Teachers! How do you manage childcare?

[Leslienope]

So I have 3 children (1, 3 and 5). 5 yo is in reception, 3yo and 1yo at nursery. Am going back to work 3 days a week shortly.

I have to be at work by 7.30 (I'm a teacher) and it's a 30 min drive. DH works with Asia so has 8am meetings every day and a 1 hour commute to the office.

Has anyone got any other childcare solutions other than a nanny? I just don't know how to get them where they need to be and get myself to work as well...

Why do teachers have different childcare arrangements to anyone else? Surely this is just a normal childcare question

Because teachers have less flexibility on hours, certainly the latest start time tends to be earlier than others can sometimes negotiate. Because condensed hours usually aren’t possible. Because they don’t need childcare in the holiday.

Off the top of my head, and not being a teacher, those are a few obvious ones to me.

I have a teacher friend who has a meeting at school every day at 7.45, apart from one day she gets a chance to take her children to breakfast club as she only has to get to work for 8.15. It happens.

My medic friends who need to leave early use a childminder who does school pick ups and drop offs and daytime childcare for the younger ones. It’s probably your best bet..

Thanks everyone for a lot of helpful, practical suggestions.

My contractual start time is 8.10 but I get nervous leaving it late because it's a very bad drive after 7.15. But yes, may need to rethink.

I've looked at nurseries nearer work which is also an excellent suggestion and we'll almost certainly need to compromise on our start times too.

I am reluctant to get a nanny because that's my whole salary! Also, as I understand it, it might be hard to find a term time only nanny and I don't want to pay someone to help with the kids when I am off too (the house is too small for starters!)

@Byebyeboris

You use a nanny or childminder like everyone else has to and be happy that you chose a career path that gives you so many holidays. It’s got to be one of the best professionals for sorting childcare. As all your children move into being a school it should hopefully improve for you.

It absolutely will be once they're a bit older and that's part of the reason I chose it. But right now it's a bit of a headache with two early starts. Appreciate many people have the same issue which is why I was asking for how others made it work for them.

Why do teachers have different childcare arrangements to anyone else

My DC childminder didn't start until 8 and agreed to 7.45. It was a fairly long drive for us both to get to school & it was really difficult to get there for 8.15 for briefing, get set up for lessons 8.35.

Their primary school had no breakfast club & I never found a childminder who dropped off there. They started 8.20 so majority of parents can drop off and get to work for 9. So there wasn't enough uptake.

Then there's nights when you both have parents evening. Those seem to be online now so I imagine that's easier.

In the end DH got a job there. But even so he sometimes had meetings so we used after school club. They used to sit for ages in his classroom on the mornings he took them in.

For us it was the mornings - after school was fine as they just went to after school club.

It's an earlier start than most jobs. That's the issue. Also you can't be late.

Another mum at school looking for an extra bit of pocket money might be your best bet.

Were you both in these jobs when you returned to work after having the other two children? What did you do then?

I'm also a teacher and would love to be in getting sorted at 7:30 but nursery only opens at this time so in reality I'm skidding into work flustered at about 8:15 always as the last one to arrive. You just have to be super efficient and organised and get everything prepared in lunch breaks and evenings. And lose a bit of your pride in being there early

If the roads are a nightmare have you looked at any alternative routes? Or nurseries close to work or childminders with earlier opening times.

If you want nursery one near your work or your husband’s. Or one near a factory or hospital might do early start. Or childminder.
Term time nanny might appeal to someone eg who has older children who get bus to school but would appreciate holidays off.
Good luck.

My husband is a teacher and about half an hours drive to work. I'm also working about half an hour away. Our nursery drop off is 8 am - as my work is more flexible i tend to do it. He's had friends who's children go to nursery in the same town as the school rather than near home.

Jobshare where you do 5 afternoons + 1 morning session? More expensive on childcare and you don’t get the full days off, but needs must.

Did you got back in between 1 and 2 and 2 and 3? Anything you’ve forgotten that helped then?

Look properly forward and make big decision… are you likely to stay at your school? Does it have good primaries with wraparound care nearby? Move. I don’t say it lightly - but with 3 kids, juggling childcare is going to go on for years. Living next to your work and their school is life changing in terms of stress levels and time saved to do better things. Can also look at you moving schools too, if moving to your school area is a bad option.

Only works for us because dh does all the drop offs. I go in early so get more done then and don't have to work as late at night. We split pick ups. A childminder who does school and nursery drop off is good, when they start school a before and after school club works well. But with 3 dc the price of a nanny might not be that much different

And just as I’m suggesting you review your work location, I also think this is the time for your husband to look at his. More and more companies are keeping hybrid models. He’s already got an hour’s commute. Maybe it’s time for his to ditch AsiaPac role for US one, and arrange his work life to fit with 3 very young children getting off to school for the next 10 years.

Pre kids I was in school for 6.45am…. Now with 2 kids I get in for 7.50am Lucky that I drop one kid at nursery at 7.30 and the other at either breakfast club/my dads/ a class friends house for 7.40

Ah but I live about 4 min from my school and 5 min from my kids school/nursery:my dads so that all helps

Look at nurseries attached to local hospitals. Many nurses and doctors start work at 8 so often those nurseries will be open from 7 or 7.30

Some large secondary schools have nurseries that open early too. One near us is open from 7.30-4.30 so seems to cater only for teaching staff!

You will live to regret it if all the child arrangements are left to you. You need some time when you can work later to get stuff done without clock watching. Also gets the habit of it all being your job. You are already taking the hit of being part time which leaves 2 full days a week with no childcare issues (and helps a lot when the dc need to be off sick as well).

I would ask for a more flexible start time. P1 off each day. Things are starting to shift for working mothers.

I had a similar working day I my old teaching job. I had to leave my house by 7am at the latest or it would take over an hour to get to work. Very busy inner city traffic, I lived in a village. If I left at 7am I could whizz in and be there at 7.25am. The children were in the classroom at 8.30 and it was good to get a head start on the day.

I used a local childminder who would greet me at the door in her dressing gown at 6.55am and give the children breakfast. I used to put the baby and toddler in long sleeve top and leggings for bed the night before so I just had to quickly brush their teeth, change baby's nappy and get them out of the door in the morning.

It wasn't easy and I only worked 3 days a week.

@mnahmnah

I haven’t heard of a school where you need to be in at 7.30. We have to be there for 8.50, many people with children fly in at last minute. It just means getting everything organised and set up the night before.

I've never worked in a primary school where you've been in after 7.30!

Maybe it's different in secondary?

Absolutely no way could you rock into a primary classroom at 8.50.

@glowingtwig

I would ask for a more flexible start time. P1 off each day. Things are starting to shift for working mothers.

Why should everyone else have to accommodate your lifestyle choice!!!

FFS.

Not a teacher, but I used to have to start my long commute to work before the nursery and school opened.

I used a childminder who looked after the children before school/nursery, drove them there, collected them at the end of the school day and then kept them until I got home.

It worked very well (not least because she was a neighbour and had children the same age as mine who attended the same school/nursery).

I can see a few solutions that might work.

1. Put in a flexible work request to vary your start time. My DH is a teacher and arrives at work at 8.15 after dropping younger dc at morning club en route
2. Find a childminder that will do early starts
3. Get a term time nanny. They do exist and will make your life a lot easier

We have childminders locally who are pretty flexible with times so definitely look around. It will be hard as you need 3 spaces and pick up at one particular school.

Since your hours are not flexible, I would push to get your dp to ask to start later if at all possible.

As you say, it will be worth it when all 3 are in school but childcare may be complicated until then. Hope you find something.

I would’ve thought that a nanny would probably not be more expensive than 2 in nursery and one in some kind of wraparound childcare. But I could be wrong. Also I think some would be interested in term time only.

Plus with a nanny you generally don’t have the same levels of illness as a nursery setting. And also don’t underestimate the improvement in your quality of life in not having to get yourself and 3 kids dressed, fed and in the car by 7am daily. Child minder is definitely a good option too and they can often be flexible