How do you juggle work with all the inset/training days at nursery + school holidays etc??

[Thankyouandgoodnight]

work part time and made sure days were not Monday or Friday - thus I get a long weekend and never have to worry about schools being closed on Mondays and fridays.

I make sure I never take my dd out of school in term time and use all my holiday in school holidays as this reduces the need for child care. Then i am left with 6 weeks to cover 7 weeks this year as the shools are having an extra week in the summer. I use a school holiday club that costs £100 per week, they also do the wrap round care for the school term aswell.

I work in a school which gives me 11 weeks holiday. The pay is awful, but at least my childcare costs are lower. My son also goes to an after school club.

INSET days are a bit of a nightmare as I have to work them. Either my son is looked after by granparents or my husband takes the day off.

me and dh take it in turns to take a/l
also have a holiday club which opens on inset days and sch holidays

Work from home for the equivalent of three days a week, and juggle madly through the school holidays, calling in favours left right and centre.

Use A/L sparingly, so I have plenty to take some time off when childcare is not working out.

I worked at weekends when oldest was born. Then used grandparents when I started part time and negotiated hours in holidays. When youngest was little I worked in a nursery and took her with me. When she started school they both went to the holiday club at the nursery where I worked.I also had shorter dinners and bank the hours so i could have the odd day here and there to cover inset days without using up all my holidays. When my children were little I didn't have a career I had a job to pay the wages. It is only now that they are older,12 and 19 that I am in the position to move up the career ladder and I am doing a degree part time as well as working full time.

I'm a SAHM at the moment, but I do wonder how on earth working parents cope . My son's nursery sprung a training day on us with 4 days notice this week. I just thought that was so unfair to working parents, to do that the week before half term

That's ridiculous MrsMattie. My hours are extremely flexible and I have a lot of willing friends - but four days notice would still send my blood pressure soaring!!

Have been known to take children to work with me (uni teaching). But the childminder is usually very good and takes them for odd days.