If you/both of you work, have you dropped all childcare once your children hit secondary school?

[foxinsocks]

Just wondering really

I have a dd who will start secondary school in September but have a younger ds who will still need childcare for another 2 years.

Did you drop childcare once all your children hit secondary school or did you keep some sort of arrangement on?

Ma - DS1 only turned 13 in June and on training days (I also work in a school - but different councils so training days are not the same and I have to work them anyway), DS loves being at home on his own.

Does anyone use a child minder for their secondary school aged DCs? DD will be too old for after school club when she moves to secondary and wondered if that was a reasonable option

Thanks Hell - I've realised that actually it'll be from the start of YR6 he'll have to start doing it >

He'll probably love it I'm sure, it just feels like a long time to leave a 11/12yr old at home every day during the holidays (or most of them) >>

When dd1 started high school, dd2 still went to the cm for two years until she started high school too.

They leave the house in teh morning around the same time as dh (I go earlier). Then I get home by 5.15 usually.

Holiday care isn't a problem so we're lucky in that respect.

Both dds v sensible on their own.

Some cms around here will mind high schools kid in the hols and after school.

Those of you who don't have houses big enough for au-pairs - have you thought of borrowing someone else's?

Au pairs are always looking for ways to supplement their income and many of them would be available to do a couple of hours after school, if they only worked in the mornings for example with their main family - if there were only pre-school kids.

It might be worth asking around to see if anyone has an au-pair who wants extra work who would be available at that time.

you know what HB - I don't think I know anyone that has an au pair or a nanny!! They all seem to use family or CM's round here

No, don't seem to be many round my way either.

I think because they're not ofsted registered, so don't have tax credit subsidies.

I don't know anyone who has an au pair. That's not how we do things around here.

Ah but you'd be surprised.

I had one years ago and I realised that there are loads of them around here (because of course they all got to know each other at language school), but it's just that I didn't know they were there as I didn't have any reason to know IYSWIM.

It would be worth putting up a card in a local supermarket or in the nearest languaage school. You might be surprised at how many au-pairs there are in your area (depending on where you live of course - they tend not to put on their form that they'd like to go and stay with a family at the back of beyond).

ermm, we don't have a language school here - and although it's not a "happening" town, it's not the back of beyond either

Are you sure you don't?

I had no idea there was one near(ish) me, until the au-pair told me about it. (I had no reason to know about it.)

But there probably won't be one unless there is an established tourist trade in your area, however low key. (But lots of unlikely places have tourism now.)

nope - there's a couple in the adjacent towns - but I think you'd be hard pressed to find an Au Pair that would want to live here and travel, especially if they have no access to a car - bus tickets are stupid prices.

I know quite a few fairly well off famiilies that have had both parents working, none of them used Au Pairs or Nannies, they used friends/family/home alone. (the latter once they were older) and the occasional child minder.

A couple of people have mentioned their DCs will be too old for the after school clubs - it may be worth checking if the secondary school runs its own one. My DDs school has one which Yr 7/8 pupils and children from a local primary can go to. DD2 (in sixth form) works there and though the majority of kids are younger, there's certainly provision made for older ones (with more age appropriate activities etc).