Working with SN child how do you manage?

[chuckeyegg]

I have been on a career break from Civil service and now have asked about going back term time only and they have refused. Reasons given to many term time workers already. I will not be able to work full time. They don't have a job for me and want me to resign quietly and go away.

As I'm sure many of you appreciate DS needs me throughout the holidays and childcare would be to costly and wouldn't work anyway.

If you work how do you manage?

I work in public sector 2.5 days a week. DS works PT. I get flexi time so can often add that on to holidays. I also swap days on a regular basis to fit in appointments etc

I would challenge the decision, but if unsuccessful, you are entitled to parental leave for a disabled child - 4 weeks (unpaid) per year. Would it be an option to go back either FT or PT (assuming there are redundancies where you are they may accept PT rather than term time) and then once you have your feet under the table apply for parental leave to cover holidays or make a new request for term time / PT. It is always easier to get a request for PT through once you are established in a job. It may be harder for them to refuse parental leave to care for a disabled child.

You could also contact the Disabled Childrens team at social services and ask if they can support you / your DH to stay in work eg by funding 1:1 help in holidays / in a play scheme. If you get the support via direct payments you can then use it to hire someone at home if you prefer.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I have made some notes and will get straight on to them at work. Hopefully it can be resolved.

Thanks again. x :)

I work part time & during the hols I take holiday/unpaid leave, work from home & family help out a little bit.
Tbh its the same issue for any working parent but with an sn child childcare is more difficukt to find. Before ds2 started school we had a fabulous childminder with loads of sn experience. It is doable you just have to find the right childcare

I work in my son's special school! Nothing else was possible when he was small, and now at 15 it allows me to have the same hours and holidays (as he can't be left) . Busman's holiday here too, and the pay sucks but I feel pretty lucky to be able to fit my job around his needs.

I work part time - school hours. Then in the holidays I do fewer longer days and find a playscheme for my DC's to attend. I recently found out that my LEA has funding for "inclusion" which means if DS attends a playscheme they can fund a support worker to be with him so he has help and can go where his DSis does. It takes a bit of organising though.
Also DH has odd days off and we ask family for odd times too.

The key really to how workable it is is how easily you can get childcare.

I cannot get childcare for ds1. He is given respite days (which I can't choose, and don't cover even part time hours), but if he was to be left with carers would need 2 carers to work safely. So any job where I have to work on someone else's timetable just wasn't going to work out. (I did think of doing the same as Medusa - and that was my plan B ).

If your son can access childcare where you get to choose the hours you will have many more options open to you.

I couldnt leave ds2 with a childminder just for holidays as they just wouldnt know each other well enough for it to work IYKWIM & also ds2 would be difficult to cater for if the childminder had other children.
So we really do rely on family support & my very flexible & understanding boss to just about manage the holidays.
Term time my workign day is just shorter than his school day, again a very flexible boss