What are you supposed to do with your kids during the school holidays if you work ?

Quenastoise

Most of my 25 days' annual leave go on the school holidays + CPD days. My husband has his own entitlement and in theory that would be 45 days of the 65 school holidays covered. The ladies who run the after school club also run a nursery where they can accommodate the 5 and 6 Year olds but I think after that age you would need to think of something else. Not sure what we'll do when he's 7, from 8 to 12 I can see day activities advertised locally so it should be easier then. The holiday club costs us about £ 20/day. I also buy holiday vouchers from my employer but a bit more than I need to cover the after school club, with the excess saved for the holidays. Out of the £ 150 monthly holiday voucher bought, I save tax and NI of about £ 45

daveyjp

property.advert wrote: »

Perhaps on the gravy train that is the public purse or in minimum wage jobs but in the commercial world that is just not practical.

Perfectly practical if you have a decent management team.

My wife works for a company with just 12 staff - she does what is almost a term time only contract - no problems at all.

FBaby

When my kids started school, I went down to .9 pay, but still working 37.5 hours a week, I take the difference (26 days) in hols. I can't do the full 6 weeks summer though, so I balance it around, usually takes weeks in advance to sort it out. What I did is became friends with the parents of my kids friends and over time, we got the point of being comfortable enough and trusting to ask about swapping children. I have two friends with kids same sex/age than mine and we agree in advance the days I will have their kids, the days they will have mine and the days we can work. The first year was quite something, but since then, it's been quite straight forward.

If there are days missing, I ask family for the odd day, and one day there and then at holiday club where they can have some fun.

Have you tried contacting the other schools? My kids's school offer an holiday club, but it is sponsored by the council, and so every kids from any school can attend (most parents didn't know that).

Lunar_Eclipse

FBaby wrote: »

When my kids started school, I went down to .9 pay, but still working 37.5 hours a week, I take the difference (26 days) in hols.

Great idea.

minerva_windsong

My mum's a teacher, so a lot of the time she looked after me in school holidays, and on days when she couldn't it was a combination of holiday clubs run by the council and going to work with my dad (basically camping out in a corner of his office with a pile of books and some 'quiet' toys, on strict instruction that I wasn't allowed to leave the room other than to go to the toilet).

I know my cousins routinely get packed off to my nanna's for a week but they live closer to her than we do.

Imp

Doesn't it say something about society where this problem is the norm, rather than the exception?

michelle._4

Take a leave and go for a holiday.
or
Send them to your relatives' place.
or
Leave them with neighbors.
or
Get a babysitter if they are too young.
or
Leave your job. LOL.

esmerelda98

Imp wrote: »

Doesn't it say something about society where this problem is the norm, rather than the exception?

Just what I was thinking. Do these children not have friends? Do parents not take the trouble to get to know the parents of their childrens' friends? With both parents working in many families it can't be that hard for a few parents to form a babysitting 'club'. Is it that people think the suggestion would not go down well with other parents? Or that people just don't feel that they know these other parents well enough to leave their children in their care. I would really like to know.

dangers

OP - where does your child go at the moment? What is going to happen before or after school for your child?

a_confused_mum

There are childminders that provide holiday only care like myself. I have 2 children I mind term time only so that leaves me space to look after holiday only children that is an option too!