Can we do it?

[Yogurtraisins]

We have two DC (2 and 5, in year 1 primary school)
We'd love to start home educating our eldest but the thing that's putting me off is work and childcare. Giving up work isn't an option so please don't suggest that!
DH works full time in the fire service (2 days, 2 nights, 4 off usually)
I work 24 hours in the NHS (3x8 hour days usually)
At the moment our youngest is in nursery on my three work days and we use the school wraparound care on those three days too.
How does everyone else do the juggle? Or is our family just not suitable for home-ed?

In some areas there's childcare available for HE kids. Like Free We Grow (south London) Fledglings (Berkshire) or childminders

Would flexi schooling be an option? You could use childcare e.g. a child minder, but this will be a significant expense. Ideally you want ad hoc childcare so you only book him in when your DH is not at home/sleeping, but might be hard to find.

I think you're right to consider childcare to be the main challenge in your situation. With individual attention, home ed is very efficient. You don't have to sit your child down for 30 hours a week doing formal education.

I should think a childminder would be your best bet. If the after-school club is run by an external provider and if your child likes it, you can continue to use it as part of the puzzle, for example by having the CM drop them to the club at 3pm. If you qualify for Universal Credit, that could be used to defray childcare costs.

Thank you all for the replies, they've given me a starting point and I'll probably try to look for a childminder and put feelers out with family/friends. We have a friend who also HEs and I'm wondering whether they might be interested in some kind of reciprocal agreement?!
The cost of the childminder may cripple us especially once my youngest leaves nursery. We don't qualify for universal credit but we do claim child benefit.
Our eldest is sunny, bright, theatrical and determined. It's really hard watching him suppress some of that at school and just not be himself.
I have asked to meet with his teacher so may discuss flexi-schooling if anyone has any experiences?

Do your children have any conditions or disabilities and are a contributing factor to choosing home education? I only ask as I mainly see people home educating their kids due to this or because the school isn't up to standard. My children have good schools and don't have problems but I can't help feel that their strong interests and the path they want to take are not being explored and are just not part of learning in schools. I'd like them to grow as them and not be sculpted the same as every other kid by the school.