Working parents and after-school childcare

[Loueytb3]

What do you do about afterschool / holiday childcare, particularly in yrs 7-9? My situation is complicated in that I have other children who will need on-going childcare but I'm not sure what 11-13yr olds of working parents generally do. My yr6 child is immature although relatively sensible. He will be getting the bus to and from school in September (assuming he gets the 1st choice school). He would potentially be at home on his own for a couple of hours before anyone gets home. He is still rubbish about making himself even basic food like a sandwich, although he will have to learn fast! I'm really interested to find out what others have done/do, both during term-time and during holidays.

Y7 very sensible (most of the time!) and fairly mature DD, she gets home at 5pm so quite late and usually is only on her own for 40 minutes but that seems ok. She is still too young IMO for the school holidays and I wouldn't leave her for more than three to four hours on her own. Which means school holidays when her younger sister is still in school is a royal pain in the ass. I haven't actually got half-term sorted yet, as other DD is on holiday the week before!

Not sure 🤔 I am watching your thread with interest

Most schools open for at least an hour or so past finishing time, so if your DC can stay in school that reduces the amount of time alone at home in the evenings.

TBH I don't know anyone that organises specific childcare for secondary school DC (without SEN). Unless you have exceptionally long work hours, you're only talking about an hour or 2 after school.

In terms of school holidays in lower secondary school we continued to do what we'd done in primary in terms of splitting holiday and/or sometimes working at home to minimize the number of "home alone" days which we then gradually built up. We do have a few holiday clubs round here that will take DC up to age 14, but parents mainly use them because their DC want to go, rather than for childcare reasons.

TBH the DC are out with their friends most of the time in the school holidays anyway, so having a parent/adult at home is very much redundant!

My son is Year 8. I either get home from work at 5.45 (one night a week) and 4.45 (the rest of the week). Since going to High School he has just gone gone. This year, he even occasionally makes (or makes a start on) dinner ... Tonight I will have Jacket potato and salad almost ready for me.
He is a July birthday so a young year 8 but he's got the head of a 65 year old.
He's never had any problems and enjoys the sense and level of independence.

I tend to reduce my working hours during the school holidays if I have to leave him, through the summer holidays, he tends to arrange lots of days out with his friends, so I will work on those days. It all works out so he was home on his own for about 3 days last year

They come home, let themselves in and watch tv do homework for a bit.

it's fine or it should be. Tbh I was working in education by the time any of mine were at secondary so I used to get home by 4.30. But an 11 yo should be ok op. If he is catching the bus what time will he get home? A year 6 child should be able to make a snack.

Holidays are harder, I was lucky obv with the school job, but I guess otherwise we would have juggled like in primary, maybe with a bit more leeway.

I'm not sure whether he will be able to stay on after school every night as I presume the school bus leaves at the end of the school day. I'm not sure (yet) if there is a later one, but if there is that could be an option.

It's interesting to hear what others do - I don't want to mollycoddle him, he does need to grow up!

I have a 14,12 and 9 year old. The eldest I will leave for whole days if only he is off but the middle one I haven't tried that yet (she is in yr 7). I get a nanny for 2-3 weeks in the summer that comes to our house, let's the older ones have a bit of freeedom to do their own thing and does outings that the youngest has to go on but the others can choose.

I have found it's not too hard to find a preschool or school worker that wants a bit of extra cash in the holidays - the nanny we had last summer came back for a couple of days in October half term and is doing the same in Feb and a week at easter.

Ds walks home - finishes 3.15 arrives home 3.45-4pm & supposedly does homework (plays computer games). I arrive home approx 5pm.

For the first September, ds walked to the Childminder he'd been used to going to, but he soon realised he wanted to stop off at friends houses or go to the park and kick a ball around or stay after school for a club, so after that he was responsible for letting himself in.
I used to get home at about 5.15 so not too long to wait, and also we have lovely (retired) neighbours who we knew he could go to if worried about anything (or the CMer wasn't that far away, so options if lovely neighbours were ever out).
Then dcs 2 and 3 weren't necessarily alone.