Families paying for holiday clubs this summer now face a bill of £1,045 for six weeks of care for one child – a rise of 6%, according to a survey by the charity
Coram Family and Childcare. The survey also highlights a shortage of places, especially for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Providers are struggling with staff shortages while trying to keep costs down.
In Birmingham, Claire Johnson, owner of Harborne School's Out, anticipates a busy summer with her club fully booked for months. "With the people I have turned away, I could run a completely new club but I don’t have the staff or a big enough venue," she says. Johnson, who also runs an after-school club, finds raising prices a difficult decision, with costs for a full day rising from £35 to £38 this year. "It is already a low-paid job for staff, so it is very much a passion for everybody who works in the sector,” she explains.
At pick-up time, John and Katriona Virgo praise the holiday and after-school club in Harborne as "fantastic," particularly for accommodating last-minute needs on election day when the school served as a polling station. Their summer plans involve a mix of clubs, annual leave, and help from grandparents.
Across Great Britain, the average cost for a child in full-time holiday clubs for six weeks is now a record £1,045, with prices rising 5% in England, 4% in Scotland, and 15% in Wales compared to last year. “Too many families dread the onset of the summer holidays,” says Coram Family and Childcare managing director Ellen Broomé. "Finding a place will be a challenge this summer, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities."
Event manager and public-speaking coach Dani Wallace, who has three children, describes the summer holidays as “organised chaos.” Holiday clubs are unaffordable for her, especially with three children. None of the clubs caters to her eldest son's additional needs, making the environment "noisy and quite intimidating" for him. She relies on family support to manage.
Solicitor and positive-psychology coach Emma Stirk finds holiday clubs to be a lifeline, though prices in Yorkshire have risen by 13%, the biggest jump in England. She uses a whiteboard to plan her summer, coordinating her and her husband's leave with the days their two children attend clubs. "Some of the clubs are between £30, £40, £50 - multiplied by two - and you've got lunch and getting them to and from it," she explains. “Plus, the clubs we used were sort of 09:00 till 15:00, so by the time you've taken them somewhere, you’ve not got a full working day done."
The sector has faced challenges following the pandemic, with many out-of-school clubs closing their doors. The Out of School Alliance, representing providers, reports mixed experiences across the country. "We hear about availability being down - but I've got providers who are talking to us about how their demand is so low they haven't recovered past Covid,” says chief executive Rebekah Jackson Reece. She notes that providers are struggling financially due to increased rents, difficulty finding staff, and schools taking over their own provisions due to budget constraints. There needs to be more understanding of parents' needs and matching those with existing provision, Reece adds. Photo by MSchottlander1, Wikimedia commons.