Working parents who depend on childminders to look after their children during the British school summer holidays face bills of as much as £1,800 for six weeks’ childcare, according to new research.
A survey by the children’s charity Coram found families in inner London can expect to pay an average of £306 a week for a holiday childminder, compared with a British average of £234 a week.
Holiday childminder costs in Wales and Scotland are marginally higher – £249 and £238 a week respectively compared with £233 in England – but British families will have to find about £1,400 to cover the six-week break.
It is the first time the survey, now in its 20th year, has included childminder costs during the holidays, which are published alongside annual data provided by local authorities on the cost and availability of places in holiday childcare clubs.
The latest data reveals holiday childcare club costs in England, Wales and Scotland have risen by 4% in the last year, with working parents now facing an average bill of £179 per child per week – more than two and a half times the cost of term-time after-school clubs – totalling £1,075 for the six-week break.
It also reveals significant shortages of places, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). In England, only 9% of councils have sufficient places for 75% of children with Send in their area. In the East Midlands, the east of England and inner London, not a single council could meet that commitment.
Coram said many councils in England did not have a clear picture of whether they had enough holiday childcare, with half or more responding “data not held or cannot tell”.
Lydia Hodges, the head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “The need for childcare doesn’t finish at the end of term. Holiday childcare not only helps parents to work but gives children the chance to have fun, make friends and stay active during the school breaks.
“Whilst the increase in government-funded early education has reduced childcare costs for working parents of under-fives in England, prices for holiday childcare are going up for school-age children. This risks encouraging parents to work while their children are young, only to find it is not sustainable once their child starts school.”
She added: “Availability of holiday childcare is an ongoing issue and without a clear picture of how much holiday childcare there is in each area, we cannot be sure that children – particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities – are not missing out.”
The charity is calling on the government to provide more funding, training and support to holiday childcare providers to meet the needs of children with Send.
Arooj Shah, the chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “While councils recognise the importance of ensuring there is sufficient provision available for children with Send, it can be difficult to ensure the right provision is available, particularly given the challenging situation that many providers face at the moment.
“Councils work closely with providers to improve access to holiday childcare provision for children with Send, but without investment and recruitment of quality staff this will be difficult to deliver.”
A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the school holidays can be a pressurised time for parents, which is why this government is putting pounds back in parents’ pockets both during the holidays and in term time.
“We are expanding free school meals to all children whose households are on universal credit, introducing free breakfast clubs in primary schools, and rolling out 30 government funded hours of early education from September – saving families money and helping them balance work with family life.
“We are also continuing to fund free holiday clubs through the Holiday Activities and Food programme which provides six weeks of activities and meals for any child from a low-income family who needs it.”
