs however ....

Not a chance in he'll would I ever do that. Your kid equals your problem

I'd be prepared to do online teaching to an underprivileged child for 45 minutes a day. I work full time.

If not underprivileged, the parents can pay for my time. I'm low paid.

Some of the dbs checked parents at my school...wouldn't leave a hamster with them. Drunken, abusive, mad...

Nope.

I agree in the long term it would just enable the government to take the piss more.
I was genuinely curious but it's probably something that would only work in a small area (with if course all the risk assessments, and DBS etc).
I'm a full time Secondary teacher, and part of my job involves training teachers so I know some of the logistics and I'm confident I could run things like homework support.
I have found lockdown as difficult as everyone else and I worry about the Autumn.
Thanks for replying. I'm off to play Fortnite now my son is going to bed. I'll vent my angst there!

Hell no. I have bought up my children and I have no wish for any part of bring up yours.

If childcare is being coordinated then it makes sense to use that effort and those personnel to coordinate reopening schools. Nurseries and childminders are fully open here, hopefully schools will follow.

I would help friends but not strangers cbildren

I used to run an after school French club at a primary school as a volunteer. It was good fun.

I don’t understand what the point of this would be from a distancing/bubbles point of view.

You can’t have the child in school for more than 50% of the time, but in the other 50% they hang out with a different (at least to some extent) group of kids and adults.

From an overall contacts POV, why not just have them in a larger bubble at school?

@LaurieFairyCake

God no

Same here

It's an idea, but how is it any safer or better than schools reopening?

Schools should reopen normally. Most seem to point to children being unlikely to pass it to adults, adults are more likely to pass to each other. Kids go back as normal, adults socially distance

@GinDaddyRedux

"People in Britain tend not to do collective well, especially when it's easier to just start shouting "my taxes pay for this, go back to fecking work" etc"

Sorry bullshit. You clearly haven't seen the excellently organised examples of mutual aid during the crisis to date, or heard of the co-operative movement. We do this stuff. However I am working 50 - 60 hours per week (I run an non-profit), I do pro bono bidwriting for charities, care for my octogenarian and immunocompromised mother, am trying to manage my own mental and physical health, and do half the housework, and do my half the parenting and homeschooling of 3 teens and tweens, hopefully not utterly joylessly.

So you can bugger off with your suggestion that it's just not in the national psyche. Very few - only the fortunate - have capacity for what you are suggesting. Everyone I know is operating beyond their limits already.