I wonder if ;after school; clubs exist in the UK ? (they didn;t when my daughter was small, but I worked from 9.00to 3.00 (her school finished at 3.30) then picked her up and took her back to work with me ...I had a very good ;boss; whose grand daughter lived in the USA so he never saw her, and he loved to have my daughter to sit and 'discuss; things with as she was the same age ....they had great fun colouring in things and drawing ! He was also a magistrate and often had to sit on the bench ...my daughter (aged 4) thought this was strange, and asked him why he sat on a bench as he had a nice chair ! When many years later I moved to France, I helped out at the after school club, run by the school, and a drink and snack was given to the children and we could play games with them until the parents collected them...it was all free, I wonder if the UK could use non working parent volunteers to do a similar thing (provided health n safety and the education authority agreed to keep the school open ...but it is for cleaners, I suppose ....worth a petition or two !)