Parents who face a summer chill

Parents who face a summer chill

Working parents face a chilling prospect as schools prepare to close for the summer. Not only is there the daunting task of sorting out good quality and enjoyable childcare, but it's going to cost substantially more than last year. Families face a 9% price hike, with the average cost of a play scheme place at £73.71 a week, up from £67.70 in 2003, according to research by national childcare charity, Daycare Trust.

Charity 4Children, which specialises in out-of-school childcare, says the true cost can be far higher. "An awful lot of holiday play schemes are £100-£120 a week unless they are subsidised by local authorities," says chief executive Anne Longfield.

This tallies with research this week by Abbey, which found that more than a third of working parents will spend around £100 a week per child on activities and the like or holiday care. What's more, many parents will spend up to a further £100 a week on treats and entertainment.

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Daycare Trust and 4Children, both campaigning for more widespread, affordable holiday child care, are urging parents to find out if they can get help with the cost. "Those on middle and lower incomes with school age children may be due help from the working tax credit, even if it's for just a few weeks," says Ms Longfield. Call the Tax Credit helpline (8am to 8pm, seven days a week) on 0845 300 3900 (for Northern Ireland 0845 603 2000) or the Daycare Trust 020 7840 3350.

While there are an increasing number of holiday childcare schemes, demand still outstrips supply.

There are some 11,000 out-of-school clubs in the UK, just under 40% of which offer holiday care catering mainly for children aged five to 12.

Not surprisingly, parents' main complaint is a lack of quality affordable childcare.

Many schemes do not run for the full six weeks and there's a lack of provision for children aged 11 and over.

The onus is therefore on parents to find out about availability and book as early as possible. The first point of contact is your Childcare Information Service which holds a list of registered schemes. Childcarelink, the government's information service on local and national childcare, can put you in contact - call 0800 096 0296 or visit www.childcarelink.gov.uk and 4Children's information line on 020-7512 2100 which has details of local options.

More expensive, but worth considering, are activity camps and residential holidays generally based at large independent schools, stately homes and specialist centres.

Many offer residential stays along the lines of US-style summer camps at around £350 a week with day camps at £130-£200 a week.

Major providers include Barracudas (0845 123 5288) or www.barracudas.co.uk EA (0845 1130 022) or Camp Beaumont: (01603 284 280) or www. campbeaumont.com PGL: (08700 507 507) or www.pgl.co.uk

If you've got a child with a particular interest, be it drama, football, archery, dance or circus skills, check out local newspapers, community centre noticeboards and libraries. It's also worth contacting local clubs or national sports associations.

If you have a home-loving child for whom holiday clubs simply don't appeal, consider getting a temporary au pair or nanny in for the necessary cover.

For a directory of UK nanny and au pair agencies broken down by postcode areas, visit www.nannyjob.co.uk

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003