£9.9 Billion spent on childcare in the UK each Summer Holiday
Sainsbury’s launches affordable summer clubs as study reveals soaring cost of childcare
Working parents to fork out on average £34 a day for each child
83% of parents will spend up to £50 per day this summer on entertaining their child
Scotland and the South East spend most over summer holidays, coughing up over £1,000 over six weeks
Sainsbury’s has launched Active Kids Holiday Clubs, weekly summer camps which cost £7.50 per child per day, including a healthy lunch and snacks
Monday 29th April: Working parents are set to fork out £34 per day during the summer holidays for each child, a new study by Sainsbury’s has revealed today. What’s more, based on that daily fee, childcare over the whole holidays (six weeks) will reach an astonishing £9.9 billion for families across the UK.*
The supermarket, which today opened bookings for its new Active Kids Holiday Clubs, found that working parents of two or more children racked up the biggest bill over the holidays – forking out for entertainment, food and clothes to the tune of £643 over the six-week break.
The study also found that 74% of parents were seriously concerned about how they could cover the cost of childcare this summer.
Recent years have also seen a spark in ‘electronic babysitting’ – where parents turn to leaving their kids in front of the TV or games consoles in an attempt to keep them entertained. In fact, a child in the UK spends an average of 174 hours either watching TV or playing video games over the summer break, with a third (34%) of children spending between three and four hours per day, in front of their screens.
Sainsbury’s has launched Active Kids Holiday Clubs, weekly summer camps that have been designed as part of a trial to encourage kids from 5-15 years to be more active and healthier during the summer holidays, at affordable prices for parents.
The clubs, run in partnership with UK Active and available in 70 locations across the UK as part of the trial, will offer a wide range of activities. These include sports such as gymnastics, tennis, cricket, dodgeball and football alongside active play, dance and arts and crafts, to help keep the kids entertained this summer.
As part of Sainsbury’s commitment to helping its customers live well for less, Active Kids Holiday Club places are just £7.50 per child per day, including a day jam packed with activities, a healthy lunch and snacks.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We know from speaking to parents that the summer holidays can be a difficult and expensive time to keep children entertained. We are very excited to launch the trial of our Active Kids Holiday Clubs, which have been designed to help keep kids active and healthy over the holidays.
“With many parents spending £34 per day on childcare, we hope that our new clubs will provide parents with a cost-effective alternative to help keep the kids entertained this summer.”
To book a space at Sainsbury’s Active Kids Holiday Clubs this summer, customers can sign up from today via: https://activekids.sainsburys.co.uk/
The holiday clubs will be hosted by Premier Education, one of the leading holiday club providers in the UK. They will provide action-packed programmes that are delivered by fully accredited UK Active KIDS Code of Practice professionals and will be supported by trained and accredited young leaders from the local community.
