Starting school/school hours

Mumstheword

Do they have ana fter school club?
edit:answered


Within a few weeks of school, you should meet other parents and may be able to ask one to hang around at the gate until you get back, or take your child with them.

I'm sure there will be other parents in the same predicament(I mean from the employment point of view), and you might be able to do a swap whereby you take their kids in the morning, and they do the pick up. I did this to help out a friend.

I'm afraid the school is right really. It may sound harsh, but they aren't there to look after our kids when it suits us. I'd be surprised tho if they couldnt help you if you asked for a couple of weeks whilst you sort something else out.

Edited because I started the post, then had visitors, then clicked send without reading what had been written in between!

Zziggi

Savvy_Sue wrote:

I suppose there's no chance at this stage of moving DS to School X ...

Nope. I did consider that and made preliminary enquiries but there's no way i can get DS in there.

I realise that it would not take much for the childminder to be delayed at schoolX when picking up 3 kids which is why i was trying to wangle it so that DS could be picked up first by the childminder and then go on to schoolX with the childminder to pick up the other 3....

Only other option is the have a quite word with the reception class CSA. She is the nextdoor neighbour of my decrepid GIL (granny-in-law) and knows my DH from being a child (infact used to babysit him!!). I might go visit my GIL and pop round with some homegrown tomatoes for the CSA. if i bump into the CSA i might mention in conversation this prob to see if she would unofficially watch him for 5 mins at the end of the school day. She already said she'd keep a special eye on my DS as she knows him & his problems. Clutching a straws here.......

Zziggi

Mumstheword wrote:

I'm afraid the school is right really. It may sound harsh, but they aren't there to look after our kids when it suits us.

Absolutely! They are NOT a babysitting service although some parents do use them like they are!! I have rearranged everything ready for september as i need to be picking up DS at 3.05 rather than at 5pm from the childminder which has been the previous arrangement. 2/3 days is the problem and we're only talking 5 mins here...

I know one mum was horrified when she found out there wasn't an afterschool club nor a school breakfast club where she could drop of her DD at 7am to go to work.....:rolleyes:

black-saturn

Can I ask why are not able to pick your son up yourself from school on those days?

cheekymole

I presumed it was because she works to supprot the family as OH can't?

Little_Miss_Winner

WHy don't you speak to the head yourself? from what i read you have just got the word from the teacher, that she "had,had a word and he said no", perhaps she didn't explain it as you would, or he didn't understand the extent of your problem.
Surely if he knew the FULL facts he wouldn't decline?

Mumstheword

...and you could put this friend in an awkward position. She wont want to say no, but the school employ her so she would be going against what they have said. Would work if she is only employed til 3.05, but I would think she will still be employed by them during the time you want her to watch him, so she isn't actuallya vailable - she's at work, same as you.

as I said before, I'd ask them to give you a fortnight's help, and work very hard in that time to sort something out.

Zziggi

Savvy_Sue wrote:

But if that's completely impossible, then I would see the Head and explain that while you will try to find someone to take responsibility for your son from 3.05 pm, initially he will be collected by the childminder, who will be there as soon as possible, and ask what they will do if someone is NOT there at 3.05 pm.

I know this one already. The kids are told that if no-one comes to collect them they are, in the first instance, to go back to the classroom and tell the teacher/CSA that they are uncollected who then takes them to the secretary where they wait outside her office to see if the parent is late. If no teacher is in their classroom then have to go themselves to the secretary and tell her they are uncollected. If nobody turn up after about 30 mins then a phonecall is made to their home.

Savvy_Sue wrote:

And at that age, what are they going to do if there isn't anyone to collect them - we all get delayed sometimes! They are going to send that child to sit outside the office - aren't they?

exactly......

cheekymole

I can't believe they are left to find their parnets themselves and then return to class if nobody collects them.

Our teachers stand outside until every last child has gone home (sometimes 15 minutes for the parents who continue to take the p***)

Mumstheword

I think (devil's advocate here) that the problem the school have is that they have over 200 children. If one is allowed to stay around for 5 or 10 minutes after school, then they open themselves up to other mums who may work til 3pm to ask if school could look after their children for 5 or 10 minutes too. the official answer has to be no for that reason.

However, asking for temporary help, with a set end time, may bring better results.

Round here, there are independant out of school clubs who collect children from local schools. Could you look for some in your yellow pages, and see if any collect from your school?