First year having school-age children? As the weather heats up, you might be beginning to consider how you’ll approach the longer stretch of summer holidays around work commitments. If you work and rely on your child’s school hours to get things done, 6 weeks of no school might be daunting. Equally, if you have a very busy person on your hands, 6 weeks of less routine and activities might induce sweats! In this blog post we explore some common methods of securing childcare for your school age child, should you need it.
It’s worth noting before we start that summer childcare is eligible for the government’s tax free childcare initiative, meaning you could save 20% on the cost of childcare. Head here to see if you are eligible (many families are).
Wraparound care - nurseries
For many, the first port of call for securing some form of childcare over summer holidays is wraparound care. What we mean by this, typically, is care offered by similar providers to those that would run after school clubs. Many nurseries cover these clubs, often described as ‘summer clubs’ or ‘summer camps’, ran on site at their nursery by Level 3 practitioners, or using school facilities and village halls.
These are a great option if you have one child already at the nursery who utilises all year round childcare - drop both children off! Equally, food is often provided as part of these clubs, and hours can often be flexible and work around typically working hours (8am - 6pm).
If you are considering this option, remember to book early, and factor in the price of this for your overall summer budget. Costs can be high for the price of convenience.
Sports camps and holiday camps
Another common summer option is sports clubs and camps. These can vary from football to gymnastics camps, and typically run between 9am and 3pm and require a pack up. These may be slightly more cost effective than wraparound care, but are for shorter periods of time. Offers vary considerably across the UK and are run differently in every club. Typically these camps are advertised via schools, with children bringing home flyers in bookbags, but if you’re keen to find out what’s happening locally, ask at your child’s school - bursars and receptionists will usually have a good idea of what’s likely to pop up! If your child already attends a sports or activity club, it’s a good idea to ask if they have a special offer on for summer holidays - you might be surprised!
Leisure centres
If you’re a member of a gym, it’s also worth finding out if a summer sports camp is offered as part of your membership, or at an additional fee. The likes of premium chain fitness clubs like David Lloyd gyms frequently advertise their summer offer all year round, but local gyms and fitness clubs are likely to have a variety of sessions throughout the summer on a drop-off basis. Ask around in your local area.
Forest schools
Have a forest school or nature centre near you? You might be surprised to find out that many of these offer a summer club for children over five to explore the great outdoors - with childcare included in the fee. Again, these book up quickly, so look around at what is local to you!
Forces families
If you’re a forces family, you may find that on camp, specialist provision is offered at a low rate for your children during summer holidays. Ask around on base and find out what is on offer - it may even be free! If you’re not a forces family, but live locally, you may find that children of civilian families can also join in - contact your local base to find out.
Any other ideas?
These are just a few of our tips and ideas for securing summer childcare - but the list does go on. Any more to add? Pop them in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!
