Wraparound care at school cancelled

[Citytocountry1]

I’ve just opened an email from our school sent last thing on Friday saying they can no longer operate wraparound care as it’s not viable due to lower numbers since last term. They said they tried to find a solution but unfortunately there isn’t one. They didn’t even consult us parents who use it and ask us for more money or even say to the wider school use it or lose it, just decided to close it in March. I would gladly have paid more or had a discussion to figure out how to make it viable.

I work in a non wfh business 4 full 9-5 days a week, Thursday I work until 2.30 so I can pick them up at 3.15pm once a week. The children attend 4 days a week after school. Husband works in a production/manufacturing role and he is going to see what his work will let him reduce hours wise but we know that means pay reduction.

there are no childminders in our area, no nanny’s on childcare websites, the last childminder closed during Covid, we sadly don’t have family in the country so no help there, and the nearest school with wraparound is over 8 miles in the other direction of my work. I don’t really have any friends to ask either, we are quite new here we do know school parents but we don’t have the kind of relationships which some seem to have with each other to ask them to take our children home to theirs after school for nearly 3 hours. That’s a huge ask and I don’t know anyone who would do it.

just so upset and stressed tonight lots of tears and worry about what we do now. I don’t even know what to say to my work, the kind of job I do I can’t do from home and we can’t afford for me to lose it. Aren’t school supposed to consult and figure out how to help make it work?

feeling so panicked about this happening and sad as the children enjoyed the activities at after school and we were able to work knowing they were looked after 😓

It’s run by the school itself which is why I am a bit concerned it hasn’t all been better communicated. Thank you. You are right I need to try and stop panicking and try and find a solution

Are there any larger schools in a nearby town with wraparound?

You might find more choice of childminders at a school in town too.

This is it, we are rural so it’s even more limited than it’s ever been. The school were promoting the service to try and attract new reception children this September which is why I can’t believe they are now doing this

The nearest one is a 30 minute drive further from my work, the next nearest school doesn’t have wraparound (I’ve just had someone post on one of my local Facebook groups telling me they only do breakfast club as wrap around)

i feel awful having to move my children they love the school

Nobody said women have to sacrifice themselves to hang around the school gates 👀 That is not a great attitude.

Boils me that some people think school should be responsible for your (the general 'your') childcare and that it should only fall on woman. How very 1950s.

It’s a Church of England school but our numbers are down massively this year due to a few moves and a big head count of year 6 leavers last year. Reception only had 5 enrolments in sep 2025 which was apparently half what they anticipated.

Because they attracted the new intake, job done goal achieved.

The school were struggling, the school are still struggling.

Is there any chance you could reduce your hours for 2 of your longer days and DH reduced his hours for the other two days? I know it may be a bit of a financial hit but I can't see any other viable option for you in this situation.

I'd also be concerned they might actually shut down the school if enrolment doesn't improve too.

So they have half the budget of last year but still the same overheads, staffing costs,. heating bills etc. Not really a wonder they've had to pull it tbh.

Yes this could now be a worry too

I think this is what we will have to do just need our bosses to approve given our jobs it’s not going to be the easiest task

Where is your partner in all this, OP? Since previous poster raised the point of sacrifice falling on women.

Does your partner/DH work flexibly?

If you are in England, talk to your Family Information Service or Early Years and Childcare Team at your local Council https://finder.familyandchildcaretrust.org/kb5/fct/childcarefinder/home.page as they may not be aware that the provision is closing.

Also, not all childminders advertise and your Family Information Service can contact them on your behalf to see if they can help.

I mentioned him in my first post he works in a business which is hands on, needs to be present line management of people operating machinery etc so not much flexibility but he is going to ask first thing tomorrow if it’s a possibility to start at 7 and finish at 2.30 twice a week. Then I’ll ask my boss the same for the other two days.

Thank you I hadn’t realised this, I’ll have a good look through

Now schools are used as childcare.

I’ve never understood what people mean by this?

That would be a great compromise if you can both do this. How old are the kids? Hopefully it won't be too long until you can go back to working normal hours once they're a bit older.

9 7 and just turned 6 so a long way to go get really

Does the school 30 mins away have wraparound?

Schools aren't there to provide childcare. They are there to educate the children. If they have lots of children who need care at the beginning and end of the day, they normally try to provide it, but it isn't what they are there for. If they run care they have to be able to pay at least two staff members, pay the caretaker long hours, pay the cleaners to come back to clean where after school club has used later in the day. Even if those people are minimum wage that's about to be £12.21 per hour - 3-6pm is 3 hours, that's £36.63 per person who has to stay on, that's at least £73.26 per night for the two staffing the club. Plus something for heating and lighting and resources, and maybe for the caretaker if they had to come back to lock up. That could easily work out at £100 per night, maybe more. I'm really sorry you are in this situation, but you can't blame the school for not running the club at a loss.

Do you know how many other children use the current service? I'd be interested to find out what they will do.
I think we all understand that school isn't childcare, but it's not unreasonable for OP to have used the service they offered and to be upset that it is being removed with no consultation and very little notice.

Presumably because it didn’t attract more parents who need to work and can’t do a 3.15 pick-up!

Whilst the school could run this service at a loss, that would obviously have an impact on provision elsewhere. As it’s such a small school it won’t have many options for making the necessary savings from its core provision. It could possibly sack a teacher or a TA or two, but the school presumably took the decision that the best course of action for the majority of pupils was to close the after school provision.

I’m not unsympathetic, especially given the short notice. There was no after-school provision at my children’s school until the younger one was in year 6, but I was lucky that a neighbour with children of a similar age agreed to look after mine before and after school. I hope you can find a suitable alternative arrangement.

But it would be/would have been naive to assume the service would have longevity knowing the low numbers and extremely low reception intake. Naive not to consider alternative childcare provision, particularly in a situation where there is no 'village' to lean on in times of need and in a remote rural setting.

Can you coordinate with other parents - you do Thursday, others cover remaining 4 days? Not ideal.