Primary school and wrap around care

hourbyhour101 · 2023-05-01T09:44:40+00:00

So we got our first choice re schools but it seems they don't seem to offer much wrap around care (they do clubs after school but limited to two a week and no breakfast club) they stop at 5pm. This was similar to other schools we viewed (maybe it's just a thing in our area). But how do people manage this working FT ? Nanny's are expensive per hour (£15+) and don't tend to let you do short slots (can't blame them on that) and I believe they are self employed and that in its self seems to be a bit of a nightmare. How do people work this ? Am I missing a trick here. All my family work or live abroad so family help is unlikely ? Partner does long hours and so do I and short of cutting out hours down I don't know how we are gonna handle this. My Dd is in nursery and I didn't even think this would be such a issue !

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MadEyeMoodysEye · 01/05/2023 10:46

Our school does wraparound 7:30-6:00 5 days a week, I thought that was pretty standard.
The other option would be a childminder, but I'd imagaine in an area lacking in breakfast/after school clubs childminders are like gold dust.

Original poster

hourbyhour101 · 01/05/2023 10:48

@MadEyeMoodysEye so did I but when I talked to the schools notta

One school did do wrap around care that we viewed but honestly it's got a awful reputation locally.

Childminder ?!? How have I not thought about this ? It seems that some childminders only drop to certain schools ? Is that right ?

I can't believe how naive I have been tbh 😵‍💫😵‍💫

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Heroicallyfound · 01/05/2023 10:59

Wrap around is not at all standard in my city/county. The expectation seems to be that a family will have a stay at home parent which is utterly ridiculous in this climate.

Not helpful, but I deliberately looked around for and chose a school with a wrap around club as I knew it would be essential for me (lone parent).

Most couples I know at school seem to survive without wrap around most days by juggling school runs between them, usually one parent working less hours or part time. But many still use it one or two nights a week.

Parents I know at work often pop out to do a school run when working from home and do another hour or two working with the kids at home, but depends on your work’s flexibility obviously.

I think you AND your partner are going to have to adjust your routines and work hours unless you can find a childminder (book one now as they will be sorting spaces for September now).

Original poster

hourbyhour101 · 01/05/2023 11:04

@Heroicallyfound I'm looking now at cm

I can't believe it tbh. My school look like I was bonkers for asking for after school clubs !

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Highworth · 01/05/2023 11:05

Some nurseries pick up from school. Is there anything like this in your area?

Original poster

hourbyhour101 · 01/05/2023 11:06

@Highworth my nursery used to do this but apparently they stopped as they didn't have the space !

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JustKeepSlimming · 01/05/2023 11:06

In our area there are outside companies which provide wraparound care (although our school does have a breakfast club). They pick the kids up from school and take them to a centre along with kids from other schools. Maybe your area has something like that?

If the school has a Facebook page, can you ask on there what other parents do?

Original poster

hourbyhour101 · 01/05/2023 11:07

@JustKeepSlimming ohh that's a good shout re fb group for the school - I'm gonna go hunting now ❤️

Thank you all for the suggestions - this is a bit of a minefield !

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DustyLee123 · 01/05/2023 11:08

One of our local nurseries picks up older siblings from school and they go to nursery until pick up, they also do morning drop off.

CatOnTheChair · 01/05/2023 11:16

Yes, childminders are usually school specific round here, so you are looking for one that collects from X school.

updin · 01/05/2023 11:22

This has been one of the huge downsides since Covid in my experience, in my area at least. Our clubs have rapidly diminished due to parents not being quite so reliant on them, presumably WFH. I WFH home myself so I've been able to suck it up and do the 4.30 pick ups (used to be 6!) I would have been snookered 5 years ago.

I don't like working with the kids in the house (youngest is 9 though so I am able to), but the wraparound care wouldn't cover me going into the office anyway so all I can do is hope my employer remains flexible to my daily 30 min disappearance mid/late afternoon. And nope, no childminders with spaces here either.

Ceryss · 01/05/2023 13:50

We’ve just been lucky to find a childminder who will have my son 7.30am till drop off and after school until 5.30pm. The school’s after school club and breakfast club have not been helpful at all. I emailed as soon as admissions were out to be told that the club was full and the waiting list was full also. The reception children don’t even have a chance of getting a space on the waiting list!

Minimochi · 01/05/2023 17:12

DS's school luckily offers wrap-around care 7.20am - 6pm. We currently only need three days of after school care.

Our catchment school offers afternoon care until 6pm as well but the places are very limited. I'm not sure what parents do in that case. Loads seem to be at home in the afternoons. Childminders might also be an option. We also have many kids just going home by themselves. It's quite normal around here.

Original poster

hourbyhour101 · 01/05/2023 19:23

Am I the o lot one that thinks it's a bit bonkers ?

It's ok if you can wfh or have flexibility in your job ect or senior enough to be able to say I need x.

Contacted a childminder (only one that drops to our school) and she's gonna look at numbers but seems hopeful she can help. Thank bloody god is all I can say. It's may and thankfully I didn't use my ex's approach of it will be fine (aka you will need to find a plan) and my DH is really helpful unlike my ex.

But for others who don't have this ? What do they do ? Im actually a little agast.

Most people can't afford to reduce hours ext and need to work for a living

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SheilaFentiman · 02/05/2023 09:24

hourbyhour101 · 01/05/2023 19:23

Am I the o lot one that thinks it's a bit bonkers ?

It's ok if you can wfh or have flexibility in your job ect or senior enough to be able to say I need x.

Contacted a childminder (only one that drops to our school) and she's gonna look at numbers but seems hopeful she can help. Thank bloody god is all I can say. It's may and thankfully I didn't use my ex's approach of it will be fine (aka you will need to find a plan) and my DH is really helpful unlike my ex.

But for others who don't have this ? What do they do ? Im actually a little agast.

Most people can't afford to reduce hours ext and need to work for a living

The trouble is the economics of it. Now more parents WFH, doing an activity club like school football until 5pm then nipping out to pick up and stick cartoons on for an hour (or whatever) is possible. Mine had a childminder initially at infant school and then an after school club opened there which ran until 6pm. We were commuting so still had to leave around 4.30pm and took it in turns to pick up.

I hope that the childminder works out.

crackofdoom · 02/05/2023 09:32

There's a massive gulf between what employers/ the government expect parents to do, and the amount of wraparound care provided, ime. Try asking a Universal Credit advisor just how you're supposed to work a full time job when there are no childminders available in your area and after school club finishes at 5, or school how you're supposed to work a full day if their after school club finishes at 5, and you just get blank looks. Not their problem. You know whose problem it is? By default, yours. Nobody wants to come out or admit it, but by not addressing the childcare gap it's mothers (and it nearly always is mothers!) who are being put in an impossible position.

popandchoc · 02/05/2023 09:37

I used a childminder for the first few years for my daughters. She took them to school and picked them up.

Original poster

hourbyhour101 · 02/05/2023 14:00

crackofdoom · 02/05/2023 09:32

There's a massive gulf between what employers/ the government expect parents to do, and the amount of wraparound care provided, ime. Try asking a Universal Credit advisor just how you're supposed to work a full time job when there are no childminders available in your area and after school club finishes at 5, or school how you're supposed to work a full day if their after school club finishes at 5, and you just get blank looks. Not their problem. You know whose problem it is? By default, yours. Nobody wants to come out or admit it, but by not addressing the childcare gap it's mothers (and it nearly always is mothers!) who are being put in an impossible position.

Right like how on earth does this happen and 0 people talk about it.

It's blowing my small little brain into pieces. We used to have a village which helped but now there no village and the paid village is over subscribed.

Sorry rant over ! Thank you all I appreciate it. Glad I'm not losing my mind on this !!

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Heroicallyfound · 02/05/2023 14:23

Right like how on earth does this happen and 0 people talk about it.

I think because the people going through it are stretched trying to juggle their own childcare/costs/work/lives so just muddle through it as best they can with minimal headspace for anyone else, and by the time you’re out of that phase you can’t be bothered to fight the cause for the next new parents.

crackofdoom · 02/05/2023 14:47

Well, I think it's down to two things:

The repositioning of having children as a "lifestyle choice". "Can't afford them, don't have them" etc, which is a convenient (if shortsighted) attitude to foster if you believe in a small state, highly individualistic society. There's no obligation to provide an effective childcare infrastructure if this is a problem you brought on yourself, you stupid breeder. (And if you ignore big questions such as "Who's going to pay the taxes to support our ageing demographic in the future?" and "Why is productivity so low amongst UK women with young children?").

Good old fashioned misogyny. Not dealing with the childcare issue, or acknowledging that there even IS an issue, is misogyny by default. See also "But WHO is going to homeschool the kids over lockdown?" "But WHO is going to look after our elderly relatives if we can't afford social care?" Because we know who ends up doing it, don't we? 🙄

NerrSnerr · 02/05/2023 14:56

It might be worth posting on the local FB page asking what other parents do. They should be able to signpost to any childminders or nurseries that offer the service to your school.

CybermanAshad · 02/05/2023 15:00

I feel this.

Our school offer no afterschool club. They do have breakfast club that starts at 7:45. No afterschool care besides the odd activity type club but again thats maybe once a week and finishes at 4:10. Finding it impossible to find a job that I can actually do. There's one childminder that does pick ups from the school but she's on mat leave and already has a waiting list for when she returns. What are people supposed to do? 745 drop off with breakfast club but have to collect at 3:10! What job can you do that allows you to start at 830 and finish at 230 everyday! And that's provided you only have a half hour commute.

Mushroomofficeglass · 02/05/2023 15:04

I ended up having a childminder term time (she didn't do school holidays) and a holiday club in the holidays (need to look for full day clubs rather than clubs just to entertain dc if you want all day care). The holiday club I used was actually based near my work as there wasn't any available near home.

Skybluepinky · 02/05/2023 15:12

Childminders do wraparound care.

Morethanalittletired · 02/05/2023 15:16

I work term time only, so less of an issue than for you, but have ended up using an after school nanny. It was the most cost effective solution for us as we have four DC and we've carried on even though two of the children are old enough not to need care now (not quite in a position to look after the others, though).

Have managed to keep it to three days per week, with WFH, but it's a big hit financially. But it was that or not work, so not much option. We employ our nanny, so there are additional costs such as payroll/liability insurance to consider, although there are plenty of providers around.

We found someone through one of the local preschools that only operates school hours. They wanted some more hours but to keep the term time only aspect, so it worked well for us all.

I hope you're able to find the right option for your family.