School holiday childcare ??????

[Giddy Kipper]

I am thinking of changing jobs..at the moment I work school hours and get school holidays off (UNPAID)...I am looking at changing jobs and working through the holidays, but is it just my area (Derbyshire) that school holiday clubs stop at age 11..How does everybody else cope with working school holidays and no childcare!!!!

 

[Hilary]

I don't know how full-time working parents manage holidays! I was in the fortunate position of being a stay-at-home mum when DDs were young, and I had family living nearby who helped out when I started working part time.

My current job is with an organisation that supports out of school childcare clubs in Wales. I would guess there are at least 20 after school clubs for every holiday club on our lists.

 

[Lisash]

We have the odd playscheme etc here but they aren't much help for me as a working parent when they don't start till 9am and finish at 4pm. I've always 'winged it' with a combination of grandparents, DH & I using annual leave and DD (now 18) helping out occasionally. I find the odd 'occasional' days harder to cover as everyone is invariably busy and I spend all day praying when snow is expected that they don't close the school

 

[poohmadmum]

There's not much on offer in my area and it is hard for us working parents. School holidays are always a stretch on the budget and especially the summer.

To save some money, we split childcare between separate days off by me and DH and my parents having DD a few days (DH's family live away) but the rest of the time DD is at a registered childminder. Only another 1 1/2 years before DD can legally be left by herself although I don't think I'd be happy about leaving her by herself for all of the school holidays.

The sports centre used to do holiday clubs and for an extra fee you could drop them off from 8.30 am and pick them up by 5.00 pm but this still meant I had to leave work early. However, they didn't always do something DD was interested in and I think they have now stopped the scheme due to a lack of funding.

It is difficult but you do manage.

 

[Claire L]

Only another 1 1/2 years before DD can legally be left by herself although I don't think I'd be happy about leaving her by herself for all of the school holidays.

This is a common misconception there is no legal age that a CHILD can be left by themselves. Obviously the younger they are the more likely it is to be neglect if anything were to happen and the authorities became aware that the child was left alone.

Claire

 

[emily1982]

You could ask at local colleges etc for childcare students who want extra work in the holidays? I'm a nursery nurse ina school and id happily look after children part-tine during the break because we're not really paid for the holidays either.

 

[carolfoy]

I must admit I find it a nightmare, its bad enough I have to leave th ehouse at 08:10 every morning to go to work and Callum isn't allowed into his school until 08:45 (I drop him at mums, the other end of town, then she takes him to school), then I don't get home until after 6:00, so again he goes to mums after school. When its the school holidays we tend to get a rota going so that he'll go to his dads for 2 weeks, I'll take 3 weeks off work, 2 of which we'll be away and 1 will be looking after friends kids too, which I don't really enjoy doing but then Callum will be looked after by another friend for 1 week of the hols too.
A big juggle, but we get there in the end.

 

[mark&sue]

You will manage. I left DD on her own once she went to secondary school as the school holiday clubs stop then. At first I tried to take my leave in half days so she would not have to be on her own so long. However now she is 13 I feel fine about leaving her.

She used to go to school and come home on her own in her last year of primary when our childminder moved and she managed well and was happy.

She is often on the DIS so I sometimes join in when I am at work. Obviously she is not happy mum is on the teenage board!!! During the summer holidays we are now taking our trip to Disney in August so she won't be on her own for six whole weeks.


Susan