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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.
“It’s never-ending, really, isn’t it, for parents?” said Lydia Hodges, the head of Coram Family and Childcare. “[When a child is at nursery], a lot of parents hear: ‘Oh it will be better when they go to school.’ But actually, once you factor in paying for after-school childcare and holiday childcare, it’s still a pretty big bill every month.”
The impact of these costs can be far-reaching, she said. “It’s very stressful, I think, for a lot of parents, and it’s something that they have to take into account in their budget when they’re thinking about: ‘Is it worthwhile working? Does work pay? 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. “When you’ve got two school-age kids, it quickly comes to the point where you’re asking: what’s the point in working full-time really? 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. “Every week, we always have to have a discussion and a negotiation about who goes into the office.”
This year, she estimates she will spend – on each child – about £250 on their school uniform and shoes, even though she buys branded clothes second-hand through PTA uniform sales.
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. “I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, because I got a bit of sticker shock.”
The couple are high earners but, after a summer of childcare costs and a cheap camping holiday, their bank account is almost empty. “We’re not frivolous spenders, so I can only imagine that for the vast majority of people, it’s impossible.”
Other parents have discovered they are expected to buy costly one-off equipment for their children to use at secondary school this year, such as expensive tablets and hi-tech calculators.
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”.
“It’s bloody bonkers!” they wrote. “I am a teacher, and I have a kid starting year 7 [secondary school] in September. 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. “Having three children isn’t necessarily more expensive when they’re very young, but the costs seem to increase as they grow. 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. “I can completely understand why finances can influence how many children couples decide to have.”
*Anna did not wish to give her surname
