ds starts Primary Sep 08. But he is p/t for 1st 6 weeks. How do I negotiate with employer ?

[Oblomov]

Just got details of Ds's Primary. Am very pleased. But becasue he is Feb - Spring baby, he starts in Sept, but only part time for 1st 6 weeks - oh god why is my school 6 weeks rather than a couple of weeks part time ?
9 am - 1pm
I can't ask my work to allow me to do that for 6 weeks ?
School said there is no negotation on him going full time.
How long daoes it take to drop off and say goodbye so that they feel secure ?
If I leave at say 9.15 and travel to work, I may be in work for 9.45. Then to get back for 1 I would need to leve at 12.15-12.30, so it just over 2 hours at work
Thats only 5 days x 2 hrs = 10 hours.
I am contracted to 20.
And when he does go full time it is only until 3.15, right so I might just be able to fit in 20 hours if I work 5 days, right ?

Do I need to give up my job.
It all feels so hopeless.
I was hoping to drop him off and pick him up and do all the school gates thing. Was hoping that I might need the after school club once a week or so. but I just don't think this is manageable.

I have talked to my boss and he said, don't worry, we will sit down soon and sort it all.
Hoorah for nice bosses.

Brilliant.
Think it deserves a stiff letter to the LEA though. ...

Hurrah. I thought it might be ok as it's for such a long period of time.

FWIW I would have hated the LEA to change this policy, and yes I am a working mum and yes it was very hard to cover the part time period but we knew it was coming and as Ob is doing, we tried to cobble together a plan - in the interests of the child! Not all children have been to nursery, some children were only three years old days before they started school; they cannot all, by any means, cope with a full day. Bad enough they go at 4 let alone have to go full time to fit in with parent's work commitments (important though those are)

oops such a SHORT period of time I mean!

I agree Peahead. It is not supportive to working parents.

No, it's designed to be supportive to the child.

But school is there to educate our dcs NOT to provide free childcare for those of us that work. For goodness sake don't people understand this

agree titchy. And it's not that I don't understand the difficulties of working life and children, I totally do, have been struggling with it for nearly two years now and have ds at home with me ill right now, DH in hospital, and no-one to cover me at work!

And I appreciate that. I don't cart ds off to school, just so that I can work.
I agree with easing them in gently.
But there could be some compromise for parents who work. Those who don't work, it is not a problem.

Of course it's not free childcare. Everyone understands that.

However there is supposed to be a partnership between the schools and the parents. We are both supposed to be on the same side. Just saying 'tough! Sort it out' isn't particularly helpful. And if a majority of the parents work, it might be constructive if the schools recognise this and don't expect all the children to stay half time for weeks on end regardless of whether they individually need to.

Good news Oblomov

Hooray for nice bosses indeed !

I know this phase is really tricky, but tbh, if both parents are already working when the child is pre-school, then it's not a huge adjustment to just continue using childcare arrangements. And presumably for most parents, once the child is in full time school, you'll still need childcare in place for before/after school and the holidays. Unless you're fortunate enough to have a job where you can drop off at school every morning, pick up by 3.15 and work term time only, and there arent many jobs like that about!! So in a sense, I don't see why it's the LEAs problem. The priority is to ease children into school in what they feel is the best way, not to make life easier for parents!
I had the same situation with my dcs, and I used a CM for the part time phase. I did manage to negotiate a few days where I or DH could drop off and pick up, because I thought it was important to experience the school gates at least once, but believe me, the school pick up is over rated and I'd rather be at work !!

oh alfiesbabe I was nodding in agreement to your post until I read the last bit

What about your parental leave entitlement Oblomov? Isn't it something like 12 weeks in the first 5 years of a child's life?

DD1 will go to school in either sept part time or jan full-time ( i find out on thursday!) if sept I will be in same position as you and thought some of my parental leave might come in handy (only 1 week paid tho')

Sorry chelsygirl, but it's true! I think the school gates are a dreadful place to be 90% of the time! All that gossip and competitive parenting! Anyway I'm a teacher so safely at my own school at drop off and pick up time these days!!

i had this problem.
I had to take annual leave, time owed to me and dh had to do the same. It was VERY VERY stressful.
We managed also with help from mil, she was able to pick him up on the odd day as well.

now he is established in school (he started in sept just gone) i have booked him into after school club for one afternoon, reason is thta he is absolutely exsausted and it is a very very long day for him.

We are pretty much organised now, the most stressful aspect now is getting from my work to his school in time through heavy school traffic. For eg, it takes me 7 miniuts to get from school to work at 7am, at 2.30pm it takes 55 minuits.
I cant attend afternoon meetings nor can i submit to an agenda as i just cannot stay, i MUSt leave by 2.30 at the latest. I panic the whole journey, if there is an accident it makeds my stomach lurch with sheer terror at not getting there in time.
Its awful, i cannot give up work so have to live on my nerves.
I have lots of support and help from dh and occasionally mil.

I don't get into the gossiping or the competitive parenting, I'm just there for the kids, they want it to be me meeting them after school to dicuss their day and whilst they are still young I want it to be me too

Ok chelsygirl - I have no interest in turning this into a 'better parents pick their own kids up' thread. Too dull.

knew you'd take this the wrong way

where did I say I was better?

merely said I like collecting kids from school

I have all this to look forward to in September. I am tempted to send my DD2 to my second choice school purely because they let the kids go full time as soon as the parents think they can cope with it.

Just to make everyone feel a bit better, my sister lives in Holland and her DCs (ages 8 & 5)are off school EVERY Wednesday afternoon. She was in shock when she found out.

v difficult, my friends boy had 2 weeks of afternoons, 2 weeks of mornings then 2 weeks of 2 full days and 3 afternoons. Logistical nightmare.
Childcare around school is completely different than pre-school childcare.
Well, 1 week is sorted as you are off on a Sun holiday (was that you? Sorry if it isn't).
Presumably he will be doing some visits in the summer term? Ask for a class list and talk to the other parents at these visits and see if there is anyone else with similar issues that you could share it with.
Could you use the afterschool club for the part-time? Probably not.

Following on, once he is full time, it is possible to do 20 hours, I do a 5 hour day, on the day I drop and pick him up I drop at school for 8.45am (along with ds2 to the CM who meets me at school), get to work for 9.15am (if I am lucky, but 9.30am at the latest) and leave about 2.30pm, to pick up at 3pm. I don't have a lunch break though, jut work straight through. If you could do that you can do 20 hours in 4 days.
OR you could try and negotiate some sort of annual hours contract, working 5 x 5hr days in termtime and using the extra to take time off in holidays?

chasingsquirrels, yes that was me
Donbeam, I feel like you.
Alfie, our childcare arrangements are going to change alot. Life is so easy when you have ds in a nursery on your work site for 2.5 days per week.
I never really appreciated how lucky I was before. People kept warning me about the 'school years', but a bit like someone telling you what it would be like, before you gave birth, you have no comprehension until you actually get there.
Welcome to he school years with a vengeance.
I am looking back longingly at those happy 'nursery days' already !!

I can totally sympathise as I will have this problem too! DD will have to go 1pm - 2.30 every day for 3 weeks, then they do a week of mornings, but the final day of that, they do 9.30 -12.30 to stay for dinner. Wk 4 is 9 - 3 if the teachers think they are coping.
We have no choice either.
Ds meanwhile has to be there from 9 - 3.15 every day as he is there anyway.
So, I will have to drop DD at nursery at 8.30am, drop DS at school for 9, go to work for 9.30, come out (have no dinner!) at 12.15 to pick up DD (hoping she's finished her dinner!), get her to school for 12.45/1pm, persuade her to go in happily, go back to work quickly (get back about 1.30pm), leave at 2.30 to pick up dd, pick up DS from the classroom next to her at 3.15pm, go home.
Total hours worked - 3 1/4 a day. I am full time - not funny!
When she does mornings, she will get no dinner at nursery as she won't make it back in time. Even less funny!! Cue one hungry screaming child! I can't give her dinner as the is nowhere to go - A sausage roll and a Fruit Shoot whilst walking down the street is not a good idea is it?
I would love to send her for the first week then put her back in nursery until they go full time, but the school won't allow it, and we will have extra costs that way, as we would have to pay full time fees (no nursery grant allowed if they are supposed to be at school!!). I can't not take her and pick her up though in her first weeks at "proper" school - I only took DS the first few times because of work, and I was told by a person I thought was my friend I should be doing it myself, not mil, and I was a bad mother. I was a SAHM all through his nursery year but had to get a job for money reasons. I don't speak to her now, but am constantly feeling guilty and will never forget what she said. She doesn't miss an opportunity to put down working parents, not just me!
DD will probably be fine all day and being picked up by MIL etc, but I feel it is my "job" to do it or DD/other mothers will hate me - despite the fact that my work will certainly not like it and may make life worse for me than it already is.
How can I send her somewhere she hasn't been before - she didn't go to the school nursery because of me working - then not be there to pick her up and make sure she's OK etc?
The only way around it for us is:
Annual leave for me the 1st week
Unpaid Parental leave fo DP the 2nd week
Unpaid Parental leave for me the 3rd week
Annual leave for DP the 4th week.

Or, I come out of work to take her, Mil picks her up, but she would have to look after both DD and DS then until I finish work - we have no after school club.

Mad isn't it??!! Hope you sort something out Oblomov! Why the hell should we have to lose our jobs or be stressed out because of school arrangements? Surely that will be worse for the kids!!