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Original poster

working full time, child in school without after school club, no childminders

67 replies

StackALee · 11/07/2014 17:00

How do you make it work?

OP posts:
PeterParkerSays · 11/07/2014 17:09

Can you apply for flexible working to do some office work at home in the evening, or to have a shorter lunchbreak?

Girlwithnotattoos · 11/07/2014 17:12

I'm in same boat dc's school don't have any after school clubs and finish at 3:15! The only way I cope is by using an after school club that pick up and they stay there until I collect about 5:30. I had to use the club as no local childminders collect from the school due to the fact that it's much smaller than others in the area.

LIZS · 11/07/2014 17:12

have you asked at the school ? Sometimes there is an offsite after school club which collects. Are there really no cm 's on the area ?

Katisha · 11/07/2014 17:13

How old is your child?

BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure · 11/07/2014 17:14

Schools are supposed to signpost options on request - have they done that?

chickensandbees · 11/07/2014 17:15

juggling, grandparents, working from home...its hard though.

StealthPolarBear · 11/07/2014 17:15

Cm in a different area who can collect - thags what we do.
if desperate can you pick up and drop child off at cm before doing a bit more work??

Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 21:26

I am considering options RE shorter days, shorter lunch etc

The council website has a tool to find child minders/wrap around care/school clubs who pick up from individual schools, there is one child minder listed and that is it

A Facebook acquaintance from the same area tells me she found it so impossible to find a childminder they went private instead (!)

The school has an after school club but it is not for reception class, only year 1&2 and above, also it finishes at 4.15 but that's irrelevant as I can't use it.

School finishes at three.

My son will be starting at 4 and 8 months in reception (full time)

He's currently in a private nursery and is 3 and a half.

We are in Wales in a city and an area where many families are on benefits so they don't use childcare.

I have one grandparent available but asking her to pick up every day would mean a more than ten mile round trip and I really can't expect this.

I work five miles from the school so picking up,and dropping off then picking would be difficult but an option I hadn't thought of so maybe I could do that, it would mean racing across town before 2.30 to get to him for three though.

Ideally my husband and I would both reduce hours on different days but it looks increasingly like this kind of request will be turned down. I don't even have a career as such, just a job. We pay £700+ in nursery fees at the mob soused to the knock on our wages but feel like the lack of childcare options once he is in school really means that we have few options.

Couldn't have a live in nanny or au pair as only in a two bedroom house. Maybe a nanny share?

Cripes. How do people manage Specially if they have more than one!?

OP posts:
Imsosorryalan · 11/07/2014 21:32

Is there anyone at the nursery to help? I only say this because my dd will need childcare after she finishes nursery from sept. But luckily one of the key workers there has agreed to bring her home and look after her until 5pm. I guess she would be like a part time nanny.

Stillnoidea · 11/07/2014 21:35

What about a live out nanny who just does the afternoon. if you divertissement locally you might be able to find someone...

Stillnoidea · 11/07/2014 21:35

Should gave been 'advertise'..

drspouse · 11/07/2014 21:43

Are there any "babysitters" advertising on childcare.co.uk or similar? They could take your DC home or even maybe to your place of work if not too far?
Is there a local university campus? This might be a good student job.

NickNacks · 11/07/2014 21:49

So if he doesn't start school for another 14 months I would check again for CMs. And call the LA because not all cm like to be listed on the internet and a new one might register in the meantime.

Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 22:29

No one from the nursery could help unless they gave up their job. The nursery is private and five miles from the school. I need childcare from 3pm and I think the nursery workers work until 6pm.

I honesty would not want to give a babysitter responsibility for my son for three hours a day, are they crb checked, do they have childcare qualifications? Do people really do this?

I am working rather in advance but only because if we do need to do a flexible working request it needs to be three months before I need it and also I will have to apply for schools in the next few months so need an idea of what is likely to happen re different schools.

Will look into nannies, are they expensive? We pay £8000 a year in childcare already (drop in the ocean for some but we only have below average salaries) so are no strangers to the cost I just stupidly thought starting school would mean less in childcare costs.

OP posts:
Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 22:30

Also, would a student be reliably free from half two every day of the week?

OP posts:
EurotrashGirl · 11/07/2014 22:42

Yes, many university students would be free during these hours.

Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 22:44

But would you really hand over a five year old to a student for three hours a day? No disrespect but no way would I have handed a five year old to me when I was a student (I had lectures anyway so wouldn't have had the chance to do it). One reason I feel a bit iffy about child minder is the lack of accountability so a student would not appeal to me.

OP posts:
EurotrashGirl · 11/07/2014 22:52

I would, but I'm not the one making the decision. You seem a bit stuck for options and I personally think its an option worth exploring. Most au pairs are late teens/early twenties.

WipsGlitter · 11/07/2014 22:56

Does his current nursery not do pick ups?

Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 22:56

Are au pairs regulated in any Way or can a student just pronounce themselves as an au pair and charge for childcare? Isn't it weird that you can't pay members of your own family or friends for childcare unless they are ofstead regulated (I think?) but you can just ask a random student to be your au pair? Maybe I am getting confused?

OP posts:
Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 22:59

His current (private nursery) is five miles away from the school in a busy city. They stop taking kids at five,mwhen they legally have to go to school.

Maybe I am misunderstanding but I didn't think a nursery would dash about collecting kids from different schools to bring them to the nursery they left to go to school?

OP posts:
MadameDefarge · 11/07/2014 22:59

I would have cheerfully handed over a 5 year old to my student self, but then I was very experienced in childcare (younger brother 9 years younger) babysitting from 13 (yeah the 70s) worked in council playgroups as a playleader.

Lots of students have experience of children. It would be no different to an au pair, no language issues, no living with them and a five year old is verbal enough to tell you if there are issues.

MadameDefarge · 11/07/2014 23:01

If someone cares for your child in your own home they do not have to be qualified or regulated.

See the concept of au pair, and of nanny.

You can pay relatives to care for your children in their home setting without regulation.

Original poster
StackALee · 11/07/2014 23:02

Ok, but once the five year old has managed to verbalise those issues - those 'issues' have already happened. Do I want to take that risk? I feel funny enough about getting a child minder as it is!

Am I just odd or would most people be happy to get their child care done this way?

OP posts:
kilmuir · 11/07/2014 23:02

Find a school with afterschool care?