The average place at a holiday club now costs £148 a week, more than double what parents pay for an after-school club during term time, according to charity Coram Family and Childcare. As a result, parents’ summer spending will be almost £500 more than they would pay for six weeks of before and after school conditioning, forcing many to take unpaid leave to look after their children rather than shoulder the extra costs holidays. According to Coram’s annual holiday childcare survey, not only is holiday childcare expensive, but availability is “effective”, especially for children with special needs, and there is considerable variation in prices by region. Parents in inner London, for example, will pay an average of £161 a week, compared to £135 in the West Midlands. In England the average weekly holiday cost is £148.09, an annual increase of 4%. In Wales it is £147.21, an increase of 8%. and in Scotland it is £142.68, a year-on-year rise of 7%, although Coram warns that there was a low response rate to this question in Scotland. The Coram survey also shows that just over a quarter (27%) of English local authorities have enough childcare places 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 the demand, up from 16% in 2021. Ellen Broome, chief executive 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 only for families but also for the country’s economic performance. Many parents, especially mothers, will have no choice but to be out of work altogether or struggle to pay for basic necessities such as food or rent.” Helen Hayes, shadow secretary for children and early years, said: “The failure of the Conservatives to fix the rising 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 control rising childcare costs, the Conservatives are now too busy squabbling with each other to prioritize parents’ concerns. A Labor government will put our children and families first.” A government spokesman said: “We have spent more than £4 billion in each of the last five years to support families with the costs of childcare and have put plans in place to help providers run their businesses more flexibly. Thousands of children from low-income families across England are benefiting from our holiday activities and feeding scheme during the long school holidays, with £200m a year over the next three years.”
