Parents of primary schoolchildren in England are paying 42% more for after-school childcare than they did 10 years ago, with annual bills now exceeding £2,800 a child in some parts of the UK.
A Guardian analysis of data from the children’s charity Coram found 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 higher at £2,701, while in Wales prices have risen by 64% over the past decade and by 8% in the past year to £2,824.
Holiday and activity costs add up
Coram also found that parents typically pay £191 per child a week for childcare during school holidays, adding more than £1,700 to the total annual childcare bill. These costs do not include breakfast clubs before school starts, nor the price of extracurricular activities such as swimming, 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, according to research by Nationwide. The building society also found that parents 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.
Parents weigh up work and family costs
Lydia Hodges, head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “It’s never-ending, really, isn’t it, for parents? [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.” She added that the impact of these costs can be far-reaching: “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.
Family budgeting pressures
Between 2016 and 2026, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show average weekly earnings rose by 51% to £700, although adjusted for inflation, average wages grew by only 7.5% in real terms. According to the Resolution Foundation, wages in the private sector this summer are barely keeping pace with price rises, while unemployment continues to hover at about 5%.
Anna*, a civil servant with three children under the age of seven, said she and her husband take turns working from home to avoid paying for after-school childcare. She estimated she will spend about £250 per child this year on school uniform and shoes, even though she buys branded clothes second-hand through PTA uniform sales. Other back-to-school items such as backpacks and lunchboxes can easily add up to £70 a child, she said, putting her off making the purchases: “I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, because I got a bit of sticker shock.”
Other parents have discovered they are expected to buy costly one-off equipment for secondary school, such as expensive tablets and hi-tech calculators. One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told 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”.
Ivana Poku, who runs the parenting blog mumsjourney.com, said: “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. I can completely understand why finances can influence how many children couples decide to have.”
*Anna did not wish to give her surname.
