In a pickle and need advise

[AmaraSas]

My babysitter ran away a couple of weeks ago citing "family problems" and going back up north where she came from. She has sinced messages me to say she wont be returning.

Between her leaving and the 5th January i have manage to address the gap, but the 8th Jan is fast approaching and i am
Not getting anywhere with finding a replacement.

She covered the before/after school while i was at work. I am a single mum with no family in the area and i have just moved to this area so i dont have any friends i can reach out to.

I have advertised on childcare.co.uk, nannyjob.co.uk and every single facebook group i can find. I have searched fis and the two sites mentioned and sent messages where it seems someone may match. But i am getting nowhere, i even reached out to a nanny agency but they refused to help.

I have got to the point where I am at a loss at what to do. My son is rising 11 and has special needs so leaving him home alone is not an option. The school has wraparound but they have no places in the new year. Last time my childcare fell through I asked work for flexible working arrangements which they did give me a trial period but at the same time asked me to keep looking, which gave me the distinct impression they werent happy with the flexibility and that all fell through when i found my last babysitter. So this makes me nervous about asking again.

Anyone got any ideas that i havent tried already or advise? Please,

Sorry for the long post.

How about TAs at your son’s school or any mums from school?

With my boy only having been there a term I really dont have school gate mates or anything. I thought reaching out to the school somehow may be of benefit though.

Local Facebook pages
Adverts in shops
Childminders
Ring all your local nurserys and ask if a member of staff would be interested

Done the facebookpages and keep boosting to get them to the top too.
No local shop messaging boards, i checked yesterday
Its odd ringing childcare provision to see if staff may be interested, feels like i am poaching staff.

Some staff only work part time and do look for extra hours

Have you actually asked a childminder? Its part of their job to take a child from say 7am to do school run and then pick up yet you don't actually mention that you have tried any...no they wont come to you but that's a luxury most parents don't have unless well enough off to have a nanny.

It’s time to inform work of the issue and all you are doing to rectify it whilst asking for some flexibility from them. What a difficult situation to be in, good luck.

Your local council should have a list of all registered childminders who drop off at your son's school. Could you have a look on their website to see if there is anyone with space?

Thanks both, work are fully informed and i have tried contacting multiple childminders leaving messages, but not having much luck. Most are full now. I cant see work allowing flexibility as they were so reticent the last time my childcare fell through. But cant get down about it! Need to try and solve

Thanks Spaghetti, they referred me to the family information service fis which has lead to a dead end

Do you just have the one child and what sort of impact does his special needs have? E.g. does he need the same routine every day or would he cope with a mix and match of people? How long have you been employed by current employer, under or over two years? If over two years I'd be a bit firmer in the flexible working but if under I would be more reluctant to rock the boat.

Our school has a family/Home support worker and they would be my next port of call. You have done such a thorough job.

You could also ask your previous babysitter if she knows anyone in the area who might be able to do it?

Ok my son only copes with changes inr outine if they are pre planned, so if he knows the person and is given at least half a days warning he is fine. Unplanned, multiple changes and when things dont go as expected we get bursts of anger and aggression that escalate over time. So i could manage multiple changes if there is notice so i can prepare him.

I have been with this employer just over a year... so rocking the boat is not something i want to do.

I will speak with the school and the wraparound care about how/where else to go and good idea, message winging its way north as we speak.

There is an up though, spoke to someone this morning and he seems promising, so fingers crossed all will be well.

Hard work finding childcare provision. Thank you everyone for your ideas, didnt mean to be gloomy gertie.