Prep school offering 6am - 8pm, 51 weeks. How quickly is that going to become common then?

[EBDteacher]

I've just been reading an article in a local 'services for kids' type magazine about at prep school in the area that is going to offer fully integrated care from 8am-6pm 51 weeks of the year, with optional sessions 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm! It's going to be charged monthly at £500pcm (for the whole lot- not just the wraparound) like nursery fees.

The school terms are also going to be different to the state sector so parents can take family holidays outside peak times.

Wouldn't suit us as DH and I are both teachers but I can see it appealing to lots of working families. If a few schools start offering services like that how long before they all will?

I am aware of that! I am talking about guilt as an emotion and where it comes from. You can avoid it by being true to who you are. i work and have always provided My son has had benefits of both but I chose what felt right for me anything else would have made me feel guilty. SM I have seen your antics on the feminist board so your patronising tone gets nowhere with me Best stick to licking xenias boots! Hides thread to get back to WORK!

It cannot be ideal for very young children to be left in childcare for very long hours but equally I don't think it's necessarily good for the whole family or for society when children are at home all day every day with one parent while the other goes out to work and barely sees them. Balance and compromise in all things where possible is my motto.

lol,you got the hump that your dreadful analogy wasn't praised
well try harder next time

Praise? On MN No love sorry to disappoint you. Ciao!

I don't think guilt is a rational emotion it is perfectly possible to feel guilt while knowing you have done nothing wrong ...

I still don't understand the 8-6 delegated time

My point was that hosuewives often go on about women delegating childcare, subcontracting it out to nannies and nurseries and saying that is bad and yet their husbands delegate it every day to the wife who is usually a lower earner and often not as bright as he is and no one criticises that father for his delegation because he's male.

No one says children need to be with a parent 24 hours a day. Here we are talking about school age children. Privat schools have longer days and the 7% of chidlren at them product at least 50% of our leaders and successful people, after school clubs abound. It is a known model for producing better chidlren so to see the 8 - 6 choice villified is risible. My oldest got a school coach at 4 and she was on that at about 8am. I don't see 20_ years on she has suffered for that. I think she benefited hugely from it in independence, fun on the coach, even used to do her homework on the coach home. They also had a late coach and even after 5pm a late late coach for those who had been in late matches or rehearsals. My youngest sometimes stayed ini school late club to 6. They came home with all homework finished and having had food. It wasn't a penalty or nasty thing - it was something they liked.

I would dispute that it is a known model for producing better children.

Wow thought this thread had finished ages ago. I think you can be a good parent and work. However I think leaving your child from six in the morning to eight at night is wrong. There will be parents that will leave their children that long. I think flexible childcare is ok but not to allow any child to be left 14 hours. So you would get your child up and then get them home to go to bed, it's not on.

lol,at it's just not on
oh well that's that then is it

I think have easy care duiring school holidays would be great. What some people don't seem to understand is that many many jobs do not let you take leave during school holidays. Being able to have good care during school holidays and then take leave at a time to suit the whole family during term time, would be brilliant.

My dad could never get leave during school holidays in his low paid job. It meant it was rare for us as a family to get time all together during the school holidays. My parents did take us occasionally out of school during term time as it was the only way we could have a family holidAY. This way would be much better.

What about private nurserys that charge for 51 weeks irrespective of whether you are a part year worker or not? I just bought my self 6 additional weeks holiday to add to my 4 weeks holiday making 11 weeks (if you add 8 days bank holiday) just to cover my 2 DSs leave school holidays (which will go up from 13 to about 16 as they will be starting in the indie sector). My DH will cover the other weeks I can't.

I have asked my DDs (10mths) nursery if they can let me pull her out of nursery for 12 weeks for no pay and they said no way. so come summer holiday I'll hand in my notice, and put her in another nursery in July and do the same next year until 2014!! No help at all for hard working parents.

And by the way I love my children which is why I decided to take a pay cut and use it to buy more leave as that is the best way to maximise time with them rather that working 3 or 4 days a week.

Sorry I meant start her in another nursery in sept 2012.

iyatoda - what a nightmare for you and your DD! In our area, there are several nurseries that offer this type of term-only package (it works well because many of the nursery staff have school age children so prefer to work term time only). If I were you, I'd have a chat to any teachers you know to find out where they send/sent their young children.

Thanks Acebaby, did not think of that. Will make enquiries.

Or you might find a CM that would do term time only iyatoda. Mine does. I would hate to re-settle my DS into a new nursery every year, I don't think either of us would cope with it!

I know EBD I hate the thought of that too. I used a childminder for my middle child as a baby and I am quite reluctant to go down that route with DD for reasons I do not want to get into.

Anyhow, I made some enquiries today based on acebaby's suggestion and a nursery near work open 6am to 10pm!!! (I think they do it to cater for nurses and doctors) and they said you only pay for what you use so I can move her in Sept and she can remain there until pre school. But I will visit the nursery first of course.

Thanks guys.