Kids clubs don’t come cheap (Credits: Getty Images)

The UK childcare system is the most expensive in Europe, and it’s getting pricier.

This year alone, full-time nursery fees have increased by 6% to an average of £14,863.

Analysis by SpareMyTime, a virtual personal assistant company, found that families across the country are spending more than 50% to 60% of one parent’s salary on childcare.

For many this figure is much higher: a survey of 24,000 people by the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed found that 25% of parents were spending 75% of their salary on childcare alone. 

Plus, a study from children’s charity Theirworld found that childcare costs have forced one in four UK parents to give up their job or drop out of education.

In the school holidays, this only gets worse, with older kids needing to be entertained all day too, whether that’s by childminders or kids clubs.

More research by Pregnant Then Screwed found that 32% of parents say that childcare over the summer costs the same or more than what they earn, and these costs vary across the county. 

According to SpareMeTime, UK families spend £2,200 per year paying for one child’s care during school holidays throughout the year.

Over the six weeks’ summer break, families pay an average of £147.83 per week per child. Though London has the highest fees in the country, the average parent earns a higher wage.

It’s families in Yorkshire, East Midlands and Wales that are experiencing the biggest disparity between their salary and rising childcare costs.

Parents are forced to choose between work and childcare(Picture: PA)

Striking a balance between work and childcare is something Fiona Scott, 38, still struggles with.

‘As we are only signed up for term time at my son’s nursery, we end up spending extra during the holidays,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.

‘The extra spending goes on Holiday Club at nursery as well as asking our local babysitter to do extra time during the week, so I am able to juggle work but also spend time with my son.’

Fiona, who is self-employed and married with a three-year-old son, says that while she is able to call on family to help with childcare occasionally, their support network lives outside of London, posing a logistical nightmare for two working parents. However, paying for full time childcare just isn’t financially viable. 

‘I would be lying if I said it didn’t impact my mental wellbeing,’ she says.

‘On the one hand I am hugely lucky that I have a wonderful and flexible work life that allows me to spend real quality time with my son. 

‘On the flip side I am not able to contribute as much financially, which in today’s society means you can feel devalued.’

The cost of childcare per week during the summer holidays (Source: SpareMyTime)

For those who don’t have a support network of family and friends who can help with childcare, many parents are literally paying to go back to work, with childcare costing more than they earn. 

‘The summer holidays pose an impossible challenge for parents, many of whom are already struggling under the strain of a cost of living crisis and increasing costs for housing,’ Joel Brearley, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, tells Metro.co.uk. 

‘Parents need to work to cover their bills, but due to a lack of availability and soaring costs, four in 10 parents will be forced to take unpaid leave to manage childcare over the summer.’ 

But what’s the solution? In reality, government policy is needed to provide people with affordable childcare during school holidays. 

For Fiona, paying for full-time childcare isn’t an option (Picture: Fiona Scott)

Fiona says she’d like to see a societal shift towards helping people to raise their children. 

‘I hope the old saying “It takes a village” could perhaps come back into play, and as a country we could better support women in the workplace who are trying to return to work,’ she says.

‘At the same time there should be support for fathers who wish to share the role of main caregiver. 

‘Women shouldn’t automatically be thought of as the main caregiver and should have the same options in the workplace as men when returning to work after having a baby.’

Brearley agrees: ‘Right now there’s simply no government strategy in place to help parents to bridge the childcare gap that the 13 weeks of holidays per year brings,’ she tells Metro.co.uk. 

‘If we don’t want more children and their parents to fall needlessly into poverty, then we need Government investment to create affordable, flexible and high quality childcare over the holidays.’

A third of parents say that childcare over the summer costs the same or more than what they earn.