Guest post from Coram: “We want to see the funding for wraparound childcare increased and extended to outside of term time so children can engage in life beyond the classroom”

[NicolaDMumsnet]

School-age childcare is often overlooked compared to preschool childcare. However, we know that the childcare struggle doesn’t end when your child enters Reception. It was great to see the Chancellor recognise this and announce new funding to set up wraparound childcare for school-age children – but this missed out the 13 weeks a year of school holidays.

Our latest report, the Holiday Childcare Survey 2023, details the extent of the problem and what can be done to make the school holidays a bit easier for working parents. For 18 years, we’ve been asking every local authority in England, Scotland and Wales if they have enough holiday childcare for children aged 4 to 14 in their area and how much it costs.

This year, only 24% of local authorities in Britain told us they have enough holiday childcare places for parents who work full-time; a 2% drop since last year. For many of you who have spent months trying to cobble together a way through the summer holidays, this will not come as a surprise. While the number of childcare places available for parents working full-time is clearly not good enough, the struggle to find holiday childcare can be even harder depending on the age of your children, where you live or your working pattern.

Availability is better for younger children than older: 26% of local authorities in Britain say they have enough childcare places for 4 to 7-year-olds, but this drops to just 10% for 12 to 14 – and both have dropped since last year. There is a lot of regional variation, and you could find it harder to secure a summer childcare place depending on where you live. Provision is highest in North West England – where 43% of local authorities told us they have enough childcare for children aged 4 to 7 – and lowest in the East of England, where no local authorities said they have enough holiday childcare places for this age group.

If you work outside of typical office hours – for example, in healthcare or hospitality – provision is scarce; only 9% of local authorities in Britain say they have enough holiday childcare for parents working atypical hours. Access to childcare is especially dire for families with a disabled child; if your child has a disability, only 5% of local authorities say they are able to meet your childcare needs over the summer. All of these figures are worse than last year.

This year, we asked local authorities about their experience of the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. The HAF programme gives opportunities – to be active, have fun and eat healthily – to children who are most likely to miss out on these over the summer.

More than three quarters of local authorities told us the HAF programme meets the above aims and nearly three quarters said the programme helps children to be safe and not socially isolated and to have greater knowledge about health and nutrition. The success of HAF highlights the positive impact holiday childcare can have on children, reducing social isolation and encouraging healthy habits.

Just like availability varies based on where you live, so too does the price. If you live in Inner London, you’re likely to pay up to 25% more for holiday childcare than if you live in the East of England. Across Britain, a place at a holiday club now costs an average of £157.13 per week – more than twice as much as the average after-school club during term time – but prices can vary vastly within areas too.

Thankfully, there is some help available for covering these costs. Many parents don’t realise that they can use Tax-Free Childcare to help with the cost of holiday childcare for school-age children – or that the scheme exists at all. Eligible working families can get up to £2,000 off childcare costs per year. If you receive support through Universal Credit, you can use the childcare element to help pay for Ofsted-registered childcare for any child under 16. Universal Credit will cover up to 85% of the cost.

For information about year-round childcare and family services in your area, contact your local Family Information Service. Enter your postcode into our Childcare and Family Services Finder to find the relevant Family Information Service for you.

Holiday clubs give children opportunities to make new friends and to try new activities, keeping their young minds buzzing and ready to learn in September. We want to see the funding for wraparound childcare increased and extended to outside of term time so children can engage in life beyond the classroom and so you don’t have to struggle in the run-up to every school holiday.

Read the full Holiday Childcare Survey 2023 here.

Megan Jarvie, head of Coram Family and Childcare, will be returning to the post on the 1st August to answer questions.

Twitter: @CoramFamChild
Website: https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/

i’ve found that my local area is prioritising HAF summer clubs that are only for those who earn less than £7400 a year. The hours are only 10-2 if you want to pay for a place. It’s so hard for a working parent to find childcare around here that isn’t the other side of the city. (Birmingham)

What do you think can be done?

A focus on affordable holiday childcare is a good idea. As long as it doesn’t become yet another problem to offload onto schools.

Most school buildings are falling apart and need the summer break for maintenance, repair and building work to be done safely when there are no children around. This isn’t something for schools to solve.

Of course it costs more for a full day of holiday club compared to a couple of hours after school care….. I can’t see why that’s a shock.

I run a nursery that provides both holiday care and after school care for primary. It costs £35 a day for holiday care 8-5.30. Staff are paid as well as I can but it’s not a lot. We struggle to recruit (although we do retain staff once we get them). Some parents say £35 a day is too much.

If the government wants to help parents then it’s very simple. Give them more funding! Make the tax free childcare scheme worth more than 20% would be a good start.

Pay childcare staff better so the job is more appealing = more places available.

Also it seems to be forgotten that working parents do get annual leave. There cannot be many families with parents who cannot book any leave during school holidays so need the whole 6 weeks childcare. I get around 6 weeks and so does my husband. That’s 12 weeks of annual leave to cover quite a bit of the holidays even if you take out a couple of weeks for us to be off together.

Of course it costs more for a full day of holiday club compared to a couple of hours after school care…..I can’t see why that’s a shock.

Yes, exactly-it’s hardly groundbreaking research!

@needmorecoffeeandcake absolutely this - we have a week off each, and then a week off together - there's 3 of the 6 weeks already covered.

We do a week each at Easter. One of us covers half of October and the other covers half of February that's only 6 weeks used of our joint 12 weeks of annual leave. Some childcare - at around £40 a day for 8:30 - 5pm care with food included (minus tax free childcare so then comes down to £32 a day) but hardly breaking the bank as we are aware of it and save through it throughout the year - and none of it is council run.

It's £4 an hour for someone to be wholly responsible for my most prized possession - I pay 3 times more per hour for the cleaner.

Some of the above ^ seem to forget that not every child has two parents. It's enormously difficult for many families and I'm glad it's being addressed.

Budget through the year for holiday clubs. Work on the basis that we need four weeks for two DC, save £2000 based on £250/week each. 3 weeks taken in the summer, one week of leave each, one week altogether, one week with GPs. Use the fourth week at Easter and cover the rest between us. You need to plan in advance and the holidays are hardly a shock.

Opening holiday play schemes at specific locations would be a good idea-community centres, children’s centres, leisure centres etc

Sure Start had the right idea but they were closed down.

Hi,

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog and sending replies. Hope you are all enjoying (or surviving...?) the summer holidays so far. Look forward to answering you questions!

Megan

Great question. The HAF programme is great and making a real difference for the children who able to attend - but most children aren't eligible. Given this has worked well, we'd love to see it expanded so that more children were able to benefit. At the budget in March, there was also new funding announced for wraparound childcare (breakfast and afterschool clubs). Again, we'd like to see this expanded to holiday childcare as well - most of us need childcare right the way through the year rather than just during term time!

HAF childcare around here is 10 to 2 this isn’t childcare. It provides experiences to children who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access it. It’s not suitable for anyone who is working.

You are right that very few need childcare for all of the summer holidays. Most of the families we work with will use their annual leave to help with childcare over the summer, and many others also have family and friends who can help out with childcare during the school break. But there are some who don't have support from family and friend or much flexibility about when they can take their holiday which is why we think its important that there is enough affordable childcare available.

It's also so easy for parents juggling childcare and work to get burnt out, so time as a family (or even time for yourself!) can be really helpful

Absolutely. Single parents often find the school holidays really, really tricky. Thanks for the support!

My point is more, at approx £4 an hour, how much more affordable can it be? Yes the big hefty bill isn't nice to look at, but when it costs more per hour to have a dog walked than for someone to care for your child then surely it is already 'affordable'

We're not on a high income, jointly earn under £65k, and have just spent 3 years paying FT nursery fees because there's no family or friend care out there, but truly - when it's broken down into an hourly rate for the time my baby is looked after, I can't see what else could be done.

Not sure why some posters are trying to minimise the stress and financial hit that holiday childcare causes? Not everyone has a partner, or one willing & able to share the load, or a job where you can take any AL whenever you want, not everyone is able to or finds saving throughout the year easy in this economy. It's great that people have tried & tested strategies to manage it all, but lots of people don't. And that's before we get to the dearth of suitable provision in some areas. I'm lucky, I manage it okay at the moment, but I couldn't if any aspect of my life changed, for example if I had to schlep my kids to and from provision 2 towns over as part of my daily communte like some of my friends, because all provision in our town is full. And sometimes provision can only let you know on a weekly basis if they can accommodate you - that's simply unworkable for most working parents.

Basically, I'm alright, but I encourage examination and discussion of this important issue because it is hard for so many others.

I absolutely agree that childcare is so valuable and we shouldn't be cutting corners to make it cheaper to provide. I'd prefer to see good support getting to families who need it to make sure that all parents are able to make choices about work and care. Even at £4 per hour, if you have more than one child, you might start to find your childcare bill creeping close to your wages

I think a positive change would be for each area to have a list of childcare that is available well in advance that is well advertised. If you need to book annual leave preplanning is needed.
I know there are some lists but a lot of the time it is out of date or not enough information.

25 days annual leave doesn’t cover near enough of the holidays and not everyone can afford to take parental leave unpaid

I think a positive change would be for each area to have a list of childcare that is available well in advance that is well advertised. If you need to book annual leave preplanning is needed.
I know there are some lists but a lot of the time it is out of date or not enough information

Yes, that sounds like a good idea-sports clubs etc.

My two DCs both qualify in principle for HAF as they are adopted so get PPP. But nowhere will take the one with significant special needs.
Providers are also really disorganised (one provider fills up by April for the summer holidays and another doesn't advertise places till late May then wonders why they have to cancel weeks due to lack of booking!). Most won't adapt for children with SEN - the law says they have to make reasonable adjustments and providing a 1:1 is an example given in law, but they won't even allow us to pro-rate costs if our son can't attend all day every day, let alone think about providing a 1:1.