Parents of primary schoolchildren in England will pay 42% more for after-school childcare this year than they did 10 years ago, with annual bills now exceeding more than £2,800 a child in some parts of the UK. A Guardian analysis of data collected by the children’s charity Coram has revealed that the annual cost of after-school care for children aged 5 to 11 in England has risen by 5% over the past year to £2,636. In Scotland the cost is even higher at £2,701, while in Wales prices have risen by 64% in the past 10 years and by 8% in the past year to £2,824.
Parents also typically pay £191 per child a week for childcare during the school holidays, Coram found, adding more than £1,700 to the total annual childcare bill. These costs, which do not include breakfast clubs before school starts, are in addition to the price of extracurricular activities such as swimming and music lessons, sports clubs and dance classes. Such activities now typically cost £700 a year and add up to £9,100 over a child’s time in school, research by Nationwide revealed today.
Parents also spend an average of £381 each year on school uniform and sports kit – including £43 on shoes, £37 on blazers and £29 on tracksuits – as well as £116 a year on school trips, Nationwide found. How many children can we have?’” Nearly half (49%) of the 2,002 UK parents and guardians surveyed by Nationwide said they are stressed about the cost of their children going back to school this September, and one in four are delaying non-essential purchases. Anna*, a civil servant who has three children under the age of seven, said she and her husband take turns working from home to avoid paying for after-school childcare.
So we manage by picking them up and bringing them home.” As a result, she and her husband are constantly under pressure to juggle their working days around their children’s needs and activities. Other back-to-school items she needs to buy this year, such as backpacks and lunchboxes, can easily add up to £70 a child, she has discovered, putting her off making the purchases. One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, contacted the Guardian about having to buy a tablet for their daughter to use at her “proudly smartphone-free school”, as well as a calculator “labelled so specifically that the cheapest one on the internet was over £25”.
We’ve not had a holiday this summer, instead we’re kitting her out for secondary. I know sacrificing a holiday isn’t something lots of people are able to do – I know we’re among the lucky ones to be able to sacrifice a holiday instead of eating, or rent, or something else entirely more fundamental.” The costs of sending her three young children back to school is something Ivana Poku, who runs the parenting blog mumsjourney.com, has also become increasingly aware of. School trips, activities, uniforms, shoes, sports equipment, lunches and all the other little things quickly add up – and when you have three children, you’re paying for everything three times,” she said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
