The weekly schedule: how to write one that holds

Start from the children's week, not the adults'

Write out every fixed commitment the children have — school, nursery, clubs, naps — and the au pair's language course. Those are the immovable blocks. The worked hours fit around them, and what is left becomes free time nobody can quietly repurpose.

Count the hours before you agree them. A schedule that adds up to 34 hours on paper but 'feels like 25' is the placement's first fault line.

The handover column

The most useful part of any schedule is ten minutes at the start: what time is pickup, who has a fever, is the kit bag clean, which snack is banned this week. Give the handover its own row so it happens even on rushed mornings.

For au pairs: ask for it. Walking into a shift blind is how small mistakes snowball, and the families who rate their au pairs highest are the ones who never skip the handover.

Agree the exceptions before they happen

The schedule is easy on a normal week. It is tested when a parent is away, a child is sick, or the au pair has an exam. Decide in advance: how much notice for an extra evening, what counts as a swap versus extra hours, and how a sick day is handled for both sides.

• One agreed method for swapping days, with notice in writing
• A simple rule for sick children — who cancels what
• How evenings out are requested and approved
• What happens in exam or course weeks

Keep it alive

Pin the printed grid on the fridge and keep the current version on the family noticeboard. When something changes twice in a month, update the template rather than accumulating exceptions.

A schedule that sits in a drawer is a piece of paper. A schedule on the fridge is the thing that keeps the agreement honest.