THE cost of summer childcare is “pushing families to the edge,” the TUC has warned, as its new report reveals that six weeks’ worth could cost £890 on average.

Parents across Britain face paying about £148 per week typically for holiday childcare, a 5 per cent increase compared with 2021, charity Coram Family & Childcare said.

The average weekly cost of childcare is more than double the typical weekly cost of an after-school club, which is £67, according to the research, which is published today.

It means that while a family could typically pay nearly £890 for six weeks of holiday care for each school-age child, by comparison, six weeks of term-time care would cost about £400 on average.

In England, the average weekly holiday cost is £148.09, a 4 per cent annual increase. In Wales, the typical weekly cost is £147.21, an 8 per cent annual increase and in Scotland, the average weekly cost is £142.68, which is a 7 per cent annual rise.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Holiday childcare should be affordable for all.

“But parents face eye-watering fees this summer as they scramble to find places for their kids.

“Prices are shooting up as pay packets stagnate. We urgently need to get wages rising to stop households drowning in bills.

“Holiday childcare shouldn’t be pushing families to the edge.”

A separate study from StepChange Debt Charity found that more than a third of parents with children aged 18 and under are worried that their finances will suffer during the school summer holidays due to extra cost pressures.

This rises to nearly half of parents with primary school children and to over half of parents who receive universal credit.

About a fifth of parents will be using savings or other assets to pay for their everyday expenses, the survey of more than 1,100 parents of under-18s for StepChange found.

Labour shadow children and early years minister Helen Hayes said: “The Conservatives’ failure to fix the soaring costs of childcare is increasingly forcing parents, particularly mothers, out of their careers.

“Families are already struggling with rising bills and food prices and now face paying £900 in childcare costs per child this summer.

“High-quality affordable childcare is essential.”