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Parents
face a struggle to keep their children occupied over the school breaks after
the closure of hundreds of holiday clubs.
A government study
found the number of places available in sports and arts groups outside term
time was down by more than a tenth.
Parents said they
could no longer afford to send children to clubs as hourly fees soared by more
than a quarter. The survey of childcare arrangements in England also found that
thousands of playgroups had closed over the past six years as more parents made
use of full-time nurseries. Gordon Brown has promised to expand childcare so
that parents have more choice over how they balance work and family life.
But the study for the
Department for Children, Schools and Families highlighted the problems parents
face finding childcare during holidays. Between 2006 and last year, the
numberof places available in holiday clubs, which offer activities such as
sport, painting and music, dropped by 13 per cent to 230,300.
Margaret Morrissey of the National
Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations said the decline in places
reflected rising costs. A full day at a holiday club for two children will set
parents back nearly £50. "I think the reason holiday clubs are down is
because they have got to make themselves pay and they are becoming prohibitive
for parents," she said. Mrs Morrissey said the trend was undermining
traditional family holidays.
Many mothers took time
off to look after their children during the school holidays while fathers
continued to work. They then swapped to avoid "paying a fortune" for
a holiday club due to both working at the same time.
The report, Childcare
and Early Years Providers, was produced by BMRB Social Research and involved
detailed interviews with more than 6,000 childcare workers. Key findings
included:
• The number of
holiday clubs fell nine per cent between 2006 and last year to 5,800.
• Holiday clubs cut
staffing levels by 25 per cent over the same period.
• The typical cost of
a holiday club was £2.20 per hour, up 29 per cent since 2006.
• The number of
playgroups for children aged two to five has fallen by 39 per cent since 2001
but the number of full-time nurseries has increased by 74 per cent.
A DCSF
spokesperson said: "This report does not show the whole picture as it does
not cover extended schools, which increasingly offer clubs in the holidays as
well as in term time. Currently over 12,000 schools are providing extended
school services, so this picture will improve as we make all schools extended
by 2010."
Tim Ross.
Education Correspondent
04.08.08
Evening standard
04:08:08
