Childcare could cost £1000 per child this summer, a new report finds
A new report reveals summer childcare now costs £179 a week on average.
A report published today finds that childcare is looking to be extra expensive this summer, with UK working parents having to fork out over £1000 per child for the six-week holiday.
Coram, a children’s charity, conducted a survey using data on childcare provision and prices from local authorities. It found that the cost of childcare for the summer holidays has increased by 4% since last year.
This is only if parents can even find care for their child — and most councils in England don’t have enough places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Holiday childcare could cost parents over £1000 this summer
Most working parents don’t have enough annual leave to match the 13 weeks of school holidays across the academic year and so have to pay to bridge this childcare gap.
The report found that childcare clubs cost an average of £179 per week per child in Great Britain but this varies across the country, from £196 in the South East to £162 in the North West. That’s an average total of £1,074 per child for the six weeks of the summer holidays if they attended for the full duration.
Only 78% of holiday clubs in England are open for a full day, the report found, while childminders are more likely to be open for full days, all year round.
But costs are even higher for childminders, who cost, on average, £234 each week across Great Britain. And there is a decline in the number of childminders, meaning fewer parents have access to their more expensive but more comprehensive services.
The report also found that childcare goes up in the school holidays compared to during term time. A week at a holiday childcare club costs an average of £133 more than a week of care at an after-school club.
There’s a shortage of childcare places, too — especially for children with SEND
It’s not just costs putting pressure on parents during the holidays — availability is an issue too, especially for children with additional needs.
Only 9% of councils in England had enough childcare places for at least 75% of children with SEND in their area. In the East Midlands, the East of England, and Inner London, none of the councils met this target.
The report also found that four- to seven-year-olds were most likely to be in sufficient childcare, but that families with older children, who live in rural areas, or who have parents who work atypical hours were less likely to have access to sufficient childcare.
The government holiday activities and food (HAF) programme, which provides holiday childcare and healthy meals for children who receive free school meals, has been extended to the end of March 2026. However, there’s no news on its future after that, meaning that disadvantaged children could be added to the list of kids left without childcare next year.
Coram is calling on the government to help
Lydia Hodges, 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. Yet all too often it is missing from childcare conversations.
“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.”
Coram is calling on the government to help address the issue of holiday childcare, with requests including maintaining HAF after March 2026; planning sufficient, year-round childcare for all kids; and allowing the upfront payment of the childcare element of Universal Credit.
Until then, families will have to continue to use a combination of formal childcare, informal care from grandparents and friends, annual leave, and flexible working.