Families will have to fork out almost £900 for six weeks of holiday childcare for each school-age child, according to a survey – a 5% increase on last year’s prices.
The average place at a holiday club now costs £148 a week, which is more than double what parents pay for an after-school club during term time, according to the charity Coram Family and Childcare.
As a result, parents’ summer outlay will be almost £500 more than they would pay for six weeks of term-time childcare before and after school, forcing many to take unpaid leave to look after their children rather than incur the additional holiday costs.
According to Coram’s annual holiday childcare survey, not only is holiday childcare expensive but availability is “patchy”, especially for disabled children, and there is considerable regional variation in prices.
Parents in inner London, for example, will pay an average of £161 a week, compared with £135 in the West Midlands. In England the average weekly holiday cost is £148.09, a 4% annual increase; in Wales it is £147.21, up 8%; and in Scotland it is £142.68, a 7% annual rise, though Coram cautions there was a low response rate to that question in Scotland.
The Coram survey also shows that little over a quarter (27%) of English local authorities have enough holiday childcare places available for parents in their area who work full-time, down six points on last year. For parents of disabled children, only 7% of councils can meet demand, down from 16% in 2021.
Ellen Broome, the managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “Holiday childcare is key economic infrastructure. The lack of childcare places for working parents is a serious problem – not just for families but for the country’s economic output. Many parents, particularly mothers, will have no choice but to be locked out of work altogether or struggle to pay for basic necessities such as food or rent.”
Helen Hayes, the shadow minister for children and early years, said: “The Conservatives’ failure to fix the soaring costs of childcare is increasingly forcing parents – particularly mothers – out of their careers. Families are already struggling with rising bills and food prices and now face paying £900 in childcare costs per child this summer.
“High-quality affordable childcare is essential. After 12 years of failing to get a grip on spiralling childcare costs, the Conservatives are now too busy warring amongst themselves to prioritise parents’ concerns. A Labour government will put our children and families first.”
A government spokesperson said: “We have spent more than £4bn in each of the past five years to support families with the cost of childcare and have set out plans to help providers run their businesses more flexibly. Thousands of children from low-income families all over England are benefiting from our holiday activities and food programme during the long school holidays, backed by £200m a year over the next three years.”