Summer holiday clubs costs

[8654677j556]

Ds is going to reception in September and I read this piece in the guardian about the price of an average summer holiday club www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jul/19/charity-criticises-lack-of-uk-summer-childcare-as-cost-rises-to-nearly-900. We are in London so it says average is 161 a week, I've also seen lots of clubs at 50 pounds a day around here. How much does everyone pay and how do you afford it?

@8654677j556 i think I saw that Guardian article. There were some
really nasty responses in the comments on Facebook.

i am NW and pay 25-50 for a patchwork of cover. I find the only ‘cheap’ options are football camps (£) and this is partly due to the short day several PP mention. Places with longer days tend to be more aimed at younger kids. My child is 8 and the activities already seem ‘young’. Now they are 8 a science club (£££) and an adventure week (££) will feature. It’s hard. I have no relatives to fall back on. I’m fortunate I can WFH a lot - lord knows what nurses, shop workers etc etc do. So many people don’t get that annual year does not cover the school holidays even when there are two parents. Actually I do have one family member who could help however they seem to think they can just spontaneously pick a day or two close to when they know what they are doing and I can’t work like that - I need to know I definitely have cover. I don’t blame
that family member or have any expectations, it’s simply that goodwill isn’t enough when childcare and my work diary book up at least a half term in advance.

The good ones near me are between £40-50 a day for around 8.30-5.30. The ‘chuck them in a hall and hope for the best’ ones are closer to £30 as are the shorter but good ones that are like 10-3 or half days. I’d rather pay £50 and know I’ve got a good range of activities and decent hours than £30 and still have to faff hours of work.

Our youngest has SEN and wouldn't cope in a holiday club or any childcare for that matter. So we use annual leave, flexi time, two weeks unpaid parental leave and grandparents. There is always the odd day not covered so he sometimes has to amuse himself while my husband wfh. This doesn't happen often, more like if he's sick. The eldest would be there too but he's pretty self sufficient now.

There are free council holiday clubs in our area which lots of my friends are using. The paid ones were 45 a week from what I've read.

Between £25 and £35 a day and I can pay with Childcare Vouchers.

That's 8am to 5:30pm

I've paid £360 for 2 weeks holiday club for 2 kids (7 and 4 year old) but shorter days (9-3.30). I've done the shorter days as it's a sports/activity club and I don't think my 4 year old would cope with a full day. My mum will be helping with some pick ups. I got an early bird discount as I booked a month or so ago. That doesn't include food, I send lunch and snacks.

Generally I use a combination of annual leave (I'm lucky to get a generous amount), their dad's annual leave, holiday club and grandparents. This year they're doing 2 weeks in holiday club, then i'm taking 2 weeks annual leave, then their dad (we are separated) is taking 2 weeks annual leave. As the kids get older I'll probably use more holiday clubs and less grandparent care, as grandparents not getting any younger, but also my eldest might get to the point of being able to occupy himself at home as I wfh.

I use childcare vouchers to pay for it, as I've been using them since 2017, I pay out £75 a month from my salary. I don't miss it because I haven't had it for so long!

The guardian article says £900 for 6 weeks which works out at £30 a day, not bad if that's 9-5.

for those of you who dont have grandparents helping, how many weeks do you send them in for over the summer but also across the year? Do we need to pencil in about 5 weeks - 3 summer and two others across the year? And lastly - are multisport ones the ones where you just chuck them in a hall and hope for the best?

£35 per day, so not too unreasonable.

@8654677j556 we are lucky to have 1 week of grandparents and then take 2 weeks holiday with 3 weeks of camp.

I’ve found the best ones for my daughter have a combination of sports and crafts or other activities. Our multi-sports one was a bit too full on for her but they all vary. some of my friends have had really rubbish ones where they basically have a student in a hall and they seem to not do much.

Ask around locally as provision varies so much. Also be aware that some places don’t take them until 5. I’ve also found that there is often more choice at summer and Easter. It’s worth looking what is available near you for the half terms as that might sway your decision on when you take leave.

I’d also say we didn’t get it quite right the first year. You’ll get a feel of what works best for you but we’ve chosen to use more camps and take more leave together this year. In reception we used more of our leave to cover holidays individually but it didn’t really feel like we had much of a break. Think about leave you might want for yourself as an adult without children.

School club is £15 per day, first week of the holidays only. £65 if you book the full week. Runs 9am-3pm.

We’ve had leaflets for a couple of football/dance academy ones, which are similarly priced. The football one is £70 per child, 5 days, 10:30am-3pm, additional siblings £35 for the week.

I’d send the kids to the football one as they’re becoming obsessed and want to practice, but they’re doing an intensive swimming course that week, which is £65 per child for 2 hours swimming every day for 5 days. As we’ve not been able to get them in lessons due to Covid backlogs, this was the only way to ensure they had some experience other than Waterbabies prior to doing swimming lessons with school next year.

Yorkshire and the cheapest is £20 a day but only runs 2 weeks out of 6. Others I've found are £40 a day.

@Bunnycat101 thank you. It's a minefield at the moment and I havent even included any AL for myself but without children.

Well I don't know anyone who gets any annual leave for themselves without the children. Most people manage with staggering parents leave, so six weeks each and then maybe have a one week family holiday together means that covers 11 weeks. Then use holiday clubs for the extra two weeks in the summer.

If people can afford mòre childcare then they get more family holiday time together

Ours are free 10am til 3

8654677j556 The other thing to look out for is inset days, week between Christmas and new year and whether your school does any early finishes at the end of term. The first two have been the trickiest to cover for me but I manage the early finishes by wfh on those days. You may also need to save some annual leave for nativities, sports days etc. Its hard if your working to say yes to everything you might have otherwise wanted to do.

Also look at statutory (unpaid) parental leave which you’re entitled to take in week long blocks but seems to be something loads of people are unaware of.

East Midlands here. All the clubs (school kids club, activity/sports clubs etc) were £25 a day and have now crept up to just under £30. These start at 8 and end between 4 and 6pm. The YMCA is advertising theirs at £50 a day which I thought is ridiculous here seeing as all the others are £20 less.

But seems less ridiculous now seeing how much clubs are in other places.

You probably need to flex with your OH if you have one, so one of you works 7-3 and the other does 10-6 during the summer.

I meant to add 💐 to the parents of kids with SEN or physical disabilities who can’t even access mainstream care. There are some free activities for SEN in my area but it’s all odd days, no where near what you would need to cover work.

@8654677j556 sadly AL on my
own is but a distant memory. I can (lucky me) afford cover but I really need to spend all my AL with my child/family mainly because I want to (!) but also because of the guilt seeing other families seemingly untroubled with childcare issues enjoying endless days of jollity. Sorry, I don’t begrudge anyone time on their own,
just wanted to share my reality.

Ours is £27 a day 8.30-5.30. We use childcare vouchers for it and I'm not sure I will manage to spend them all before DD2 outgrows them.

I am long beyond this quick Google tells me it's £25-30 for 8:30-4. DS is 18 I remember sending him to a club for £12/day when he was 5.

Yes @Bunnycat101 is correct don’t forget the inset days, the sports day, the early start parent ‘evenings’ (2-5.30), the dance performances, the look at the books afternoon… my child is fit, well and hasn’t picked up too much yet in his 5 years at primary but I still leave a safety net of 3-4 days to allow for sickness too.

£20 a day for us. 8-6, no parents or family to help. Just me a DH.

We still do childcare vouchers. DH gets full deduction from his salary and I do less. His covers month to month and mine holidays. I always take a week off in April, 2 weeks in summer and a week in October when the club is closed. DH is always off for 2 weeks over Christmas when the club is shut.
I usually manage 2 weeks at Christmas too.
I buy a weeks leave, DS2 is going to P2 after summer. We managed the first year fine.

We had MIL help out a bit when DS1 was in primary - he's in S3 now but since she died 4+y ago, we have no help.

Single widowed parent- absolutely no family support. DC is older now but the first minefield was actually finding somewhere to cover work hours, then I just had to afford it. It was not affordable and obviously there was no option to split annual leave. Where I could I took leave and had some of DC's friends and they returned the favour. Also when older they went on scout camp for a week which was around £160 so a bargain. No working from home then, although my manager let me bring DC into the office for the weeks I could only find 9-3 care (work in a child centred profession). I work with deprived children and all holiday schemes have been cut under this government. Although the focus was to give children in need something to do over the summer most would also take other children if they had capacity and rates would be very affordable.

Mine goes as long as they are open. He was in nursery full time from 1 year and attends breakfast and Afterschool club too. So knows no different.
They are closed 1 week in April, 2 weeks in Summer, 1 week in October I do there and like to spread my holidays and 2 weeks in December. If I can't get off at Christmas DH is always off for the 2 weeks schools are shut.

Holiday club is also open on in service days. There is the the odd BH they are closed and take off or now work from home.

I also buy a weeks leave with salary sacrifice.