A good interview tells you how someone presents for an hour. It does not tell you how they respond in an emergency, or follow your rules when you are not there. Lynsay Kilbane on what to ask, check and put in writing before you hire.

The school email, the WhatsApp group, the calendar, the notebook on the counter. None of it is difficult on its own. Nazia Jawwad on why one person in every family ends up holding all of it, and why that is not an organisation problem.

The most important thing your child carries through the school gates isn't in the stationery aisle. Four ways to build a lunchbox that comes home empty, from batch-cooked snacks to making last night's dinner do double duty.

Your child spends hours a day in a life you only see glimpses of. Author Sahira Dharamshi on writing a teenager who could not say what she was carrying, and how parents can keep that door open at home.

Independence sounds wonderful until you are watching them walk through the gate with one shoelace undone. Four ways to talk to your child at home that build confidence without you disappearing from the picture.