To ask those of you with school age kids

[IceAndLemonPlease]

Primary aged, what do you do for before and after school care?
DD’s grandma will take care of her beginning of the week then DH the latter.

I'm a SAHM so I look after them.

DH takes them, his work is 5 minutes walk from the school. They go to afterschool club until 5:30 when I collect them.

We both work part-time so only have two days a week we would need wraparound.

We were going to have them attend breakfast and after school on site at the school (private provider though).

However in the end my DF offered to cover it for us instead. In practice he has frequently been unavailable and instead he has asked my ill DM, or my DB, or a few times where we have had some notice either me or DH has had to use some leave. This has been a headache and now there are no spaces left at the wraparound clubs so we are stuck. So I wish I had booked them in!

DH has also just got agreement with work that he will begin WFH one of the mornings in a few weeks so he can do the school run on that morning which will be something at least to rely less on my family.

Breakfast and after school clubs.

Ps some childminders will do wrap around care, and then provide cover in the holidays

I’m a carer for my DS, so I’m there for drop offs and pick ups for my children as I don’t work.

Pay for wrap around every morning morning and every after school

My dad and husband work opposite shifts so there is always someone to do the school runs (and take me to and from work 😁) I'm very lucky that my dad helps out so much.

I drop DS off before I go to work. Gates open at 8.20am and then they just play in the playground until they have to line up at 8.45am. There's staff supervising at that time.
In the afternoons, he's at after school club.

I found wraparound care a bit of a nightmare, tbh. First year I had a babysitter 3 days a week but she was horrendously flakey and keep vanishing with various excuses, which I suspect was because she was taking other temporary jobs when she could and throwing me over, the other two days were a nanny share with a friend.

For a year I did a childminder next to school but then she stopped having school age kids. Luckily after school club started after that but I had to really dash home up catch closing time. Then had two years of au pairs, which is great solution if you have the space but you will have at least one disastrous one (we just had one!). The covid happened and by the time that was done we didn't need after school childcare anymore.

Makes me tired just writing it down!

Same childminder as we had before they started school. She does wrap around, inset days, some sick days (eg a stinking cold) and is generally the best thing in our lives!

Wraparound care/link club provided by an outside company (not tan by school, but they only serve our school).

From Reception he went to both breakfast and after school club 4 days a week, the other day my mum dropped him and picked him up.
Since lockdown, and me now WFH two days a week, he doesn't go on the days I WFH (unless he asks to go to after school club for a particular reason).

He's usually dropped off between 7:30 and 7:45am. Pickup time varies, it's not often he's there until 6pm (closing time) due to activities he has in the evening, but some days he is there until finish and some days he actually asks me to get him at finish!

Breakfast club and after school club

Whichever of us is WFH drops them off. We have an after-school nanny. School is 5mins walk away.

Drop off on my way to work. Then in the afternoon we either use wrap around care, or DH or I take a late lunch to pick DS up and drop him at his sports lessons/clubs. We can WFH, which is the only way we can do it.

I’m dropping to two days for this reason. Hopefully DH will be able to do one pick up if he works from home one day a week. I don’t really like the thought of them being in after school club but will have to for one day.

I’m a SAHM so do all drop offs and pick-ups.

im A shift worker and two set days in the week, so only need childcare two days. My DS9 and DS5 go to a childminder at 8am before school then after school until 5pm… they don’t work any later.

we’ve also had a nanny prior to this but that was when DS2 was a baby

Hope you live somewhere with good local after school provision. When I lived in a big city there was the school asc plus a local church did a pick up and ran an asc.

There is always ad hoc childminders and students who might help

Its for this reason ive chosen to be self employed and I fit my work into school hours

Wrap around care which is school have outsourced to a private company. There’s a long waiting list. It’s open til 6pm.

Mix of grandparents, after school club and me working a few hours less than full time. Also can drop her off early enough in the morning to still get to work on time without using breakfast club which is handy.

Dp plays with the kids (reception aged and almost 2 - full time nursery) until they leave at 8.10am. I collect oldest from school, do homework (!!!), collect baby from nursery at 5 and we both work evenings after they sleep. It's very very tough as neither sleeps through.

Breakfast and after school clubs and for a few years we did a swap with another family - I had them one day, they did the next.

I work 3 days a week. Husband works from home (even pre covid) so takes her in the morning. There’s an after school club at the hall next door that collects from school and local pre school. Grandparents do one evening. We are very lucky after school are flexible if we need extra sessions or breakfast club when husband away. Costs a lot though! (£16 for after school)

Breakfast club and teatime club.