What jobs fit in school hours?

[alittletreat]

Hello! Mumsnet Jobs team here. We've noticed this thread is fairly old now, and some of the information is out of date. We've put together this article of advice, tips and tricks to finding a job that will allow you to work within school hours. We hope it's helpful!

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After reviewing our monthly outgoings I reach a conclusion that I really need to get a little job if we want to maintain our current lifestyle. Not that we have a luxury lifestyle but my dcs do have weekly swimming lessons, Guides and music lessons in schools. We don't have any extended families around. We dont have foreign holidays and occasionally we have birthday meals out on Texco vouchers. I really don't want to have to deprive my dcs by withdrawing any of their extra curriculum activities as not only do they learn life skills also they get to meet other kids outside schools.

So can mnters provide a list of proper possible employments that will fit in school hours and/or school holidays. So I can start phoning potential employers. At the moment I am thinking something like housekeeping in hotels. Anyone works in hotels? How are the hours like?

Not housekeeping, but my friend who works in hotels finds it really hard to get school holidays off - especially Christmas and Easter, so I suspect that might not work.

The people who have fitted in very short hours have either gone back to a job they had before, and negotiated reduced hours, or work evenings / weekends when their other half is around to cover child care.

A TA may be the closest you get to the hours you want, although many start before school, and certainly don't get out in time to collect the kids from school.

Would you consider trying to find a couple of full days? Or some early starts, so you can do (say) 6-2, 5 days a week?

What you are looking for is the gold standard in jobs of mums with school aged kids.

Lunch time supervisor at school? That is all I can actually think of sorry

I was going to say mid-day supervisor in school. Could be really rewarding if you like playing with children.

I am a teacher and work 9-2.30 but it takes a while in the profession before you can call the shots over hours you work!

Assuming you are not working now, I think you're basically restricted to jobs in schools - which as you'd imagine are very hard to get into!! Other people that I know that work school hours were either in their job before they had children and negotiated the change when they went back ... or have taken jobs with less than optimal hours, make themselves indispensible and then requested to change their hours.

I work for the local council and some of my colleagues work 10-2.30. Worth investigating jobs with the council as they can be very flexible. Also nights can work with children in school, I used to work somewhere that the night staff did 10-7 which fitted in well with putting children to bed and being there to take them to school.

Not many nowadays sadly.

I recall in the 1980's, I worked at Dorothy Perkins and we had part timers who did either 10-2 (which gave plenty of time to drop kids at school and pick them up) or 2-6. It was kind of unspoken that the ones with older kids who could make their own way home would do the 2-6 shift leaving the ones with younger kids, a much less stressful 10-2 whilst earning decent money.

I see less and less of either these hours/shifts or "community spirit" (for want of a better phrase)

I do part time admin at a university (not in the UK). I work 9:15 to 2, meaning I can drop off my daughter at 8:30 and pick her up at 3.

I'm very a little over qualified for it, but it suits at the moment, and the people are lovely.

There's a few of us in the office who are working part time hours to be able to school pick up - I think the academic world is more flexible for part time hours than other areas.

i work as a kitchen assistant in a school. its 11-2.30 term time only. its for min wage though. but suits me

Working in a school kitchen perhaps. I am a midday supervisor in a school, which fitted in well when my children were at primary, but they are only usually for an hour a day. Since my dds went to secondary school I have 2 other jobs. Our council website has details of school job vacancies.

Or supermarket work, in the evenings and at weekends.

I have a child friendly job but I have been there for 6 years so it's a little easier, I work two days a week, it's give & take and now if I work overtime I call the hours. I need to arrange child are for only one day in the holidays and generally am given most of them off. (But that's not a given!) Basically it's hard to walk into any of these jobs, generally you have to go through putting in quite a few hours at Christmas, etc (I'm in retail) over a few years then you can call the shots a little. Good luck!

Do you have any colleges or universities close by op? You may not get the school half terms off but the main holidays usually match up. I work 10-2 in a college library at a uni about 20 mins. drive away, the pay isn't great but everything else is.

Thanks for all responses. When I said housekeeping I really mean cleaning and making beds. As usually guesses check in and out between 10am and 2pm. So it seems a perfect hours to fit in school hours but I will have to think about school holidays. Anyone know about how hotel employment works?

Have you thought of shift based work? For instance retail, fast food or a supermarket?

Those work may require to work evenings and weekends and I don't have anyone to look after my kids. My dc1 is only 11 so not old enough to be left at home one their own.

I went to an interview once for a care assistant post but it was 0 hour contract so it was hopeless.

Some shift work you can agree the shifts in advance, have you tried some of the large retailers?

You may well have to take a zero hours contract. At least it would give you experience.
I once came on to one of these threads to say curtain making, but some people did not like that.

My friend is a part time childminder. She takes on mainly before school children, so that she is available for taking her dc to their after school activities and is obviously home in the holidays.

I do accounts. school hours. 3 days a week. is the most perfect job.

Cleaning
Care agency, helping with dressing, washing, shopping etc
Lunchtime supervisor at school
Nursing home
Cake making

Do you have any current or relevant qualifications? I was a nurse before having the dc but not now as haven't worked for a long time.

7to25 Can you explain about the curtain making please? I have thought about doing something like that as can sew.

If the basic bills are covered is it luxuries money you're after?

I do quite a bit of ebay buying and selling. If you meticulously sell everything you don't need and get the DC into the routine of turning over toys they no longer play with as well as clothes and any other household items it can start to mount up. I sell for family too, for a 50% share.

I also do the bills, shop around for all purchases be it the food shop/ presents/ loans etc, I'm always on the look out for best deals for phone/ broadband etc. i'm on topcashback and quidco. So for example top cashback have an offer at present buy an advent calender up to £3 in a number of supermarkets, scan your receipt and we'll refund you. Tesco have buy one get one almost free so you get credited for the full price one on topcashback then you can claim the £2.50 as tesco clubcard vouchers (up to £50/ year) so that £2.50 has got you two advent calendars and if you choose, a £10 pizza express voucher. There are numerous apps around that offer promotions for food one of them has had free birds eye frozen pasta meals this week. It all adds up, it takes time but its completely flexible around the DC.

It easily saves a good few hundred a year and with between £1-3000 ebay each year it covers a lot of nice stuff including last year our first family holiday abroad in Iceland.

What did you do before DC?

Some admin jobs, school admin if you gave enough experience, school kitchen, lunch time supervisor...I think some companies like sainsburys have shifts to suit mums.

Is there anything you can do self employed? I left my old job after having DD and set myself up doing support, admin, desktop publishing, etc for small charities that need additional support but only on an ad hoc basis. Most of what I do is when the children are at daycare (I do need set times for meetings, but they are in approx school-day times) or when they are in bed. Most of my clients don't care if I do their work at 10am or 10pm. It was great this summer when DD was doing summer camp and I was able to go on some of the daytrips with her, and I can work around vomiting bugs, appointments, etc.