Single mum looking for work during school hours

[Reflektor]

I am looking for work. I have no criminal convictions and hold a Masters Degree in Art from Sussex University, but I haven't been able to find any work.

So far the work I did before motherhood: retail, bar and cafe jobs, have turned me down. I am nearly 50 and an immigrant, some ageism/nationalism could be at play but mainly the issue is finding work within the school hours.

I am allergic to bleach and pet dander so being a cleaner wouldn't be appropriate for me. Apart from my university degree I have no qualifications or skills. I don't own a car or have a UK drivers licence, so Uber is not an option.

Please don't tell me to go home, I would if I could but my child's father will not agree and has stopped us leaving the country even for a visit several times since our separation. He is permitted to see our child but chooses not to. CMS deducts a very small amount from his benefits each month for child maintenance. I cannot rely on him for childcare nor financial support.

@Reflektor this is the ideal answer, surely?

are you bilingual?

There's are part time jobs but school hours jobs don't seem to exist unless you are working in a school. So I've noticed a lot of part time jobs ask for like three full days a week rather than spreading it over five days

There are free excel and such course online if you wanted to go into admin and have an extra boost on your CV.

There’s also this free courses site for people unemployed or earning under £25k which might be worth a look:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course/page?searchTerm=&distance=10%20miles&town=&orderByValue=Relevance&startDate=Anytime&courseType=Free%20courses%20for%20Jobs&sectors=&learningMethod=&courseHours=&courseStudyTime=&filterA=true&page=1&D=0&coordinates=&campaignCode=&qualificationLevels=

I too would not restrict myself for those childcare hours. Your child is weeks from going into secondary school so their independence will be a game changer. I would start implementing things over the holidays if you haven’t already.

School kitchen assistant. Try agencies to start off with if there's no local vacancies.

Look up Greensheets, it lists vacancies in schools. Or look on the schools' direct websites in your area.