What do you do for childcare in the school holidays?

[cktwo]

It's DD1s first year in school and fortunately I work for myself so I can schedule work around half-term and easter/xmas. The summer holidays are another thing entirely. There is no holiday club at her special School and I'm debating whats the best thing to do. I can't stop working for six weeks.
We get 4 hours respiite a week in school hols so I can't use that time.
So I thought I'd ask you knowledgable people in hope of some inspiration .

I stop working for 6 weeks (am meant to work full time). After this year I am working for myself - partly because I have come to the conclusion I am never going to be able to get enough out of school childcare for ds1 to be able to hold down any sort of job.

DH takes unpaid leave.

it is so wrong that there is no holiday club at the SN school. how is anyone meant to hold down a job. Can you get together with other parents to lobby for holiday provision?

Coluld you find a childminder that will just ccover holidays - my childminder for example is v experienced with SN

Hi mummysaurus. I am currently badgering the council and about to start on the school. They are trialling an after-school club ONE day a week. It's really worse than no after-school provision.
I'm also contemplating a childminder as they could look after DD2 aswell.

i use holiday & the rest is unpaid. My sister does come to stay during the holidays if she isn't working, other than that its down to me & dh to split our holiday entitlement, but there is always more school holidays a yr than annual leave, so the bank balance suffers

Mencap run holiday play clubs for a few days in some areas. In our area the club runs from 10 - 15.00 and normally we get 4 - 6 days over the summer holiday. It gives me a chance to do things I cannot do with ds to care for but obviously not enough to allow work cover.
We live near a childcare college which seems to attract some very capable students - a good source of enthusiastic holiday carers when funds allow.
But for us the best has been the local village after school/holiday club. It is an unusual small homely club - very careing and of course they are used to ds and he to them. Sadly it is likely to close. Most ms school clubs would not be suitable - but I think there is a place for inclusion if only the extra costs could be covered. Has anyone managed to get extra funding to support a sn child in a ms club?

I was just thinking about this very topic yesterday. I was watching Loose women on TV and they were discussing how women nowadays can have everything, family, career etc etc..yeh right!!!!

One of our main problems is that we live on the border of two authorities, eldest 2 children go to school in one authority and youngest two (sen child plus 1 other)in a neighbouring authority, and they often have school holiday different dates...so makes childcare even more complicated. Some people would say well you shouldn't have had four children, we didn't choose to, we merged two families so became a family this size.

In fact I don't work other than as DH's unpaid PA for his self employment as we couldn't arrange holiday arrangements for 4 children (and I don't know about your schools but ours seem to send them home with the smallest of sniffle and so we do have to have one of us available year round for the "emergency" pick up calls. I am sure when we were at school we were put in the secretarys office on a little camp bed for an hour and then sent back to class (or sent home if really ill and been observed for a while) now they send them home at the slightest sniffle it seems.)

DH also works part time for Education authority and when youngest 2 change to High school this Sept we will have all four children in same authority but DH in other one still, so I will have the fun of all four in school hols as he will be working. I just don't get why school holidays can't be the same countywide??

OP - I would def try to see if the school could at least consider making some holiday club, if not for the full hols maybe for half so all the parents could use some leave but not have to take unpaid. Its a joke local authorities saying its not their problem, we are constantly made to feel like everyone should be in work, but there is still so little support in helping parents to be able to realistically work. With a general election loaming there are bound to be lots of promises...AGAIN!!!

Mencap do run a playscheme but only for the over 8s.
Funnily enough SS did also say to me "it is not up to us to provide childcare so you can work". Well work is my respite, so the net result is the same, no? Do they want me to live off benefits?

Am going to ring school now and see what they say.

Mencap were invited to run a summer holiday club at ds sns and this finally happened last summer. Until then it was over 8 only. Could your school try negotiate to loan the building and include the under 8s?
We negotiated for ds to go to the village (ms) club p/t on the day they are quietest (relatively overstaffed) and this has mostly worked. At 5 it was a struggle but at 10 it works well and he (and they) can manage a whole day if required. Good luck - hope you find a solution.

I am a parent trustee of an inclusive afterschool club/playscheme provision. 50% of the places are reserved for children with SN and they do not cherry pick - both clubs are based at or near our two SLD schools and they welcome the most challenging children.

It works wonderfully, with a few minor hiccups here and there. The schemes have saved my sanity for several years now, although they do not in any way equate to mainstream provision. DH still takes unpaid leave in most holidays.

The only thing is COST. It costs an absolute fortune to provide 1:1 or 1:2 or 2:1 support for SN children. This is why these clubs rarely get started up in the first place without statutory funding or input from a major charity like Mencap or Barnardos.

Until the Government recognises that disabled children - including the most disabled - deserve equal rights to play opportunities and their parent-carers deserve equal rights to childcare provision, we are fighting a losing battle as far as I can see. This provision needs statutory funding. Full stop.

Agree entirely Donkey! And carers should have the same rights as other adults too!I fear the inclusive club ds goes to may close because it is parent funded.

Where I live we are a pilot for something called DCATCH which is a project to provide childcare for disabled children so their parents can work or study. In fact, I understood that it was law that Soc Svs have to provide support for carers to work????? There must be someone on MN SN who knows more.......

I get zilch respite for ds no playscheme will have him either yo young or to disabled or not the right disablity and no school placement since January .yet I am Meant to attend a lone parents interview next weekwith view to getting back To work there words not mine like as a single parent I get the time

I remember discussing this on MN a couple of years ago. There is some onus on someone (!!vague!!) to ensure that Carers can work/study. I think it is important to make sure the authorities/professionals see us as CARERS and not "just" parents doing our job, even if you don't like the title yourself it can be useful ime.

Yes I thought there was some new right in law for carers to have a life of their own and be able to pursue their own things/needs/work/leisure.

"Until the Government recognises that disabled children - including the most disabled - deserve equal rights to play opportunities and their parent-carers deserve equal rights to childcare provision, we are fighting a losing battle as far as I can see. This provision needs statutory funding. Full stop."

Absolutely.

But they also have to work out that just saying about a mainstream playscheme 'oh it will take children with SN' does NOT make it accessible to those who are severely disabled. They need to take on board that 'inclusion' can very easily lead to exclusion.

Absolutely right saintly. I expect there are loads of mainstream playschemes out there who would warmly welcome a 16-year-old whose 'special interest' involves taking his clothes off and masturbating in public places.

YEAH, RIGHT.

I wish, I wish, I wish there was good legal help for people like us who are repeatedly refused activities for our children because they are too disabled. I also wish disabled children were not constantly treated as one homogenous group, as if they all have the same needs and a bit of disability rights training is going to solve everything.

I hate woolly thinking

I have spoken to school who are going to contact the Short Break/Aiming Higher/Extended Services people for me. The large problem school have in running a holiday club is that they need the summer holidays to do any maintenance in that time. However, the head (who is lovely) completley understood the problem and seems to be happy to rattle the council on my behalf .