Jobs That Work Around School Hours
Looking for jobs that work around school hours? Maybe childcare in your local area is too expensive, or perhaps you just want to be there to drop your kids off and pick them up from school each day. Perhaps your current job just isn’t offering the flexible hours you need and you’re finding juggling family life and work is just too much. Or maybe there just aren’t any places available for your children to attend wraparound care before and after school.
Whatever the reason you’re looking for jobs that work around school hours, there are actually lots of different options that could work well for you.
I remember going to work full-time when our first child was a baby and although it was just about manageable, the childcare fees made it hard to make ends meet and this was the start of us getting into debt. When I was pregnant with our second child, both myself and my husband were made redundant from separate workplaces within a week of each other. It was at that point that I decided I needed to carve out a better future for our family. Once our daughter was born, I trained as a childminder which I did for seven years. I then got a job as a Proofreader working from home. My shifts were 9:30-12:30 and 6-8 in the evenings. This worked really well for us but I was also building up my blogging business alongside my job and found I was pretty much working all the hours I could. Since then, I’ve managed to build up my own blogging business to a point where I was earning enough to become self-employed which has made a huge difference to our family life.
But blogging definitely isn’t the only option. There are lots of jobs that work around school hours, you just need to know what they are and how to find them.
What hours do you actually need?
First of all, it’s important to understand what hours you actually need to work in order for it to work with your family commitments.
Term Time Only Jobs
Finding a term time only job can be tricky as they are often so sought after. Working term time only means that you can be at home with your children during school holidays. Obviously, this cuts down on the need for paying for full-time childcare during the school holidays which can be incredibly expensive.
Often, jobs in schools work well if you’re looking for term time only work, although bear in mind that you may need to go into work for training days and INSET days so will need to find childcare to cover those.
Jobs that work around school hours
Working a job during school hours is a great way to make a living as well as being the one who does the school runs. It cuts out the need for wraparound care. But it’s likely that you will still need to work during the school holidays.
As I’m now self-employed, I give myself flexible working hours to fit around my children. But I do still work during the school holidays. My older two are teenagers now and generally do their own thing, but my youngest child still needs and wants attention from me. I now sent him to a sports club at least once a week during the holidays. It runs from 9-3:30 and costs £20 which I think is really reasonable. He loves going and has asked to go for two days a week in the next school holidays so this may work really well for us.
What are school hours in the UK?
School hours in the UK generally start from 8:30 onwards and end from 3pm onwards. Our youngest is in school from 8:45-3:15 and our eldest from 8:35-3:10.
If you’re looking to make an income during school hours only, make sure you factor in your commute and give yourself enough time to get to work after the school run in the mornings and to get back to school after work in the afternoons.
Can you make your existing job work for you?
If you like the job you’re in but you are just struggling to make it work with childcare, then you could put in a flexible working request if you’ve been working for the same employer for at least 26 weeks. You can find out more about applying for flexible working on the gov.uk website.
When I went back to work after having my first child, I asked my employer if I could drop down to three days instead of five. They rejected this as they said they needed me in every day, but they offered me part-time hours Monday to Friday instead. This helped initially whilst we got into a routine and after a few weeks I asked for full-time hours again and this was granted. It’s definitely worth speaking to your employer.
Flexible working doesn’t have to mean a reduction in hours either. You could ask to work from home for some or all of the week. Whilst this won’t solve your childcare problems, it might help by cutting down on your commute meaning you need less childcare.
Term Time Only Jobs
Term time only jobs can work really well for working parents as you can be at home with your children during the school holidays. However, these jobs can be harder to find and you need to consider that if you take on a term time job, you often won’t be paid as much as you would if you were to take on a “normal” job. Obviously, one of the main benefits here is that you won’t need to worry about the cost of childcare during the school holidays.
Here are some options for term time only work.
Working in a school
Perhaps the most obvious option is to work in a school. School staff are mostly term time only, except for the maintenance team who may be required to head to school during the holidays. There are lots of different options for work in both primary and secondary schools:
- School teacher
- School office staff
- Teaching Assistant
- Lunchtime Assistant/Dinner Lady
- School Minibus Driver
- School Receptionist
- Cleaner
It’s also worth looking into any positions at local colleges and universities too, although bear in mind that their holidays do sometimes differ from school holidays. You can visit the Academic Influence website to find a list of the best schools for students who work part-time.
Mobile hairdresser/beautician
I have a friend who works as a hairdresser on a freelance basis, and when her children started school, she decided to work term time only hours. She occasionally works in the evenings, but most of her appointments now are during the day when her children are at school.
Obviously, you’ll need the relevant qualifications and experience to make this work. You will also need your own equipment and transport, but this is a great option and can be a really flexible option.
Cleaning
Cleaners often work short hours at each location which can work really well with school pick-up and drop-off. If you set up your own freelance cleaning business, then you will have complete control over the hours you work and could decide to accept jobs that only require cleaners during term time.
Jobs that work around school hours
There are definitely more options if you look for jobs that work around school hours rather than trying to find term time only work. Remember though that you need to factor in the school run both in the morning and the afternoon, so you might need to look for work on a 10-2 basis to give you enough time to commute.
Here are some of the options for jobs that fit around school hours.
Blogging
I am forever singing the praises of blogging, but it’s made such a huge difference to our lives! I quit my job in April 2022 to blog full time and I honestly haven’t looked back. Blogging is incredibly versatile and I can work from anywhere in the world. I usually work 9-3 Monday to Friday during term time and work just the mornings here and there during the school holidays. I’ve started to put our youngest child into a sports club just one day per week in the school holidays so that I can get my head down and work all day and then spend time with the family the rest of the week.
Blogging takes time to build up, but I’ve earned more in this tax year so far than I did from both my part-time work and my blogs last tax year. It just goes to show what’s possible! I know of bloggers making six figures and that’s spurring me on to work hard to achieve the same one day. I wrote a blog post back in 2018 about how I was making more than £1,000 per month blogging and things have improved a lot since then.
Dog walking or pet sitting
Dog walkers and pet sitters have become really popular over the last couple of years. Perhaps it’s because so many people decided to get a puppy during the Covid-19 lockdowns that there is a larger market these days.
We got our puppy Lola in 2022 and she’s adorable. We don’t need a dog walker as I work from home, but if we do ever need someone to look after her then I’d definitely be looking for a pet sitter or a home boarder rather than putting her in kennels. Lola hates to be left alone and wouldn’t do well in kennels. She’s very needy! I know I’m not the only one to feel like that so it’s easy to see why these services are in such high demand.
You will need to make sure you have the relevant insurance in place, and you’ll also need to be registered with your local council if you plan to look after dogs in your own home. If you plan to enter your clients’ homes to take care of their pets, you’ll need to have a criminal records check. You can read more about this here.
Get crafty
If you’re creative by nature, then you could start selling your own creations. You can sell online on platforms such as Etsy, eBay and Facebook. You could also set up your own stall at local craft fairs or other local events.
Handmade items are really popular these days as people love to buy unique gifts for their friends and family.
Online Transcription
Online transcribers listen to spoken recordings and write down what they hear word for word. In order to be successful, you’ll need good listening skills, a good grasp of the English language, and have fast typing skills too.
You can find transcription work as a freelancer on places such as Fiverr, Upwork and People Per Hour.
Freelance Writer
Alongside blogging, I have also done quite a lot of freelance writing in order to bring extra money in. I haven’t done this for a couple of years now, but it can be a great way to make money at home and fit it in around the children.
As a freelance writer, you’ll be tasked with writing articles on all kinds of subjects. One of my main clients, when I was freelance writing, was a male grooming website. I had absolutely no previous knowledge of the subject, but you can learn about most subjects online and I soon got into the flow of it.
Initially, you may need to offer your services at a lower rate than you would like just so that you can get a portfolio under your belt and show that you have a history of providing high quality work.
If you’d like to find out more about freelance writing, have a read of this article from Yasmin at The Wallet Moth.
Driver
If you’re looking for jobs that work around school hours, then you could consider becoming a driver. You could work part-time hours as a delivery driver or even as an Uber driver. You could choose to work just a couple of hours during the day when the kids are in school and still be there to drop them off and pick them up, avoiding the need to pay for before or after school clubs.
Deliveroo drivers can pick and choose their hours, so this could be a great fit for a parent trying to fit their working hours around school time.
Virtual Assistant
As a blogger, I see lots of other bloggers bringing in extra money by working as a Virtual Assistant.
Virtual Assistants generally work from their own homes to provide a service to help out bloggers or small businesses. They undertake tasks such as social media management, responding to emails or seeking out new business.
Cleaner
Cleaning jobs can be really varied. Some require lots of hours throughout the week whereas others may just be a couple of hours each day. If you’re able to find cleaning work that you can do during school hours, then this could be a great way to make money whilst your children are at school.
Proofreader
My last job was working as a Proofreader for a well-known Matched Betting company. I worked from home 35 hours per week from Monday to Saturday. My hours were fixed during the mornings but flexible for the evening shift so it enabled me to be the one to do the school runs without needing wrap-around childcare.
Whilst my role was employed and working for just one company, lots of Proofreaders set themselves up on a freelance basis and take on multiple jobs at a time. Fiverr, Upwork and People Per Hour are great places to find work to get you started.
Work as a Tutor
If you have a transferable skill or any kind of teaching qualification, then you could work as a tutor. There are lots of different options here, it just depends on your own skills. You could work as an online tutor teaching English to foreign students.
I actually trained as a violinist and studied music at university. When I first entered adulthood, I taught the violin to young children as a way to bring in some extra money. It was extremely rewarding.
Childminder
Childminding was my first ever self-employed role. I started training not long after my daughter was born and I continued for about six years. I built up a full-time business and it worked really well for us at the time. I would have some children before and after school as well as some younger ones for the full day. It was hard work but I enjoyed it and it meant that I was able to be the one to take my children to school and pick them up, and I was home with them during the school holidays.
Childminding definitely isn’t an easy option, and it won’t suit everybody. There were times when my own children struggled. My daughter cried every morning at school drop-off during Reception and Year One as she didn’t understand why I was leaving her at school and taking other children back home with me. That was really hard. There are also lots of legal requirements you need to meet in order to become a registered childminder, and you will need to be inspected by Ofsted too.
Bank work
The term “bank staff” is often used to refer to ad-hoc jobs in the NHS, but it can actually be applied to pretty much any profession. When you register for bank shifts with an employer, you will be contacted as and when the need arises. This can mean that you don’t actually get much work, but if you’re trained as a nurse, you can often get regular bank shifts which pay well and you can pick and choose which shifts you want to take on.
Jobs to avoid when looking for jobs that work around school hours
Whilst it can be tempting to jump headfirst into any jobs that work around school hours, you need to be cautious about what you do.
MLM
Multi Level Marketing is what used to be called pyramid schemes. It’s things like Avon, Juice Plus, Essens and The Body Shop.
MLM adverts are all over social media with promises that you can work the hours you want and make an absolute fortune. This simply isn’t true, and it can be very damaging when you’re desperately looking for jobs that work around school hours! Don’t be sucked in. You can find out more about what MLM is and how to avoid it here.
Leaflet packing jobs
Leaflet packing jobs have been around for many years, but they’re not usually a great way to make money. If you’re looking for jobs that work around school hours and you’re considering leaflet packing or envelope stuffing, then have a read of this post first.
Other red flags when looking for jobs that work around school hours
When you’re desperately trying to find jobs that work around school hours, it can be really easy to be drawn into opportunities that aren’t actually that great. We’re all familiar with the MLM adverts all over social media where they promise you’ll make a great living without too much effort. So how can you tell the genuine opportunities from those that you need to avoid? Here are some red flags to look out for:
- You get asked to pay a fee to sign up
- All communication is online
- Unsecure websites
- Bad reviews
- Purely commission-based
These are just some of the warning signs that a job might not actually be the great opportunity it’s made out to be.
Jobs that work around school hours can be difficult to find and there’s often a lot of competition from other parents who want to avoid paying for wrap-around childcare. But these jobs are out there and if you get your CV in order then you stand just as much chance as any other parent. If you have managed to secure a job that fits around school hours, I’d love to hear all about it! Leave me a comment below and I’ll get back to you.
