UK parents face sharp rise in after-school care costs, now averaging over £2,600 per child

Parents across England, Scotland, and Wales are experiencing a significant increase in after-school and holiday childcare costs, with recent data revealing a 42% rise over the past decade and ongoing financial pressures impacting family and work decisions.

Parents of primary schoolchildren in England are now paying sharply more for after-school care than they did a decade ago, according to an analysis by The Guardian based on Coram Family and Childcare data. The average annual bill has risen 42% over 10 years and 5% in the past year alone, reaching £2,636 in England. Costs are even higher elsewhere in the UK, at £2,701 in Scotland and £2,824 in Wales, where prices have climbed 64% over the past decade.

The squeeze does not stop when the school day ends. Coram’s figures show families typically spend £191 a week on childcare during school holidays, adding more than £1,700 a year to the total. Nationwide’s latest research also points to wider back-to-school spending, with extracurricular activities such as swimming, music, sport and dance averaging about £700 a year and climbing to roughly £9,100 across a child’s school years. The mutual lender said parents also spend an average of £381 a year on uniforms and sports kit, plus £116 on school trips.

Lydia Hodges, head of Coram Family and Childcare, said the costs continue long after nursery fees end, leaving many households with a monthly bill that still shapes work decisions and family planning. Nationwide’s survey of 2,002 UK parents and guardians found 49% were stressed about the cost of the new school term, while one in four said they were delaying non-essential purchases. Some parents say they are responding by cutting working hours or staggering home and office days to avoid childcare charges altogether.

The pressure is felt most acutely when schools require one-off purchases as well as recurring fees. Parents contacted by The Guardian described being asked to buy tablets, calculators and other specialist equipment for children starting secondary school, alongside uniforms, shoes and everyday kit. One parent told the paper that the total had become so high that the family had given up a summer holiday instead. Another, Ivana Poku, said the burden rises with every child, because uniforms, trips, lunches and activities all have to be paid for again.