Shortage of holiday childcare in two-thirds of the country

The Daycare Trust’s annual holiday childcare survey also found that more than half of local authorities have had their holiday childcare budgets cut this year.

Costs have risen on average by 3 per cent, but as much as 19 per cent in some areas.

The most expensive holiday club found is in London and charges £400 a week.

Despite the requirement in the 2006 Childcare Act that local authorities must ensure they have sufficient childcare for working parents, the survey reveals ‘significant gaps’ in holiday childcare across the country, particularly for older children, disabled children and in rural areas.

Key findings

• Families with two children pay on average £1,200 for holiday childcare.
• The average cost of one week of full-time holiday childcare in the UK is £99.87, a rise of 3 per cent on last year. (In England it is £99.64, in Wales, £102.25, and in Scotland £99.58.)
• The south-east is the most expensive region for holiday childcare, with an average weekly cost of £110.06.
• Some areas have seen large increases in cost: the average cost of a holiday childcare place in Wales has risen by 19 per cent and 18 per cent in Yorkshire and Humber.

According to the survey, Greater London has the lowest average holiday childcare cost in England at £90.95 per week.

‘This is the opposite of the trend observed for nursery care which sees London as the most expensive region in Britain. London’s relatively low holiday club costs are likely due to a greater number of subsidised services in London that provide an affordable service for less affluent families, who would otherwise struggle to cope with spikes in their childcare bills during the school holidays,’ the report said.

The report also provides a breakdown according to sector provider.

Generally holiday childcare is slightly more expensive in private, voluntary and independent provision.

On average, holiday childcare in a PVI holiday club costs £108.25, compared with £88.24 in the maintained sector.

The report attributes this to the fact that PVI providers tend to open for slightly longer hours than maintained providers and that maintained provision may be subsidised to provide low cost childcare for less well-off parents. PVI providers may also have higher costs from renting premises.

The findings are based on surveys sent to every local authority Family Information Services in England and Wales and every Children’s Information Service in Scotland, during May and June. The trust received responses from 132 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

Anand Shukla, chief executive of the Daycare Trust, said, ‘This year’s survey illustrates the lottery parents face when it comes to not only finding, but paying for childcare during the long school holidays, with the price of holiday childcare varying by as much as £20 a week between neighbouring regions.

‘Council cuts to holiday childcare budgets and Family Information Services are hitting families across Britain hard, with only one in three local authorities now providing the childcare working families need this summer, despite their legal duty to cater for the needs of all. As a result, more parents than ever will face a juggling act to ensure their children are looked after this summer.’

Although childcare vouchers can be used to pay for holiday clubs, there was a low awareness among local authorities about whether providers would accept vouchers, with less than a third knowing whether providers would accept them.

Julian Foster, managing director of Computershare Voucher Services, which sponsored the report, said, ‘It’s worrying to see an increase in costs for childcare over the summer holidays compared to last year, and in particular such significant increases in costs in some areas of the country.

‘It is also concerning to note that despite the 2006 Childcare act, some working parents are still struggling to find the childcare they need.

‘We strongly recommend holiday childcare organisations register with the relevant regulator - like Ofsted in England - and a childcare voucher scheme, to enable parents to make pre-tax salary savings on their childcare, reducing the pinch felt by rising costs and the likelihood that they have to take leave from work in order to make sure their children are cared for during the holidays.’