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Original poster

Teachers whose partner is also a teacher, how did you arrange picking up your kids from primary school?

75 replies

chris1987 · 17/01/2022 17:28

My fiancee and I are about to become PE teachers and we want kids in the future, but it has just dawned on us that collecting them from primary school is going to be near impossible, especially given the fact we will be PE teachers with after school clubs. We have no family near by either.

How did people go about this? My main thought so far is one of us becomes a TA and asks to finish early enough to collect them.

OP posts:
OnceuponaRainbow18 · 17/01/2022 18:51

Considering you’re not pregnant yet you’ve got a while to get a plan. I teach 4 days a week
And my school finishes at 3, luckily my kids school finishes at 3.15 and is down the road. So 2’days a week i leave at 3 and collect them, one day I’m off so collect then one day my parents do it and one day he does a after school arts club!

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 17/01/2022 18:52

Use a childminder.

JuniorMint · 17/01/2022 18:56

Wraparound or child minder.

TAs don’t finish before the end of the school day to give them time to collect their own children from school- I don’t think many Heads would allow them to- end of the day is one of the times they’re needed most! However they’re usually able to collect their own children from wraparound or childminder by 4pm so if it’s pay by the hour then it’s cheaper than us teachers who usually collect by 5 or even 6pm. Just as well it’s cheaper because the poor TAs get paid absolute peanuts, which is a travesty as they’re worth their weight in gold.

Teaching is not a particularly family friendly profession.

SpinsForGin · 17/01/2022 18:57

You get them booked in to the after school club!

Wfhquery · 17/01/2022 18:57

I would say teaching is prob easier overall to cover childcare than most other non education jobs you could do as you then have to consider childcare in hols as well.

SweetPetrichor · 17/01/2022 18:59

My parents were both teachers and in primary school I had a childminder who picked me up when I was young. When I was in the older age of primary school I’d just be in the playground from 8am - mum taught at that school - and I’d hang around with her after.
In secondary I travelled to and from school with my dad cause I went to the school he taught at rather than the local catchment option. Dad arrived at school in time for the registration bell and left when the home bell rang so that made it super easy. He didn’t believe in working more than the teaching hours.

NothingIsWrong · 17/01/2022 19:00

Ummm you use wraparound care like the rest of us. And be thankful you'll get the holidays, as those of us that aren't teachers have that to manage as well...

55mirabeau · 17/01/2022 19:02

God people are vile sometimes. You realise that people who don’t have kids might not realise that a childminder does school pick ups? Or that people use after school clubs as childcare not as just something extra for your kids (which by their nature can be unreliable, so not always a perfect solution- my youngest’s school don’t do Fridays)

There’s no need to be so snippy and vile about it. Not everyone knows everything about everything, especially if you don’t have friends with kids.

WeeHaggisFace · 17/01/2022 19:07

Keep in mind you'll also have in-service days and if in a different districts your holidays may be different.

Anyway, loads of people have answered your query now so no need to repeat but you have plenty of time to figure it all out.

AnonAnom940 · 17/01/2022 19:16

Your job finishing after school pick up time is nothing unique to being a teacher. It's most jobs.
What do you think other working parents do?

Original poster
chris1987 · 17/01/2022 19:19

I had never heard of the term wrap around care before or that parents relied on before and after school clubs. We never had that when I was growing up. One of my parents had to quit they're job to be available.

Slightly shocked at all the anti-teacher rhetoric I got there. Haven't started teacher training yet but looking forward to parents evenings ;)

OP posts:
lesenfantsdelesperance · 17/01/2022 19:25

I don't think it's anti teacher rhetoric.
I think people are just challenging the old adage that there is no such thing as a daft question. Did you really think that all parents collect their children from school?

Pinkflipflop85 · 17/01/2022 19:26

I read the thread. Then read it again.

Am failing to find any anti teacher rhetoric...

lesenfantsdelesperance · 17/01/2022 19:27

Plus if one of your parents had to quit their job, that surely can't have been because of school. You cannot be over 40. Therefore there were always childminders.

user1471530109 · 17/01/2022 19:29

Tbf, @chris1987, I don't think there is any anti-teacher comments. I think people are a bit shocked you don't know this going into teaching?
Even if you're very young, and straight out of uni, wrap around care has been a normal thing for years. My eldest is 12 and it's been around a lot longer than that! So definitely a thing when you would have been at school unless you're in your 40s like me! Before after school club, people paid for childminders. Very surprised anyone would give up work in the last 15-20 years due to school pick up.

wallysally · 17/01/2022 19:29

But @chris1987 you are clearly aware that there are Afterschool clubs as you stated that you will be doing them?

If you haven't even started training yet then why on earth are you saying you are about to become a PE teacher? Don't count your chickens until they have hatched!

impossiblypossibly · 17/01/2022 19:29

very bizarre question, as others have said it's what every single other working parent couple has to figure out......if anything teachers have it easier as you have school holidays off

SE13Mummy · 17/01/2022 19:29

DH and I are both teachers. When the DC were younger we used a combination of breakfast club, nannyshare and childminders over the years. When the youngest DC was preschool age we each worked 0.8 and had a different day off so only needed childcare for three days a week.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 17/01/2022 19:30

Where has anyone been anti teacher?

Lots of posters are surprised you've never heard of childcare

lesenfantsdelesperance · 17/01/2022 19:30

Even longer than that. Childminders were a real thing in the 80s. Probably because there weren't all the clubs. But loads of childminders setting off with big groups of up to about 6 kids.

audweb · 17/01/2022 19:32

Wrap around care. Either childminder or school clubs. What did you think other parents working did?

TheCatInTheChat · 17/01/2022 19:33

This problem isn’t unique to teachers Hmm

Breakfast club
After school club
Childminder

Ginger1982 · 17/01/2022 19:35

@chris1987

I had never heard of the term wrap around care before or that parents relied on before and after school clubs. We never had that when I was growing up. One of my parents had to quit they're job to be available.

Slightly shocked at all the anti-teacher rhetoric I got there. Haven't started teacher training yet but looking forward to parents evenings ;)

You're about to become a teacher and you've never heard of after school care?
Anoisagusaris · 17/01/2022 19:36

How do you think every other full time working couple manage? Do you actually think that all families have one parent who doesn’t work or finishes before school ends?

Lipsandlashes · 17/01/2022 19:40

Well being teachers is a red herring for a start. Do you think other working couples pack up at 2.30pm to get to school in time to collect their children? Pay for after school club or a childminder like the rest of us.