Summer holiday childcare costs in Great Britain have risen by 4% in the last year, with working parents now facing an average bill of £179 per child per week – £1,075 for the six-week break – according to Coram Family and Childcare’s 20th annual Holiday Childcare Survey, published today.

Working parents of children under three in England now pay less than half of last year’s cost for a part-time nursery place according to the first annual childcare survey to be published since the government roll-out of childcare support began in April 2024.

A range of barriers are preventing disadvantaged children in England from taking up their entitlement to 15 hours of funded early education, but national and local action could change this.

Holiday childcare costs in Great Britain have risen by 6% since last summer, with working parents now facing an average bill of £175 per child per week – over £1,000 for the six-week break – according to Coram Family and Childcare’s 19th annual Holiday Childcare Survey, published today. The report also reveals growing shortages of holiday childcare, with drops across all categories of provision in England over the last year.*

With just over two months to go until the next phase in the roll-out of major expansion to free childcare, councils across England* have raised concerns about having enough places to meet demand, identifying the childcare workforce as their biggest concern, in new research published by Coram Family and Childcare (CFC) today.

The Conservative party’s manifesto outlines its plan to continue the current childcare expansion, with the final phase providing 30 hours of funded childcare per week to children with eligible working parents, from the age of nine months until they start school. We welcomed this investment when it was announced in the Spring budget last year and are pleased to see the commitment continued.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment to early years and childcare is a welcome recognition of the importance of getting things right in the early years. We have been calling for Early Years Pupil Premium to be brought in line with Primary Pupil Premium, and this proposed increase would be a good first step to making sure disadvantaged children do not miss out on their right to an early education.

Labour’s plan to create 100,000 new nursery places is a welcome step in reforming our childcare system, and would help address the childcare shortages we see across the country.

This month, the first phase of the potentially game-changing expansion of funded childcare rolled out across England. Amid problems with troublesome temporary codes, and competition for childcare places, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds can now access 15 hours per week of funded childcare, during term time.