It’s the end of the holidays but before school starts on Tuesday there’s an inset day (or bugs day as Big Girl, my eldest, once mistakenly referred to it). This is the first of five days spread over the year when the school closes for teacher training.
The problem with inset days – apart from the fact that they’re random and sometimes pop up with no warning whatsoever – are that they occur in term-time. So, unsurprisingly, there’s no obvious childcare available. I could dip into my precious annual leave but as I’ve had most of August off and last week was shortened by the Bank Holiday I don’t think Ms T (Tolerant), my boss, will be impressed. So the only alternative is to beg a favour from a friend. Fortunately for me, Ms W, another working mum, has got to take time off. Her youngest is starting school but Year R begins a whole week later than Years 1 and 2. I can see the logic of this from the school?s perspective but for my friend, it?s a logistical nightmare, especially as for the first week her child will only attend for half days.
Anyway, the next inset day is in November. At least it’s a Friday, so I could go away for a long weekend. Except, I can’t because I’m looking after the offspring of Ms H who helped me out when the school was closed for training in July.
