The findings show that holiday childcare costs have risen by 6 per cent since last year, with parents now facing an average bill of £175 per child, per week, amounting to over £1,000 for the six-week break.
A place at a holiday club now costs 2.5 times more than an after-school place during term time, £175 per week compared to £69. This means that families using clubs for the six- week summer holiday face costs of £1,048 for each school-age child, £635 more than they would pay for six weeks of care during term-time.
According to the report, there have been ‘significant’ price increases across several parts of the UK, notably in Wales, which has seen a 15 per cent rise in costs over the last year, and Yorkshire and the Humber where costs have risen by 13 per cent.
The lowest costs for holiday childcare were reported in inner London at £153 per week and the highest in the South-East at £216 per week – 23 per cent higher than the average in Britain.
Availability of places
The findings also reveal a lack of available holiday childcare places, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Just 3 per cent of councils reported having enough holiday childcare for disabled children, down 2 percentage points on last year.
Only 3 per cent of councils reported having enough holiday childcare for parents working atypical hours, down 6 percentage points on 2023.
Just 17 per cent of councils said they had enough provision for parents working full time, down 7 percentage points on last year.
The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said however, that the PVI sector, which plays a ‘huge role’ in providing places during the school holidays for school-aged children, already has the infrastructure to offer longer, flexible hours that working families need.
Coram Family and Childcare is now calling for funding for the expanded entitlement to be extended to support childcare during school holidays so provision meets the needs of working parents and carers year-round.
'The new Government has a real opportunity to change the experience of school-aged children and families during the school breaks.'
Ellen Broomé, managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, said, ‘Too many families dread the onset of the summer holidays. Many parents worry about how to pay for holiday childcare during the long summer break. And with ever growing shortages of available childcare, finding a place will be a challenge this summer, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
‘The new Government has a real opportunity to change the experience of school-aged children and families during the school breaks. Full reform will take time, but meeting the needs of disadvantaged children and those with SEND should be an early priority, followed by reform of the system to provide the year-round support that families need.’
Coram Family and Childcare is also calling on the Government to:
- Encourage increased data collection to make sure local areas have the information they need to plan sufficient holiday childcare for all children.
- Provide additional funding, training and support to holiday childcare providers to meet the needs of children with SEND.
- Encourage increased holiday childcare provision for older children, those in rural areas and for parents who work atypical hours by supporting providers and local authorities with information on models of delivery and targeted funding.
- Extend the funded early education entitlements to 48 weeks per year, to make sure provision meets the needs of working parents and carers year-round, and remove the work criteria to give disadvantaged children the same holiday childcare as their more affluent peers.
