Steep rise in nursery costs means it can be cheaper for one parent to stay at home

Nursery fees have gone up by a third in five years , with the result that it can now be cheaper for a parent to give up work rather than pay childcare costs.

The findings come from the Family and Childcare Trust’s annual Childcare Costs Survey.  Parents now have to pay an average of £6,000 a year to send a toddler to nursery – £1,533 more than in 2010.

Nursery fees have gone up by a third in five years , with the result that it can now be cheaper for a parent to give up work rather than pay childcare costs.

The findings come from the Family and Childcare Trust’s annual Childcare Costs Survey.  Parents now have to pay an average of £6,000 a year to send a toddler to nursery – £1,533 more than in 2010.

It now costs around £115.45 on average to send a child aged under two to nursery for 25 hours. This is a 5.1% increase on last year. The cost of part-time care by a childminder for a toddler is up by 4.3% on last year, an average of £104.06 per week, or £5,411 a year.

And the shortage of affordable childcare provision by local authorities is getting worse, the report goes on to say;  just 43 per cent of councils in England are fulfilling their legal obligation to provide childcare for working parents, compared with 54 per cent last year.

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To read the full report, click here.

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