Teachers with young children - how far away from home do you work?

[MinnieMousse]

I'm relocating and am applying for new jobs. I've got an interview but the position is 35 minutes drive away and I'm worrying that it's too far. My kids are aged 1 and 3 - they'll be in nursery some of the time and looked after by my mum some of the time. The school doors open at 8.30 in this particular school so I'd have to be there before this. I rarely arrive at my current school before 8.30 because of the nursery run.

Can anyone share their experiences of commutes?

An hour door to door. Do you have to do all of the drop offs?
We do Monday DP drops DS at his mum and picks him up. Tuesday i drop him at my mum 5 mins walk away then head to work. Wed and Thursday i take DS on the bus and drop him at nursery which is 5 mins walk from my work. Some of those 2 days i bring him home on the bus, sometimes DP can pick us up.

About 15 mins door to door, including the nursery drop, so I probably can't help!

10 minute cycle

30 min drive. I drop 3yo dd2 at the cm just before 8 and arrive at school just before 8:30 (or just after 8:30 if we're running late). Registration starts at 8:50.

Does your nursery offer earlier drop offs? I know some allow drop off from 7:30, but none round here. My cm would allow it but she charges a higher hourly rate before 8am.

45 mins. It's just about manageable, but I only work 3 days per week. Dp does all drop offs on the mornings I work.

V of the 10 and 15 minute commutes! (But relieved it's not an hour...)
The job would only be for 3 days a week. I'd have to do nursery drop-off two days a week (DP unfortunately working away during the week for the time being) and my mum would come to us the other day so that would be fine. The nursery opens at 7.30 so that's not a problem - it's more that I'm just not that good in the mornings! I'd be ok if the registration was just a little bit later.
I have another interview with a school a bit closer, only 2 days a week which would be better but a temporary contract so less secure long-term. So many things to weigh up as I'm not sure how many part-time positions will become available.

Do you think a temporay job that's more "manageable" with young children would be better than a permanant contract further away? (This is assuming I even get offered either of the jobs of course!)

oops, temporary that should say

At the moment I would take a permanent job.

I'd go for a permanent job. If it's just a matter of you not being good in the mornings then you'll have to GET ORGANISED. I say that as the worst person in the world in the mornings, but I still managed to get us all up and out of the house by 7:20 when dp was working a different job and needed to be dropped off at the train station before dropping dd2 at the cm and dd1 at secondary school.

I'm not denying it will be hard, especially if your dp isn't around to help in the mornings, but you'll soon get into a routine that works for you.

I started at a new school when DS was 6 months old. It was a 90 minute drive on a good day but could be up to 3 hours with bad traffic. It was manageable initially and I worked 3 days with family doing childcare. After about 8 months they asked me to work full time which I managed for two weeks then had to drop back to 4 days- school were very flexible and allowed me to take my PPA time on the morning I had to drop DS at nursery which didn't open until 7.30.
I loved the school and would've stayed forever but after 2 years I had to admit that it was simply too far away to be sustainable permanently.
I got a job in a school closer to home and we then bought a house in the same village so my commute now takes 3 minutes

45 minutes. Longer on the way home if traffic's bad. I do 3 days and Dh drops ds off at 7.15 (usually the first one there!) And then one of us picks him up before 6.30. Long days for him but luckily he naps and eats well at nursery and just has longer naps the other 4 days to compensate! I downl hooks on CD to listen to in the car and try to see it as a bit of 'me time'. Also mornings I work everything is set out the night before and I only get myself ready- into work for 7.30 and then I cab get stuff done at school and try not to take masses home!

Thanks everyone. I know it can be done and I should take the permanant position if they are interested in having me. I will force myself to get organised!

My commute is an approx. 50 mile round trip and it takes up to an hour and a half as I now have to go via nursery/my mum's on some days (I share the drop offs and pick ups with DH, however, and only have one DC). It's not as bad as it sounds as a lot of it is motorway. However, I do find it a pain when I am only teaching a couple of lessons. I also have to say no to all helping out at non-directed things. It's not ideal but I would rather commute further to a job I liked than work somewhere I disliked closer to home. My organisational skills are pretty good, however, and I definitely second the preparing everything the night before advice.

My boys are now both at nursery/school and we have an au pair, but when the smallest was with a CM, I took him to one who lived near my school (I taught her children!) which worked out really well, and she was flexible enough to keep him on nights I had parents eves etc. It also meant I got quality(ish) time with him on my drive to and from work.

I used to have a 40 min door to door when my DC were younger (1 has SN) and I found it manageable but I did used to leave school early in the evening to ensure I could spend some time with them in the evening - once they were in bed then I did school work

I have since changed jobs and I am 10 mins away but don't live in an area that our students come from...brilliant!

When mine were little, 25mins at one school, and about 15 - 20 at the next one I moved to. Much easier at the 2nd as my CM was near school, so I could drop dc when she started at 8 and then be in school by 5 past.
If your Nursery opens at 7.30 though, it's not such an issue, surely?

About 12 -15 minutes with a quick drop off. I live about 7 minutes from school, DS is at school 5 minutes from work. TBH I took a less than ideal job to get such a good commute, it has taken 7 years to get the job I want in the same school- a long wait, but worth it for me.

Anything between 30 and 45 minutes depending on traffic. Most of the time DH can do the drop offs as I have to be in work before 8.15 I sometimes have to leave for after school activities pick up but would never be able to drop off directly at school or pick up directly from school.

I've done it and it just about worked. But another thing to add into the equation is what is your backup childcare like? What will you do if one of your children is ill? 35 mins drive away is a long time when you have an ill child to collect from nursery. Regardless of how supportive your school is with working parents there is an issue of how your own child's illness will be covered and adding a long drive to collect them may be annoying for your new head and colleagues (and I say that as a parent who's children were always getting ill at the start of their nursery / school career, and who's school ran out of patience with giving me days off to look after them and having to find cover at the drop of a hat when they were ill at pre-school, etc.). Is it possible for you to name your mother as emergency collection / care if they are ill or have an accident?
Also as your children get older and start school (not that far off for your 3 year old!) how are you going to manage that?