So if you want to return to work f/t, how on earth do you cover the holidays?

[BettyDouglas]

I'd like to go back to work f/t after re-training. My 3rd DC will start school in Sept. But it has suddenly dawned on me how much holiday we will need to cover!

We have no family at all. I couldn't ask friends as I couldn't return the favour. I've spoken to local CMs but none can take all 3 for all school hols.

I'm starting to get a bit worried. What do you all do if you have no family to help?

Thanks, Mistlethrush!
I realise I wasn't thinking it through logically!

The only way I can work is due to the fact I can work flexitime and wah at times

With 3 dc,there is no way I could work if I did not have these two options.
I am planning to build up hours in termtime and use as much flexi as I can in the holidays.
When my oldest 2 are both above 5, Iplan to find a holiday club.

Unfortunately neither flexitime nor working from home will be an option for me.
DH isn't even in the country half the time.

The government are constantly encouraging women back to work yet there doesn't seem to be the infrastructure there to support it.

...Well there does when they are preeschoolers with nursery places etc but not once they hit school.

Just to say thank you also to curtaincall, vanimal and butkin for your help and suggestions.

Curtaincall, I would definitely be up for adopting some grandparents who didn't have their own grandchildren. Not for babysitting just for grandparenting.

Betty - sorry,I read you were training to be a SW but did not acknowledge in my post that you could not do that.

Is anyone else in the same situation as you-perhaps you could ask around and see what else people do. Someone might take pity?

childminder, nanny or au pair - child swap business is not going to work with 3 kids. Would you want 3 extra kids?

Oh don't worry, hormonalmum. Thank you for posting anyway.

I guess my problem is a combination of things such as my working week not being flexible, us not having any family and us living somewhere where few of the mums work and it being in the sticks.

I will have before/after school issues during term time too. School doesn't offer them and apparently doesn't need to as they have shown there isn't a need for them in this area.

Thanks, Fiddledee. I will look at nanny/au pair. Not sure my salary will stretch to nanny as I will just be starting out again in a new career but I'll have a look. No CMs unfortunately.

When I was a Uni student I did nanny jobs in holidays - used my own car if necessary, CRB checked, 1st aid etc and more experience than a local childcare student because I'd nannies before starting my degree. Often people training as teachers or on EY/childhood/education degrees will have plenty of relevant experience or a childcare qualification coupled with the long holidays and be practically begging you for the job.

I don't think I cost too much either!

A summer au pair is doable if you have the space but they're not always ideal as they want to learn English but can't go to classes if you work FT and often have the same amount of/less experience than a local teen.

I do sympathise. It's also daunting as nursery for under 5's is only till they go to school so seems less of a long term issue in a way.

I'm trying to sort some summer childcare at the moment and have had an offer from a girl studying medicine at Uni who has childcare experience, CRB checks and first aid training who wants a full time summer job with a couple of weeks off - she is lovely and my kids like her.

My sister had an au pair for a couple of summers and while not the ideal situation, having someone in your house, combined with activities and a few 9-3 summer activities, it worked.

Good luck and keep posting - as someone else said, loads of people on here do it so some combination of other peoples holiday strategies will work for you.

Nanny will be £6/7 hour so cheaper than a childminder for 3 children.

If you have the space a year round au pair (around £75 a week) might solve the before/after school issue too. You might trade off a shorter working week in term time then have FT cover in the holidays.

You might want to ring round some of the private schools in your area - many are used as holiday club bases, or they run their own. And often they go down to age 4.

I think it is the not having done it before which makes it so scary, OP.

I work FT so it is really difficult for me to return favours for people, but when my nanny was PG and poorly, all sorts of mums I barely knew scooped up DS2 from school and gave him lunch till I could get home. And all I can do is offer lifts to birthday parties at the weekend.

I found there were several holiday clubs once I got started, albeit a short drive away

Its not easy, but taking, say, the summer holidays, If you take 2 weeks and your partner takes 2 weeks you have just 2 weeks left to sort out in soccer camp or something, and still half your leave left

Its not easy, but it is doable

Very surprised the holiday club only runs till 3.30- what happens during school time for after school care?

I agree holiday clubs are poorly advertised, i have just booked my dd on for one day next week as a trial. She will be going horse riding!

Check out local leisure centres

Dreamteamgirl, they don't run a before or after school club. Apparently they were able to show there wasn't sufficient need in the area.

I will try and find out about more holiday clubs though, thank you.

do check out the holiday clubs v v v carefully for under 7's.

Often they are very sporty, with a high number of young people who have basic qualifications in sports education, but nothing in childcare.

The setting can often be huge (secondary schools), and the kids need to be very resiliant.

Other stuff - Get a timetable, ensuring they aren't plonked in front of DVDs all day. if they're doing a trip out - enusre reflective vests are worn, the staff are all childcare qualified.

The best ones are run by people who do the after school club at your actual school.

There are some really dodgy holiday clubs

Place an advert with your local primary PGCE provider and see if any of the students want some holiday work (unlikely they'll do 6 weeks)

Betty, what about asking some of the teaching assistants at your kids' school? Obv if they have kids of their own they won't be interested but some of the younger no-kids ones would probably love a holiday job. I know people at my kids schools use teaching assistants in the holidays

When my DD started school she was able to go back to her nursery in the school holidays until she actually turned 5 as their insurance allowed them to have her so that might be an option for your youngest DD.

There are more holiday clubs around than you might think (and I say this as someone who lives rurally). Our local tennis club runs a play scheme through many of the holidays (although it is quite sporty). I have also used a playscheme at the local leisure centre and sent my daughter on drama and dance weeks.

I have two DSs and when they were smaller used a lot of football and cricket coaching programmes.

For short days that ran for example 10-15.30 I used to do a shared pick up/drop off where one of me and another mum would start work ludicrously early so be free for the pick up and the other would go in late having done the drop off (but usually feeling quite frazzled as minded kids would have turned up at 6am or similar). This only works for flexible jobs of course

I used to swap some days with a friend who worked and between us we had 7 children so I don't think a large family is an obstacle to childcare swaps though it does help if you have got a relatively good match of ages and you do not feel like you have been on holiday by the end of the day!

My cousin is a SW with a term time only contract so they do exist. However I think she was well established in her career before she got it. Also when I did a PGCE quite a lot of students brought their children to university with them during the half term holidays. If you will be going to university first you could bear this in mind as an option.

Also although teachers do have to work in the school holidays it is usually more flexibly so might be a better option than SW childcare wise. Have you considered this as an alternative?

I have found holiday schemes often run till 3pm or 4pm at the latest, so not do-able. There is a nursery though that will take older children (and which dc1 hates because it's not geared up for older kids).

Any willling nieces or so from abroad that would want to learn English (and look after children)?

Highlander, thanks for the heads up about holiday clubs. I'll check them carefully.

Mysteryfairy, I have already done a post-grad 2yr course to qualify as a SW so no going back. Good to know term time contracts do exist for the future though.

Notanewmember, no family at at I'm afraid on either side. And yes, the holiday schemes I have seen have been short days.

Any old friends who live abroad with children wanting to learn English? (I'm from abroad myself...).

I have used various combination of babysitter, nursery, taking children to work....