Quick answer
List when every working adult is away, then every care arrangement. The hours when all adults are away and no arrangement covers the children are your gaps. In our example, two parents and a preschool leave 5 of 40 weekday hours uncovered. A two-day centre closure adds 14 more hours to cover.
The useful number: In our example, 5 of 40 weekday hours are uncovered: one hour each evening.
Who is this for?
Working parents juggling preschool or school, student care, grandparents, a helper or working from home. It also helps one parent working alone. Use it before a new job, a new school year or a change in care.
How do you find the gaps?
- Enter when each parent or main caregiver is away, including travel.
- Add every care arrangement with its hours: preschool, school, student care, grandparent, helper or other.
- Read the gaps: times when everyone is away and nobody is covering.
- Look at handovers, where one arrangement ends and another starts.
- Try a closure: switch off one arrangement for a day or two and see what opens up.
- Type the leave you have left to see whether it covers a closure.
- Print the weekly plan for everyone involved.
What does a typical week show?
One parent is away from 8am to 6pm, the other from 10am to 8pm, Monday to Friday. The preschool runs 7am to 5pm. These hours are our example only.
- Hours when both parents are away
- 40 a week (10am to 6pm)
- Uncovered
- 5 hours: 5pm to 6pm each weekday
- If the preschool closes on Monday and Tuesday
- 14 more hours on 2 days
- If a grandparent covers 4:30pm to 6:30pm
- Every one of the 40 hours is covered
Two people covering the same hour count it once. That overlap shows as double cover, useful for handovers.
Map the week, then plan for closures
The Family care coverage planner finds each gap to the quarter hour. Print the Weekly care coverage planner and fill the Backup-care contact sheet for sick days.
Leave for closures: a parent whose youngest is a Singapore citizen below 7 gets 6 days of childcare leave a year. Check yours in the Childcare leave entitlement checker.
Need a plan for a day at home? Try What can we do today?
Working shifts or nights?
On a rotating roster, each week looks different. The Shift roster care planner takes 2 to 4 weeks of shifts for each adult, nights included.
It shows, day by day, the hours no adult is home. It splits them into what a centre’s opening hours can cover and what needs a helper, relative or other care. A centre does not cover nights, Sundays or public holidays.
What a plan cannot do
A plan shows gaps. It does not create childcare places. Working from home is not the same as watching a child. The example centre hours in the planner are an editable starting point, not a rule for any centre, so enter your own.
Printables for this guide
Weekly care coverage planner
Shade the hours each adult is away and write who has the children each hour. Spot gaps and handovers, then check closures and sick days.
Backup-care contact sheet
Every backup carer's hours, travel time and pick-up authorisation on one page. Add the centre, school, clinic and work numbers a carer might need.
First-fortnight caregiver plan
Who is at the school gate each day of P1's first two weeks, 4 to 15 January 2027. Add a named backup, caregiver contacts and notes for helpers.
Same-page house rules card
One card of house rules for parents, the helper and grandparents: screen time, bedtime, food, sweets and calm-down steps. Space for the helper's language too.
Find your own gaps
Enter work and care times. See the uncovered hours and who is on duty when, then print the weekly plan.
Map your care week →Frequently asked questions
How do I work out our childcare gaps?
List when each adult is away and when each arrangement covers the children. The gaps are the times nobody is covering. Try the family care coverage planner.
Does working from home count as childcare?
Only if you can truly care for your child during that time. The planner lets you add a parent caring block, but working from home is not the same as supervising a child.
What if the preschool closes or my child is sick?
Run a closure in the planner. In our example, a two-day closure adds 14 hours to cover. Compare that with your leave and your backup contacts.
Is our schedule sent anywhere?
No. Your plan stays on this device. You can export or delete it at any time.
Keep this guide for the next big decision.
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Sources & assumptions
A plan shows gaps; it does not create childcare places.