Wraparound care - or not?

[Frazzled2207]

I left my career when my eldest was about to start school. I'm about to go back to it 4dpw - children are now in y4 and y2. We're lucky enough to have grandparent help two days, so was looking at wraparound care for the other two days. There is a (small, expensive) club on site at school which is by far the most convenient option. However on chatting to other parents it would appear that nowadays only younger children (mostly nursery - year 1/2) go. My older child could be the eldest by some margin. Some parents have told me that since covid, and given that in the lockdowns they got used to wfh and having the kids around, they now just collect the children and let them sort themselves out while they finish their work. This is definitely a possibility for us because both DH and I will be mostly wfh - we might be on calls some of the time but kids will be within earshot. Kids get on and will probably fairly happily just watch tv or do some gaming after school. I know my new employer will be ok with me to nip out and collect children (15m round trip on foot) as long as I catch up at some point.

I would feel bad for ignoring my children but my eldest is not going to be happy about going to the club as by far the oldest child. Sending the younger one only won't go down well either. So how normal is it just to wfh, pick up your child, and basically carry on working until 5.30pm?

I think eventually your kids will be tired of having to sit for nearly 2 hours after school. As much as you think working will be fine, kids will always be a distraction. Work may decide to change WFH as well.
I would find the wrap around care so at least they will be occupied/fed. Are there any local childcare places as opposed to what the school has available?

Are there no after school clubs that your children could go to after school.

I don't think being at home is a bad idea if you know exactly what they're like, but a new job and you working for the first time, isn't ideal. Maybe do one after school and see how the other pans out.

Does the school have after school clubs (like football, art, etc) that they could go to to use some of the time? Personally I’d tell them that they need to just go to wrap around care for a few months while you settle into your new job and then look at things again. I think with it being a new job it’d be nice to give yourself the time to focus on it properly.

@underneaththeash

Are there no after school clubs that your children could go to after school.

I don't think being at home is a bad idea if you know exactly what they're like, but a new job and you working for the first time, isn't ideal. Maybe do one after school and see how the other pans out.

There are but on different days so on those days I might end up either doing two school runs or putting one in the proper club while the other is at activity club. Agree that initially probably best to try and get them used to the clubs and me used to the job.

If it's only 2 days a week I definitely wouldn't be paying out for childcare for a 6/7 & 8/9 year old if you wfh.

@crazyguineapiglady

If it's only 2 days a week I definitely wouldn't be paying out for childcare for a 6/7 & 8/9 year old if you wfh.

hopefully in the longer term I won't have to but I feel need to have the time and space to get used to the job before I put kids in the mix. Employer is definitely flexible on such matters but it will take time to figure out exactly how flexible.