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 😓

That happened to us, vote with your feet and move schools. 8 miles is hardly far away.

Yes, when the same thing happened to me, I did find one new childminder from 6 miles away who would pickup. But she was open that she was still advertising locally, and as soon as she got someone nearer, she would drop us with min notice.

One option might be a taxi service to a further away club or childminder?

This is the point though isn’t it. 20 years of backlash for you and for someone now in a situation you were in the system still doesn’t work for those with children and both parents who need to work 20 years later. What do we all do? It’s hard when the school sold us the provision of wraparound around care run by the school staff, at no point did they ever say it would be an at risk service or discuss how to make it sustainable. As far as we could tell it wasn’t an issue until suddenly this week it is.

Were they charging enough? ASC at my child’s school is £15 for 2 1/2 hrs and the price is going up soon. It’s run independently, is for a bigger school and I know they have a fine balance to make it a worthwhile business.

We would be absolutely screwed if either breakfast or afterschool club closed. Not everyone has flexibility in their jobs. I have no idea how we’d do it. Like you, wraparound childcare had to be the main deciding factor when picking a school.

Yes. I wouldn't put my child in ASC if there was only one member of staff. Nor would I want to work on my own. It could open up so many problems.

Can you ask the governors for a breakdown of the finances and the costs involved. What are you currently paying?

eg for my wraparound it it £17 per session for 3 hours and that includes a snack.

There are normally 3 members of staff at what I would guess around £15 an hour plus Ni/pension (so add an extra 20%) so id estimate £165 in staffing plus another £15 minimum for snacks. I think they need 10-11 kids to break even.

OP If you’ve got 3 kids using wraparound I imagine you are disproportionately affected. How many children other than yours are regularly using it and what is the pricing model? You might be able to suggest a switch to a funding model that provides more certainty for the school ( eg paying a full term in advance or agreeing to every session) or a higher fee.

It depends where you are, but a similar thing happened to me though it was more to do with times.
it ended up being cheaper to send mine to a private school than to pay a childminder. Madness but it worked for us.

Got to be a fair chance it's because they know they can't staff it? If nobody wants the work then it isn't viable, and in a small rural school there must be a greater risk of that.

Hope you can sort something out soon though.

I think we’re going to see more of this happening, sadly.

The reality is that many, many ASC run at a loss but the school/governors feel it’s important to absorb.

But as funding continues to be tight, costs increasing and birth rate reducing, it’s going to get worse and less justifiable.

Our wrap around had a three year waiting list at our school and they won't let you use all the days.
I have literally had to change to a work from home job, I am now in debt too due to salary cut. And completely buggering up my career.
Sorry OP it is shit. Whay about an au pair?

OP you have my sympathy as this happened to us last summer, the wraparound care next to the school (which also ran a school holiday club) was privately run they told parents it was closing last July.

Because it was heavily used, enough parents spoke to the school headteacher and governors and they were able to reinstate it from September, it’s now run by some of the TAs and dinner ladies who are doing a fab job. They only do before and after school care but it was an absolute life saver.

Could you contact the school and see if there’s anything they are able to do. It’s a shame you aren’t on a class WhatsApp group as there was a lot of us freaking out about it who all went to the school to voice our concerns about what we would do.

I know people say that school isn’t childcare but trying to work a full time job alongside 9-3 school drop off and pick ups is very difficult if you can’t work from home, don’t have other help available.

Hope you can find a solution OP, such late notice of the closure.
Both my children are at special school with zero wraparound care. My DH and I are both now working part time to cover all the drop offs and pick ups. It’s tough.

This.

That is exactly what I was going to say. Finding staff that only want a few hours in the morning and afterschool is difficult. Having been involved in this a few times it’s really challenging, schools often have to outsource and these companies definitely will not run at a loss. Schools are running in tightrope budgets and so just can’t afford to lose money.
I’m not without sympathy, I would be in a med without wraparound care so completely understand, but not sure blaming the school is necessarily fair. They quite possible have no choice.

Just come to send my sympathy OP. I hope you manage to find a solution. We would be absolutely up the creek if our school couldn’t do the wrap around and holiday club.
Youve had a couple of posters telling you school isn’t childcare but many families have both parents working now and rely on their school wraparound services, and do not expect them to be pulled away without warning or notice.

School budgets are shit, birth rates falling so numbers at school are falling so money given to school is falling. Some schools may run ASC at a loss for awhile, but at some point they may have to say enough is enough. It is possible that the parent running the club wants to leave and the school realised this is the time to pull it as they really can’t afford to keep it going, or the school is looking at their budget and realise they just can’t afford it as not enough parents are using it.

It’s a pity they didn’t put out a survey or something to see if more parents would use it, but that doesn’t mean it would end up being viable. If they are making a loss on it then that means something else in the school is missing out on funds.

I assume they have been provisionally notified of their numbers for reception in September and can see their budgets falling even more.

You might be able to see governor minutes on the school website which might include discussion on closure of ASC

No parent should be forced to work part time or not work to facilitate schooling,

Ideally not, but someone has to be willing to work the hours needed for the childcare & for the money offered.

This is what I thought why wouldn’t they try a different model for at least one term. They already don’t charge enough and a few of us parents mentioned it’s £8 until 6pm and £7 for each sibling also attending. Only £2.50 for the parents who use it until 4.15pm. (1 hour) my children are in until 6pm along with 3 others sometimes more but in the hour session there are usually another 8-10 children. If they had kept the hour session as the bare minimum and raised its priced to at least give us all some breathing space, or give us the option to pay more . I’ve always booked and paid the term ahead of time

School finding had been an issue for years. If they had an I take of only 5 reception, the funding won't even cover the staffing for that group. Falling numbers and years of under funding are now starting to have impacts that parents are feeling, teachers have been warning about this for years and the media general public have not taken it seriously. I don't understand how school funding has not been a major issue in general and local elections.

It is extremely inconvenient for you but I think it's the reality that schools are cut to the bone so it's an extra that would most likely be cut. I would also say with a reception intake of 5, roll numbers may put the school in a very precarious position and it may be worth looking into what your options may be for alternative schooling that meets your needs better.

Yes this could be the issue - the OP has 3 children using ASC so is disproportionately affected. How many other families use it and every day? Based on the description of it being a small school and low intake in reception I am guessing it may just be the OP and one or two other families which is not sustainable and not going to significantly impact many others across the school by closing it.

I would also disagree with putting the costs up. This won't attract more people and as a school is it worth having an ASC to benefit one family?

Not sure about that, as putting the provision out to tender for private companies doesn't mean any will come forward. It's a tiny rural school with falling rolls and there aren't actually that many people wanting to work those hours. Even in cities where there are many more potential employees available, some schools are struggling to staff the provision.

I do hope OP can sort something out, but I'm not sure it's going to be an after school club.

I think facebook best bet and asking everyone you know. Two girls in my DD’s primary class had a ‘nanny’ - one was a retired lady, another a sahm with a baby. Both were easy jobs - pick up one well behaved girl take her to activities and feed her an easy tea. Might suit a student too.

Thank you. It’s so hard isn’t it. I’m also
financially supporting my remaining parent who has cancer so I really can’t afford to lose my income. 💐

Also rural, also no wraparound. They’ll have been promoting it trying to increase the numbers attending …

how many children actually attended ? Numbers must have been low.

@Citytocountry1 they may be making some redundancies, cutting contracts? I assume the school has mixed years if only 5 came into reception.