After school care & half term

[shellbells12]

I have two boys (4&6) and a great childminder who drops them off and collects them from school, they open 7.30-17.00
My partner and I mostly work from home so 17.00 collection has not been an issue. However there is an expectation that we go back to the office more this year which means we might need to change our childcare arrangements. The earliest I can get home is 17.15 and I would be rushing to leave the office at 16.00 ( which can look rubbish)
my question is for people who get after school care in your homes, how do you find it? Can you work while having the kids in another room/ downstairs? Do after school nanny’s mind parents being home most of the time or sometimes? Then what do you do about school holidays, are after school nanny’s availabile to do full days in summer holiday? ( I can’t be organising clubs for the kids every 6 weeks)
I am also thinking that the 2-1 ratio for homework and learning might really benefit my boys too, and they might
enjoy being home more.

Just to say we have no family living in this country so all childcare has to be sourced.

I am so torn, as I love my childminders but the stress of having to be home for 17.00 can be really tough, and the juggle of one of us having to be home at that time can be a challenge. All advice welcome

The first thing I would do is clarify what you are actually being made to do by your employer.

You say you both wfh at the moment.

Are both your employers calling you back in?
Are they calling you both back in full time, or a couple of days a week ?

If so, then there is no need to change, as presumably you will be home 3 days a week and your partner also there 3 days a week, so you've got it covered.

If you find you both have to be in on one day (say Wednesday, just as an example), then have an initial conversation with the Childminder. It might well be she is happy to keep them until 5.30 on a Wednesday - either for a little extra money or in exchange for you collecting them early on a Friday (just as an example.

Remember, if you are good customers and keep to time and pay promptly and your dc are well behaved, she will want to keep you and it could be in her interest to be a bit flexible too.

After school nannies are hard to find in my experience and tend to o my be around for a short period of time maybe a year max, eg they might be studying or similar.

My husband and I do have some after school care for some days but for the others we try and manage by going in to our office on different days and where that isn't possible, one of us goes in early/leaves early and the other does the opposite. My employer was open to this type of arrangement as long as I showed I was trying to be in the office enough overall , eg I did the 3 days they wanted but did 8 til 5 not 9 til 6 etc. it is not an easy juggle.

I had this for 3/4 years and was in the office getting home at 6 from Monday to Thursday. I asked at the school office if they could ask any of the TAs if they were available for after school care it worked brilliantly. I had 1 for 2 years then he left and he put the word out amongst the others and got another one for 2 years.

It was brilliant for lots of different reasons. The DCs already knew them, they were DBS checked, if either of the DC were having any issues at school I would ask then to keep an eye out for them in the playground, and the DC were both in their own home and fed by the time I got home and I had no pick up to do. Also it meant they could go to the park after school with their friends rather than having to go back to the childminders house.

I wasn't the only parent with this arrangement with TAs from the school. TAs aren't paid nearly enough, so the extra money was good for them too. Admittedly it was cash in hand, but then it was a form of babysitting which is also.

Definitely worth asking. Or make friends with your DCs TAs and get them to ask around.

We have always had after school nannies (try Koru Kids - they specialise in them). Usually uni students whose classes are in the morning and want a job that doesn't interfere with their social life the way waitressing does. They are often also keen for extra hours in the holidays.

Yes, we are often working from home when the nanny is there and that's fine. We come down and say hello when she brings them home and maybe have a cup of tea while they have a snack if we have time, otherwise just a quick hello, the disappear to the study to keep working. Nanny listens to reading and music practice, runs through spelling words, makes sure homework is done, then makes their dinner and goes home at around the time we stop working if we are home or when one of us is home if they have been in the office. If you get a good one, she'll also do things like unpack the dishwasher etc.

I would suspect that finding someone who only wants a job outside of school time and during school holidays might be extremely difficult. Those are the times that anyone with their own family will want to be not working!
I fear you may have to resign yourself to the holiday clubs in the near future. Particularly as your children get older.
What’s the earliest their dad can get back? Alternate your days in the office?

It might be very dependent on where you live. This might be a common thing to do in London but would be completely unavailable where we live.

Thank you, mostly Tues & Wednesdays are the pinch point as my partner works for a US company and has to be online til 8pm those days. Also they travel for work to meet clients in Europe ( day trips mostly but sometimes 2 days) this is about once a month, days are dictated by the clients / boss.

I don’t have to be in every Tue & Wed but I do need to go in when I have client meetings (10-5/6) which is when the client is available not when I am available.

Last year my childminder has been flexible and I’ve rushed to get back for 17.15 and made it most days. My boss is super and knows I work the hours I need to do my job.

My childminders are 3 adults that do full time care in my neighbours house for about 7 kids and after school care for about 8 more kids.
We absolutely love them, and they do so much with the kids over holidays. Last year they changed the contract from 7.30-17.30 to 7.30-17.00 because so many parents were collecting their children late (up to 18.00). I will ask though and see what they say!

My other point about the boys getting more time at home, or 2-1 care is also a factor I am considering.

Can you and dp tag team the wfh days? So you wfh Mon and Tues and he WFH wed and thur, so that's 4 days of childminder pick up sorted, then if possible, you or he work longer hours on the office days so that Friday you can leave at 4pm without it meaning you are working less hours overall?

If you truly get desperate, do any of your neighbour have teenagers who could collect from school and babysit in the evenings? You obviously couldn't expect them to do any major childcare but they could at least be a presence in the house to keep your kids safe.

Thanks @lemonsaretheonlyfruit Great idea, will ask in school.

@Zebrasinpyjamas the struggle is real and for me the guilt of feeling like I’m leaving the office “early” even though it’s mostly just two days a week I need to be home, or having to be in until 17.00/18.00 and missing client dinners after the all day meetings ( I don’t mind that so much!)
I am also trying to role model flexibility in how I work ( a luxury not all have) for my team and remind people that we don’t have to be tied to the desk to be working!
also for me knowing I have to leave and be home at a particular time to let my partner do their work/ meetings sits in my head all day, or I am constantly checking the trains are working and what time I need to leave the office to get to the station etc.
I am also very realistic and grateful that it’s a tiny problem in the grand scheme of the world!

@Smartiepants79 Thats my worry, I am on outskirts of London so do hear about them alot.

@SummerInSun will check out Koru Kids , I am just wrestling with taking them out of the childminders vs having them home.

We have an afterschool nanny for 3 days a week via Koru Kids. She has another flexible job so sometimes does bits in the holiday as well. One of us is often WFH when she's here but we just stay holed up in our studies until it's time for her to go home. It's all very easy.

@SecondUsername4me the nature of both our jobs is very client lead and we do say no from time to time when we feel we can, it feels like most of our clients want face to face in the past 6 months where it was all teams/ zoom before so we just don’t have the ability to say we can only go in on specific days. I have a lot more flexibility but it’s not an easy juggle

@mynameiscalypso great to hear!