The school summer holidays: a time that can incite both excitement and dread among working parents. Like so many others, this week I embarked on the juggle that this time of year so frequently involves.
As well as experiencing guilt at working (along with a serious fear of missing out) while my children enjoy fun days out without me, the very act of arranging care for them can prove stressful. In this respect, I appreciate I am fortunate in that I am able to reduce my working days, as well as having a wonderful childminder and the support of grandparents, however, this is far from the norm for many.
Research published by children’s charity Coram earlier this week found that significant price increases mean that, on average, families face paying £1,049 for each school age child for six weeks of holiday childcare. This works out at £175 per week, however, this does vary widely by region across the UK. Families in the south east, for example, are subject to the highest costs at £216 per child per week, according to Coram’s 19th annual Holiday childcare survey.
The survey also found there to be a shortage of available childcare in some areas, with further decreases in some places this year, particularly for parents working full-time, and significant variations in availability across the UK.
With many working parents, therefore, likely to find themselves priced out of summer holiday childcare, particularly given ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it is clear the current system isn’t working. Given this is an issue which is raised year-on-year, it is clear something needs to change. What this will involve and who should take responsibility for effecting this though are not easy questions to answer.
Earlier this week, I saw a post on Linkedin suggesting that the current structure of school hours and terms is outdated, as these were originally designed to cater to agricultural families which required their children to be available to help at key times of day/year. So, should the government consider overhauling school terms to fit more with the needs of today’s society? Although the Conservative former government took steps to extend free childcare places, in reality, this isn’t likely to make a huge difference to working parents seeking support during school holidays. This also doesn’t address the cost or availability of holiday childcare places.
Although Labour has pledged to further support working parents, this doesn’t currently appear to address school holiday childcare.
This leads to the question: should it fall to employers to do more to support working parents? While many already offer myriad avenues of support to the parents within their workforce, this is currently not the norm for all. Anecdotally, we have heard of some that face issues such as gaining buy-in across the organisation; while senior management may be supportive of the working parents they employ, this is not always reflected in line managers’ behaviour, for example.
On the face of it, working parents’ childcare conundrum is one where there is unlikely to be a quick or easy solution. Turning the current situation around, however, could prove extremely beneficial for both employees and employers.
Debbie Lovewell-TuckEditorTweet: @DebbieLovewell
