Working 30 hrs in a PA role and DD starting school this year??

[mammasmadhouse]

Dear All

I am after some advice , so I hope you can help.
I have applied for a PA's post which has been advertised at a minimum of 30 hrs upto 37.5 although I am sure they would prefer F/T, I would like 30 hrs. However my main concern is that my DD starts school this year and I would really like to be able to take and or pick up (pick up if cant drop off), and alot of people have said most children prefer to be picked up. I am just wondering how feasible this would be both in terms of the job role and school. The job is 10-15 mins from where I live, I currently have 45min - 1 hr depending on traffic. The more I think about it the more I feel like I am convincing myself it would not be feasible. I am just after any comments from those of you that have done this already, whether its this role or simular - Do many people have childminders/afterschool clubs and how have your childens settled?? I am propably trying to think to far in advance and about things that may not happen but I just worry that my DD will be upset if I have someone else pick her up.
Sorry about my waffle , you can see what a dilema I am putting myself in!!!

I am a childminder who takes & picks up children from school & also has some of them in the school holidays.
Some children I just take into school, others I only collect & some of them are every day & others some days. Childminders can be really flexible in their care especially with school aged children. I always try to ensure that we have at least one decent outing a week in school holidays & if neccessary in the past I have hired a minibus if I have too many to fit into our people carrier. ( my eldest dd seldom comes with us now (she's 16) but my youngest still likes to join in (nearly 13). This last half term we had a fantastic day out at Mercedes Benz World (all girls) plus we met up with some childminder friends of mine at a local children's centre for two hours one lunch time where we had use of the hall, dining room & kitchen. I think that a childminder would be a good option especially for a reception age child as they might find an out of school club a bit too much & full on, but can quite understand why parents use them especially in the holidays because of the relative costs involved.

With 30 hours, you probably wouldn't be able to be there at school pick-up every day (I agree with you BTW, better to be there at pick-up than at drop off), but depending on what time your DD will come out, could you work 3 days 9-5 and 2 days 9-2.30 (or something)?

Are you a PA already? I think it really depends on the person and company you work for.

I've been a PA a long time. When baby comes along I am going to give up as it's full on and just wouldn't work as a job share. You may be lucky and be able to get out of the door on time, however, this really depends on the job. It doesn't matter how proactive or organised you are, bosses have a great knack of springing things on you. You can't always defer work as it's often for tomorrow's meeting. I do, however, work for the Chief Exec of a large company so doing fifty things at once at a million miles per hour and staying late is just expected really.

If you get it, give it a go, you'll never know if you can cope if you don't try.

Good luck!

The problem is Speckledeggy, that once you are a working parent, with a fixed childcare deadline, you simply HAVE to get out of the door on time, whatever your role. That doesn't mean of course that you can't pick up things later in the evening, or make calls whilst you're leaving to do the pick up, but leaving at a certain time suddenly becomes non-negotiable.

Well, I do realise that Bramshott which is why I'm saying I couldn't do my job with children or as a job share.

If my boss is getting a flight first thing in the morning and I am waiting on papers for him to take with him it just won't work. Looking at my Blackberry or logging on to the network later in the evening is going to be no use whatsoever.