To think schools should get with the times re working parents.

[working8til4]

Why can't they be open 8-6 for everyone? It would help reduce gender inequality in the work place

AIBU - DON'T BE SILLY
YANBU - actually you have a point

PS families pay for these but costs are far less than a childminder would charge.

I have an amazing idea. I just need a mate in govt to bankroll this idea for me. I set up a huge national wrap around child care company (I will ask my govt mate to make sure my company is an exclusive provider of wrap around). This company will provide 7am -7pm child care every day of the year except Christmas day, boxing day, New years day, Easter Sunday and Monday and bank holidays. All staff will be entitled to free childcare with the company for the hours they work. Of course as a mate of someone in govt, I will charge an extortionate amount for my services and barely provide but it will be all bankrolled by the tax payer. I will also charge extortionate amounts for extra services, like dressing the children, feeding your child all 3 meals, toilet training, bathing them, doing homework, researching extra curricular options for you, there will be a school uniform buying service every holiday where for an extortionate amount we will fit your child for their school uniform and have their feet measured.

It will be a fantastic company, as a government bankrolled organization we will take your child and provide for them from 9 months old so you are free to work every hour your job needs you. You will only have to worry about their welfare between 7pm and 7am and during bank holidays and Christmas day, boxing day and at Easter.

Now off to find a government mate to bankroll this for me, can't wait to be a multi millionaire this time next year.

Why should the school organise it? What if it’s not financially viable? Not every parent would want that.

YABU that’s an awfully long day for children and teachers to work.

However what does need to change is access to decent wrap around care. With enough spaces for everyone that needs it and is suitable for children with disabilities.

When my daughter starts school in September I’ll likely have to give up work because the after school and holiday club can’t cater to her disability.

People will complain about the bank holidays. 😂

I don’t think it would be unreasonable to make sure all schools have adequate wraparound care. Holiday clubs in the UK are also a joke with many finishing at 3:30pm having started at 9:00am

So not a change in school hours, just a change in childcare culture pRo idea or arranged by the school

That's why they have breakfast and after school club

Lots of people are putting forward how other countries do it to have your kids looked after by someone else, often very nicely, lovely list of activities.

But. Genuinely. Non-goadily. What is the point of having children if you want to outsource their care.

Does anyone have an actual reason which isn't just a defensive 'I can't put them back'.

Because my question is really - if you want to be a career person, that is great and lovely and wonderful - be a career person- but why have children who you won't see? What are you actually having them for?

No. It’s too much for the children - they need to be at home. It’s why there are so many behavioural problems in school now.
It’s employment that needs to change.

Because my question is really - if you want to be a career person, that is great and lovely and wonderful - be a career person- but why have children who you won't see? What are you actually having them for?

Tell me you are middle class without telling me you are middle class.

Just my personal opinion and it probably won't be popular, but why do people have children if they want to put them into some form of childcare for 10 hours at such a young age? They need a parent.

This sounds good, perhaps the UK should take some guidance from other countries

Plenty of countries have longer school days with wraparound care and I don’t think parents are considered bad for using them. Must be a British thing?

Charging a pound an hour for after school care? When there's vast profits to be made from parents?

Do you have an actual answer to the question @VivaVivaa ? That's what I'm looking for. An actual reason why.

Because my question is really - if you want to be a career person, that is great and lovely and wonderful - be a career person- but why have children who you won't see? What are you actually having them for?

Why does using wrap around care mean you don’t see your dc? @arethereanyleftatall Do you feel the same about parents who use boarding schools or private in general as they often have longer days/commutes? Why can’t someone with a career also be a parent? Do you hold fathers to the same standard?

@arethereanyleftatall My circle of friends and colleagues are all teachers and nurses/radiographers. We need wraparound so we can work. You can’t possibly suggesting public service workers need to remain childless?

The problem isn’t that schools aren’t open for long enough in the day, the problem is that parents don’t have enough flexibility or support. We don’t talk enough imo about the poor quality of life of many kids today because parents feel guilty enough about it as it is but we should because on a primal level we know kids should be getting to spend more time at home with their parents than many can. Support for working parents always seems to be about helping them to work more rather than parent more.

Im a working mum and love my career. We shouldn’t be discouraging parents, especially women, from pursuing meaningful careers but unless those careers come with the financial means to afford support then something has to give.

Too many parents now are at the pin of their collar, have no support network and are totally reliant on schools. My sister is a doctor in quite a disadvantaged area and has told me how it’s not uncommon for kids to be brought to school clearly unwell and parents not answer the phone when school tries to contact them. Easy to judge those parents harshly but she found they often had really crappy insecure jobs and risked not being paid or even being fired if they had to take the day off to care for their sick child.

We should be questioning why employers can get away with this, why so many people have no choice but to work long hours or even multiple jobs while raising kids and why quality of life for kids isn’t a bigger talking point.

Or here's a novel idea..... Men could share the load?

Because most people working long, antisocial hours, hence requiring care beyond school hours aren’t ‘career people’. They are people in lower paid service jobs without the luxury of flexibility or working from home. They aren’t working to better themselves or to pay for 3 holidays a year. They are working to keep food on the table and clothes on their backs. I’m wondering - do these people not deserve kids too?

Its ok, in my revised business plan, I am going to propose mass building of huge children's homes and charge absolutely eye watering sums so the child can live in the children's homes year round including bank holidays from 9 months to 18 years of age. I know it will be heavily supported by some big businesses and the government as it completely gets rid of the need to offer flexible hours and allow employees go part time. Everyone will have no reason not to go in the office and so thereby solving the "WFH" crisis. The housing crisis will be solved as no-one will need more than one bedroom so we can build mega high rise 1 bedroom flats. No more nice 4 bed detached in the country because your children need bedrooms, nope your child can go live in my mega boarding house. I might even be able to get some 30 funded hours funding scheme for working parents as well...

My school tried to start a breakfast club last year-they advertised three times for staff. Nobody wanted to work 7am-8.45 term time for minimum wage.

Yes that is what I'm asking for really I think. Just some consideration that actually some family's need two full incomes

Then it should be government subsidised to more than minimum wage

So all teachers would now need an extra hours care at both ends of the day for their children, are you volunteering op?

No they wouldnt