School holidays and working parents

[WiseKat]

Hi All -

We recently relocated back to the UK and my DD is attending school finally after a difficult period of finding a suitable school place.

I noticed that there are quite a few school holidays , including mid-term.

Here in the UK it’s just three of us: my DH, DD and me.
I am currently looking for a job following a relocation . How do working parents cope with so many school holidays ? Are there any clubs or camp type activities which children can attend or do parents just work from home and look after the kids on those days ?

Thank you very much for the insight!

If you haven’t got a job yet-you could ask for the week off at interview?

All of the above and some days with too much tv, but then I’ll take a long lunch or start and finish early so I can take them out for a bit, occasionally on those days throw them out in the garden too.

I guess I could ask for time-off at the interview , but might end up without a job then .😀😀

We used a childminder when they were small and then a holiday club at a local sports centre (everyone active run a lot if this is a local sports centre provider for you). This worked well as they offered shorter days (9-4) when the activities were but you could drop off at 8 and pick up at 6 so was more like wraparound childcare at either end of the day

www.everyoneactive.com/content-hub/activities/active-kids-holiday-camps/

What we do is:

• only have 1 week of holiday where both me and DH are off at the same time.
• there are 13 weeks of leave to cover, we have 5 weeks each so cover 8 weeks with annual leave that leaves us each 5 days 'spare' holidays which we keep for emergency leave to cover sickness, school closures or school events we need to attend.
• the remaining 5 weeks we use holiday clubs. They usually run 8.30-6pm and cost anything from £25-£50 a day. The cheaper tend to be in a school hall with a mix of craft and sporty activities, the more expensive are things like drama/dance/outdoor pursuits. Find one that is Ofsted registered and you can use the tax free childcare to pay for it if you are eligible, so that reduces the cost by 20%.

Look on the school website. My DD has been at two primary schools and both had a link to the wraparound childcare/holiday club provision on the school website.

The holiday club at one school wasn't held at her school though which was a bit of a pain as it meant driving in the opposite direction to work then back again but did mean she was with staff and children she knew.

They cost between £25 per day (8am - 6pm but no meals so have to send her with packed lunch and snacks) to £35 per day (8am - 6pm but included 3 meals, snacks and a trip somewhere each week).

An employer who wants you as an employee may well be flexible. DH had a 2 week holiday already booked when he started a job recently which he told them about at interview-they offered him the job and it wasn’t a problem.

Would a term-time only job be workable? Then you'll be off when DC is off too. Just a thought.

I am a qualified accountant (and was hoping to use my license in the UK again rather than doing something non-finance related), so working only during term times would be a bit tricky as need to get into a role and understand all the details and intricacies . So it would be difficult over and over again in this field .

It’s a terrible idea to work from home with such a young child in the house. Nearly drove me to an early grave during the pandemic and the odd occasion I’ve had no choice.

Holiday clubs depend where you live but in urban areas they tend to be quite plentiful. Ask around for recommendations.

Also look at local independent schools for clubs as they can have pretty good holiday clubs and not always too expensive