School wrap-around - what do we do ?

[Oneanddone88]

Hi,
DD (4) just started reception. I chose the school based on local reputation plus the availability of breakfast club and after school club to facilitate us still working. The school explained to us in a meeting that the after school club runs daily.
Fast forward to a week before term in September and the club (who are a private company hired by the school), says they aren't running due to a lack of staff.
Panic stations as we have no local family and not huge flexibility with our jobs. Partner WFH twice a week so collects then and I work 4 days. So we needed after school club for two afternoons.
The schools response was 'that's a shame but nothing we do'.
We've had to juggle it with another local parent who collects on the two days we needed and we take her DS to school every day. Workable in the very short term but not long term as she is having to leave work super early those days and meet important meetings.
I've emailed the school a few times asking for updates and it's all very 'no nothing sorry '.

I'm at the point where I'm wondering do we move schools to one where they have nursery wraparound.
Also one childminder serves the school we chose, and she's full with a waiting list.

What has also annoyed me is that when we went to info afternoon with the school where they told us the club runs daily , that it wasn't even true. The after-school club told us they ran for two days a week last academic year , and not even the days we needed.

Has anyone else experienced similar before? I feel very stressed. I changed my job of 12 years due to DD starting school and wonder now why I bothered as we're in a worse logistical situation thanks to this.

There's nothing from the club or school about when this is going to be resolved.

Things that have changed: lower TFR so fewer kids, worse funding, more parents able to work remotely and flexibly so use no/less wraparound, covid having killed some provision off that never came back, not having enough workers in society generally meaning lower paid and inflexible roles are harder to fill and costs being much higher in real terms than they were in the 00s.

It's a combination of mostly structural factors. Which is why the people whose takes are basically that the individual OP/school are at fault for no suitable provision existing are wrong.

And yep, of course provision can be non financially viable. Due to low demand, not being able to get staff at a low enough rate or a mixture of both.

In response to posts like these OP, no it’s not the school’s responsibility to sort your childcare but it IS their responsibility to stick to what they’ve offered and promised, especially since you made decisions around this. I think the only real option is to move schools to one but check from other parents that they do offer what they’ve said they’re going to offer! Hope you get sorted!

But how do the school ‘stick to what they offered’ with no staff and no funding. School budgets are so tight, they can't afford the things they have to provide. They are no going to stand the losses the WRAC makes.

Do we have any volunteers to run WRAC?

I think a better way to put it is that the school should've been more careful about what they said in the first place. And indeed are still saying on their website. It's not realistic to expect them to rustle up provision even when the mistake is their fault, but they could at least ensure they stop making it.

They can do what many Private Schools do and open up when the teachers arrive (approx 30-45 mins earlier as standard). State School employ qualified teachers so they could each have 30 kids in a class room and put on the TV for an hour (and ask parents to bring packed lunch) as the bare minimim. They chose not to do that

State School employ qualified teachers so they could each have 30 kids in a class room and put on the TV for an hour (and ask parents to bring packed lunch) as the bare minimim. They chose not to do that

The Directed Hours budget would not allow them to do that. Most teachers spent the half an hour prior to the kids arriving out queueing next to the printer so wouldn’t be able to look after 30 children all eating breakfast!

1. Schools are already open at secondary, at least, from 7.30ish onwards. Directed time for an hour would quickly swallow up the year's allocation, leaving nothing for after school.

1. What about the teachers'/TAs'/Support staff children? Where is their breakfast club starting at 6.30am at the latest to enable teachers and TAs and support staff to travel to their schools for 7.20am?

1. What about SLT meetings, line management where you catch them before the start of the day, staff briefing, etc? We're back to about 6am now/5.15am for their children's clubs.

Do you think all these teachers are just sat on their arses drinking tea before lessons start?

I actually can't believe people are suggesting that teachers do it. They already have full times jobs.

Now what would be a consideration would be to have lunch staff, do the lunches, clean up etc then do afterschool.

That could turn a part-time job into nearly full-time if someone wanted those hours. Start slightly later so they can get kids into school and free child place at afterschool.

But beyond the initial subsidies to get Afterschool up and running it should eventually be self-funding

But we have just 2 children who go to after school club on Fridays ( it is run by a local nursery) if we tried to do it in house we would need to charge around £20 per hour just to cover costs. Our parents can't afford that!

Teachers who are in before and after school are there to get things set up and do their work. If you add in having to supervise children then that means they even end up working even longer hours or work isn’t marked and planning and preparation work isn’t done.

most teachers leave our school long before ASC finishes - most of them because they need to get back for their own children!

I'm pleased I'm not the only poster that thinks this is a ridiculous and unworkable idea.

Actually as I said up thread. As a HT I did have to do this for a while to save money and to make sure WRAC was fully staffed. However, my governing board stopped the arrangement. This was due to due regard for my health and well-being, my already huge workload and priorities. I also needed to meet with parents and staff before and after school and sometimes I needed to be off-site, for child protection meetings, professional development and locality meetings.

I have my own children to sort in the mornings and after school; I will not be going in early and staying late to look after other people's children, especially unpaid.

FFS

I get in at about 7.40 so I can get an hour of work done whilst it’s quieter, before school starts.

If I have to now spend that time UNPAID but I have to additionally look after thirty 4/5 year olds, keeping them all watching the television, making sure they’ve eaten, cleaned up, been to the toilet, washed their hands plus managing behaviour when they inevitably get bored of the telly and start talking, when am I going to get my work done?