Share this page
Was this page useful?
Yes |
No
Childcare costs surveys
Daycare Trust publish annual childcare costs surveys in January/February (nursery, childminder and out-of-school childcare costs) and July (holiday childcare costs).
A summary of the findings of the Daycare Trust childcare costs and holiday childcare costs surveys is given here. You can purchase the full reports from previous years in our online shop.
Childcare costs in 2013
Daycare Trust and the Family and Parenting Institute’s Childcare Costs Survey 2013, compiled from figures submitted by Family Information Services, shows nursery, childminder and after-school club costs all rising at more than 6 per cent ,more than double the inflation rate (2.7 per cent).
Increases across the country put this everyday necessity into the luxury bracket. A place at Britain’s costliest nursery this year (£42,000) costs 25 per cent more than a place at a top public school such as Charterhouse (£30,574 a year).
The survey spotlights a particular problem with care for school-age children. Here, parents pay nearly £4,000 for two children to be looked after before and after the school day. A typical family holiday in Florida, including flights, costs under £3,000.
These rampant price rises come in a year when, in recession-hit Britain, average wages have stagnated. The position is more acute for families on lower incomes, who have already been hit by a 10 per cent drop in support for childcare through the tax credit system and face tax credit rises pegged well below inflation at 1per cent.
Finding affordable, high-quality childcare, although a necessity for most parents, has long been a problem for families in Britain. Daycare Trust and the Family and Parenting Institute’s survey shows how much worse things have become. A nursery place now costs 77 per cent more in real terms than it did in 2003, but earnings have stayed still. In 2003, average median earnings in real terms were £11.24 an hour in 2003, and in 2012 they were £11.21.
Key findings from the survey include:
- The average nursery cost for a child under 2 has risen by 4.2 per cent to £106.38 per week for a part-time place (25 hours). A full-time place costs £11,000 for a year. Costs for over-2s have gone up even more – by 6.6 per cent to an average of £103.96 per week for a part-time place.
- Childminder costs in Britain have increased by 5.9 per cent for a child under 2, to £98.15 and 5.2 per cent, to £96.67 for a child aged 2 and over.
- The steepest cost hikes are seen in childcare for older children – with 15 hours a week at an after-school club costing £49.67, a rise of 9 per cent. For a family with two children, care in term time, before and after school, costs nearly £4,000 a year.
- As well as having the fastest-rising costs, childcare around the school day is also the hardest to find, with under a third of local authorities (31per cent) reporting that they provide sufficient childcare for this group.
Download Childcare Costs Survey 2013
Press Release about Daycare Trust's Childcare costs survey 2013.
Childcare costs in 2012
Summary of the Childcare costs survey 2012 (January 2012)
Summary of the Holiday childcare costs survey 2012 (July 2012)
Childcare costs in 2011
Summary of the Childcare costs survey 2011 (January 2011)
Summary of the Holiday childcare costs survey 2011 (July 2011)
Childcare costs in 2010
Summary of the Childcare costs survey 2010 (January 2010)
Summary of the Holiday childcare costs survey 2010 (July 2010)
Childcare costs in 2009
Childcare costs survey (January 2009)
Summary of the Holiday childare costs survey (July 2009)
Childcare costs in 2008
Childcare costs survey (January 2008)
Holiday childcare costs survey (July 2008)
Childcare costs in 2007
Childcare costs survey (January 2007)
Holiday childcare costs survey (July 2007)