Or will I need to leave my job and possibly career when DD starts school?!

[Oneanddone88]

I'm a head of department in a school 75 mins from home. Been there 12 years and am valued and respected. Partner also works an hour away from home 3 days per week. No local family etc.
When I applied for schools, I had to pick the ones with some form of wrap-around. I'll find out in April which will accept DD.
Wrap-around near me is pretty poor, local school has none at all. However, even the ones that do, it's 8.30 til 5pm latest.
We've got some savings and I could ensure I had about 3 months bills saved up before the summer. Am I totally bonkers to leave my job ? I just don't see how it's even going to be doable.
I've applied for a remote education related job this eve, but I'm so sad that I'll have to leave my current place.
Anyone else had to make a drastic change when their little ones started school? Can I keep her in nursery forever please ? 🤣
Local childminders also pretty non existent too. Can't move location either (step child )

@Caterina99 yes definitely. I think this probably does have to be the driving force for me coming closer to home.
I have a decision to make , do I hand my notice in end of May even without a job so that I'm not going back and commuting in September when DD starts school. My savings can tide me over a few months but it feels very very scary.

I would be very reluctant to give up my job from your description of your role. Good teaching jobs are gold dust.

I'm not sure why you think it is a binary "stay in this job" vs "give up work".

Unless you live on some remote island off the Scottish coast, surely there a lots of schools that are a LOT closer to home.

However that still won't resolve the childcare fully, if the wraparound doesn't start until 8.30. Who does that serve exactly ?
dh used to drop our dc at school breakfast club at 7.45.

Have you looked at local Nurseries ? Many of the Nurseries around here do wrap around care from early until late (the normal hours daycare is open).

You might find childminders will have spaces nearer the time. Keep talking to people, asking who they know. I found our afterschool care by word of mouth - she never advertised anywhere.

Childminder to do drop off and pick up, nanny share, some nurseries do afterschool clubs. What is your current childcare arrangement?

@Hankunamatata three times a week (for 8 years ).
@Talipesmum yes makes sense

75 min commute for one parent and 60 min commute for the other is insane.

Current arrangement is nursery but they don't offer wraparound. There's another nursery a mile further away but they only help with specific schools (I've applied for one ).
Ultimately until I get the school place in April i should hangfire a bit, but also look for jobs in the meantime.

OP have you thought of private school? Friend actually says private primary has worked out cheaper than wrap around care or nanny. She chose one between her work and home. He dc do homework in the car on the way home. Her commute is an hour each way.

@EatYourVegetables yep! Other annoying thing is, is that DPS commute was only 20 mins and only twice a week in office. But now the office has moved location further from us (this month) and they've upped days needed in the office.

@Hankunamatata hadn't crossed my mind but I'll certainly look in to it, thank you.

I think it's pretty common for people to travel 75mins+ each way these days.

The commutes are not actually unusual for parents who live rurally. When I lived in country most parents commented for an hour. Unfortunately if a child was ill they had to wait until parent got there. That's life.

@UsingChangeofName I know , 8.30 breakfast club is pretty useless for us !

Good luck OP - it’s not easy. But you could have a lot of teaching years left - if you’re mid 30’s (guess from your name) over 20 years maybe? So it’s not a bad idea to look to move. And in the meantime a nanny could really help, as wherever you go, even if you move to work a lot closer, teachers often have long days. And a CM may come up at some point - keep looking and asking. Has to be better than just giving up work. Don’t panic!

Not possible since Brexit. Only from a very small number of Commonwealth countries, and they're very rarely interested. European au pairs are only possible if they already live here and have Settled Status - but that's not the point of an au pair. To all intents and purposes it's then a nanny, so a lot more expensive than au pairs used to be.

We're not having anymore kids (hence username 🤣) , so I suppose I've got to see my decision as something that won't be affected by disruption of maternity etc . I think really , this is probably the right time to be looking for a more local job. And also when it comes to being with DD and not rushing out the door etc, it would be better for her too.

I was also going to say could you manage private school? The hours are much easier with parents working and usually have wrap-around or after school clubs. Also try Facebook groups for your local area, search the word 'childminder' or ask for recommendations.

@Talipesmum thank you ! Yes am 34 , and probably will be working another 30 years. I will definitely look at a nanny and look at childminders again in a couple of months. I'm also going to apply for jobs. Might even apply for non teaching ones.

If you get a job in a private school you may get reduced fees for DD!

@PragmaticWench will try that thank you. I never ever imagined it would all be this tricky when having children. The first years it's horrendously expensive in nursery fees and then the next 10 years it's stressful because of logistics.

My daughter went to private primary after the disaster of the local school for reception and yr1.
It was cheaper than we were paying for full time nursery, excellent wrap around care, clubs and lunches included.
Well worth looking at.

One option would be to change to a different environment to teach. Apprenticeship Assessors to deliver Level 5 and Level 6 Teaching Apprenticeships are sought after and usually very flexible with wfh and only planned visits out. You would have time to gain your Assessor's Qualifications.
What subject is your specialism?
Other than that I would agree a nanny. Do you have room for live in Mon - Fri, thereby keeping costs down a bit?

@PragmaticWench ooh there's a thought! I think I just need to psychologically get over this barrier of leaving my current place , I think I have so much loyalty and I'm terrified of the unknown.

Retirement is 67 or 68 so over 30 really!

@GordonShakespearedoesChristmas someone else mentioned this to me recently, do you know if the pay is competitive? I actually think it could be an option. I teach two subjects, one of which is health and social care , so it's definitely a possibility for me.