Clubs give parents vital breathing room

THE school day starts at 8.50am and finishes at 3.15pm – good luck explaining those hours to your boss!

“Breakfast club” leads many to think these queues are all about free Weetabix. No. It’s about childcare before or after school, so parents get the space to hold down a job.

My wife has worked hard to keep a career after our girls were born. It’s a near-military operation to ensure they are looked after while we work.

Mrs Greenwood leaves for her job at dawn, so I’m lucky enough to be in charge four mornings a week.

On two of those I take our fiveyear-old to a paid-for breakfast club before the bell, so I can catch a train.

Services like this, paid for or not, are over-subscribed everywhere.

Many mums want to work, and often families need both incomes.

Yes, dads must step up and bosses need to be flexible. But for real workplace equality, our services must give all parents space to work.