The school holiday survival guide ...

(or how to tackle a long break without having a breakdown!)

THE long summer holidays may be fun for children but for parents they can also represent a financial burden. Justine Roberts, founder of parenting network group Mumsnet, says that the break can create ‘headache-inducing and horribly expensive childcare dilemmas’ for some parents. Recent figures also indicate that the average family spends £640 on treats and activities to amuse the children over the long summer break.

More than a third of families are forced to dip into savings to cover costs, and a fifth use their credit cards to do so. More than a quarter of families surveyed by card issuer American Express said that holiday costs are the most stressful part of the summer break.

Jenny Cheung, a director at American Express, says: ‘While the kids look forward to time away from school, the summer break can be a busy and costly affair for parents.’

Here is our guide to bringing down some of those costs.

SAVING ON CHILDCARE COSTS

FOR working parents, the biggest cost of covering the summer holidays is paying someone to look after the children. Little Ones nanny agency, which provides temporary nannies, says a nanny costs between £10 and £12 an hour in London, while babysitting agency Sitters says daytime childcare should cost around £9 an hour.

Such costs may explain why many parents are forced to stagger parental leave to cover school holiday childcare. Almost three quarters of parents are forced to do this, according to Nationwide Building Society.

There are cheaper alternatives to a holiday nanny. Many childminders who look after children in term time may have holiday spaces when their usual charges are away.

It is worth asking on local forums for anyone who might have an extra space. Childminders are professional childcarers, registered by Ofsted, but are generally cheaper than nannies, and look after children in their own homes.

The average weekly cost for a childminder is £103 for 25 hours a week, according to the Family and Childcare Trust.

Holiday clubs, run by local councils and private companies, may also be a cheaper option. Check your local council website for details or ask at your local primary school.

Clubs such as Supercamps and Barracudas are run in local private schools. Although these are typically pricier – at around £45 a day – they do often offer discounts for early bookers, siblings and those who book for an entire week. Discount codes may also be available on the internet.

Many childcare providers, including childminders and some nannies, will accept childcare vouchers.

These allow employees to pay for their childcare out of their pre-tax salaries. This can save you a great deal over six weeks if you have the vouchers available, but you can only take a maximum of £243 a month of vouchers if you are a basic-rate taxpayer or higher-rate taxpayer in an existing scheme, or £199 a month as a newly enrolled higher-rate taxpayer.

You can often save up childcare vouchers to use for the holidays, even if you do not use childcare for the rest of the year.

You may also be eligible for childcare tax credits for summer holiday activities – even if you do not require childcare in term time, depending on your income.

If you only use childcare in the summer holidays you can only claim for those six weeks, but if your childcare costs rise in summer but continue throughout the year, you need to estimate your average annual cost based on this. If you need more information, call the tax credit helpline on 0345 300 3900.

FREE SUMMER ACTIVITIES

IF YOU are at home with the children, take advantage of free courses offered by companies and the council to keep them amused.

Check your local council website or children’s centre for local offers. Many local authorities offer free swimming for children with a library card, while libraries themselves run summer reading challenges.

Nationwide, budding coders can check out Apple’s free Summer Camp, available at Apple Stores throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with sessions bookable online. There are also free football skills sessions run by FA Skills.

You may also be able to book a free tennis session for your children at website Tennis For Free. Large Tesco stores are running free cooking courses over the holidays, which over-eights can attend alone.

CHEAP DAYS OUT

DISCOUNT vouchers and canny use of free offers can reduce the cost of day trips.

Check the National Rail 2for1 scheme for half price entry to many major attractions when you travel by train. Venues include London Zoo, the London Eye and London Dungeon.

More information is available at website daysoutguide.co.uk. If you have a Family Railcard, travelling on the train with the children is even cheaper. These cost £26 for the year, but often pay for themselves in one or two trips, as parents get a third off their tickets, while children pay 60 per cent of their normal fare.

Many museums run special exhibitions for children during the summer holidays, combined with the usual free entry for major museums. Check their websites for further details.

Now is a good time to sign up for free sources of information and discounts on days out. You can try website Kids Pass for just £1 for a 30-day free trial (remember to cancel at the end). The pass offers free children’s meals for accompanying children at Strada, Giraffe and other major restaurant chains, as well as discounts on theme parks and cinemas.

Groupon, LittleBird and other group buying sites also have frequent deals on children’s theatre and days out. For cinema trips, most major chains offer special kids’ screenings.

Odeon offers screenings of children’s films for £2.50 and Vue charges from £1.99.

Finally, ensure you keep costs down by packing your own drinks, snacks and lunches.

Many museums and other major attractions will allow you to use the school picnic areas in the holidays to eat your lunch.