School holiday childcare costs surge to more than £1,070
Parents are facing a more than £1,000 bill per child in childcare costs over the summer holidays, research shows.
Childcare costs now sit at £179 per week, or £1,075 over the six-week school break, after a 4% rise in the last year in Great Britain, according to Coram Family and Childcare's annual survey.
The study found that a place at a holiday club costs more than two-and-a-half times more than an after-school club during term-time - £179 per week compared to £66.
The highest costs are found in Wales at £209.60 per week, the Holiday Childcare Survey found, followed by England at £178 and Scotland at £168. Yorkshire and the Humber has seen the biggest annual price increase, at 13%, with the average cost of a holiday club now at £194.41 per week.
For those who opt to use a childminder, the average price during the holidays is £234 per week across Britain – more than £1,400 for the six-week break. Inner London has the highest childminder price at £306 per week, compared to the South West where the childminder cost is £191 per week.
While cost is a major issue, families are also facing challenges when it comes to availability of spaces for kids.
Councils have reported a shortage of holiday childcare places - especially for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), researchers found. Just 9% of councils in England said they have enough places for at least 75% of children with SEND.
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.'
Arooj Shah, chairwoman of the Local Government Association's (LGA) 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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Country's 'strictest' state schools revealed – where does your child's rank?
The number of suspensions at state-funded secondaries in England has more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic, government figures show A failing school backed by the Co-op handed out twice as many suspensions in just a year as there are pupils, we can reveal. An astonishing 3,174 suspensions were made at the Co-op Academy Grange in Bradford – nearly 17 a day. The remarkable figure represents the highest at any state secondary in 2023-4, analysis of newly-released Department for Education (DfE) figures show. It comes as the number of suspensions at state-funded secondaries has more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 22.6 suspensions per 100 pupils in 2023-4 –a rise from 10.7 in 2018-19. It means the overall number has jumped from 357,715 to 829,896 during the period. Co-op Academy Grange – which can educate up to 1,500 pupils – is part of a trust sponsored by the Co-op Group, the UK's fifth largest food retailer. On its website, Co-op Academy Grange boasts 'we strive to create a nurturing and inclusive environment that supports academic achievement and personal development'. But in June 2023, it was warned by the DfE with termination as a letter stated: 'The number of suspensions for poor behaviour is too high and increasing. This is especially true for disadvantaged pupils and for pupils with SEND. This results in pupils missing valuable learning time and falling behind their peers. Leaders should examine more effectively the causes for vulnerable pupils receiving suspensions and put strategies in place which address these.' The DfE letter added: 'The number of pupils removed from lessons for poor behaviour is high. This disrupts pupils' learning and limits their progression through the curriculum.' And a watchdog inspection in February found the school required improvement across four categories. The Ofsted inspection report, which noted there were 1450 pupils on the school roll, said: 'Actions taken by the school have resulted in the number of pupils' suspensions being much lower than in previous years, although it is still too high.' The regulator rated the school requiring improvement across four categories. The number of suspensions at the school in 2023-4 averaged almost 17 a day across a standard 190-day school year. Camborne Science and International Academy in Cornwall had the next highest number of suspensions with 2,976. The suspension rate was highest in the North East of England, with 39.7 for every 100 pupils. A National Education Union spokesperson said: "The rise in pupil suspensions is a worrying development, especially in secondary schools. When you ask teachers what they need to help students who are struggling, they talk about insufficient numbers of staff, an over-packed curriculum, insufficient pastoral staff, and point to the practically non-existent mental health support for children and young people. 'Schools used to have budgets available for staff to focus on working with families, create small group work for pupils, and additional mentoring for those who need it. All these initiatives are gone because of budget cuts. Bulging class sizes in secondary schools are also a factor. The government's current focus on training and other low-cost initiatives will not solve this problem. What they must get to grips with is the historic shortfall in the funding of schools and local authorities to provide the support families and children so obviously need." Co-op Academies Trust said: 'Over the past few years, we have achieved a dramatic reduction in the rate of behaviour sanctions through concerted efforts across our school, including to raise standards in behaviour and attitudes with the support of parents and families. These figures relate to the 2023/24 academic year and therefore no longer reflect the current picture at the school – indeed data for the current school year already show a further reduction of 50% for suspensions. We remain firmly on a path to accelerating these improvements as we work to ensure every student has access to the educational opportunities and productive learning environment they deserve. Indeed, we were encouraged by feedback from Ofsted in February 2025, which highlighted the strong evidence of improvement underway." A spokesperson for Athena Learning Trust, which Camborne is part of, said: "It's worth noting that with almost 2,000 students, Camborne is nearing twice the size of the average secondary school and so the numbers are always likely to be higher than for a smaller school. The figures referenced also relate to the year before last and we are really pleased that the most recent data shows a clear reduction in suspensions across all our schools. In fact, at Camborne Science and International Academy, suspensions have gone down by over 50 per cent compared to the data published by the DfE. We set the bar high - and we don't shy away from that. In fact, we believe children thrive when they know exactly what's expected of them. The fact that suspensions have more than halved this year, while our expectations have remained just as ambitious, shows that when you hold the line and support students to meet it, they rise to the challenge.' A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Every child deserves to learn in a calm, safe and supportive environment, which is why this government has stepped in to support schools like Co-op Academy Grange through our new regional improvement programme, providing tailored, expert help to improve standards, and reduce avoidable suspensions. More widely, through our Plan for Change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by working to provide access to mental health support in every school, give children the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expand free school meals. We are also setting up new behaviour hubs, that will deliver intensive support to 500 schools across the country facing the greatest challenges with their behaviour.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
More Stoke-on-Trent SEND children to stay in mainstream schools
More children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be supported to stay in mainstream schools as part of a council's plan to bring down City Council is facing a £22.4m deficit against its dedicated schools grant (DSG) – ring-fenced funding from the government to help with education -related services.A report to the authority's cabinet said the deficit was expected to increase to £38.8m by the end of 2025/26, caused by a rapid rise in children with Stoke-on-Trent, youngsters who needed education, heath and care plans (EHCPs) went from 2,390 in 2021 to 3,472 in 2025. Many of those go to costly private schools, the report said, with just 34% attending mainstream education, compared to the national average of 40%.During a meeting on Tuesday, the council's cabinet agreed to divert some SEND funding to schools with the aim of helping support children within mainstream education, without the need for an EHCP. Councillor Sarah Jane Colclough, cabinet member for children's services, said many authorities in England faced similar deficits as a result of a growing numbers of children with said the authority's plan would "enable better outcomes for children" and allow them to remain at mainstream schools in their area."Parents and carers will get the confidence that their children will be getting their needs met locally, collaboratively by the best educational setting in their community," she city council will launch a pilot scheme for the new funding model in September. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
Scunthorpe special needs school garden wins gold at RHS Flower Show
A special needs school's kitchen garden has been recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).Dubbed "the Living Larder", the garden – comprising a mix of vegetables and flowers – has been created by students from Scunthorpe's Trent View College. It received a gold award at RHS's flower show, which is being held at Wentworth Woodhouse in South teacher Sarah Parker said gardening helped young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to develop employability skills. Students spent months growing plants from seed to create the display, which was transported to the flower to a description on the RHS website, key features of the garden are "white flowers, purple vegetables and green foliage". The charity said this resulted in a "striking visual impact through a carefully considered interplay of colour, texture, and structure".All the produce grown is due to be donated to a local food bank. Kyla, 18, one of the students involved in the project, said: "I enjoy planting, watering and growing from seed."Her teachers said gardening had helped her become more Parker said: "One of our main aims [of gardening] is to support as many young people as possible into employment."Gardening gave her students "value and purpose", she added. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
