Nine weeks is a long time when you are a child. It's an even longer period when you are a parent and you have to keep your children supervised and occupied for the summer holidays. At the end of this month, primary schools will close for the summer and more than 450,000 children will be let loose. Most working parents will rely on some combination of childminders, neighbours, family members, summer camps and annual leave to look after their children.
Inevitably, the holiday period brings additional costs, even if parents are lucky enough to have an active grandparent or close relation to spend the day with the children. Statistics show that one in five children under nine are in some form of paid childcare and childcare services are currently provided by approximately 3,000 group-based providers in the "formal" sector and an estimated 30,000 childminders in the informal sector.
Some childminders are self-employed and offer a flexible childcare service in their home for a small number of children in a family setting. The majority work for low wages in the informal economy. Their hourly rate can be as low as £2.50 (€3.17) or up to £5.00 per hour with concessions for second or third children from the same family.
In some cases, existing after school arrangements can be extended to full-time care for the holiday period. This usually applies to younger children and depends on the childminder's availability. The extra hours may cost anything from £40 to £150 per week.
A childminder employed by parents to care for children in their home is an employee and has legal protections and entitlements. The parents as employers are responsible for tax and RSI deductions in the usual manner, and they need to be aware of that. These arrangements are often made informally in the community, either through local notice boards or a network of acquaintances.
There are agencies specialising in this type of childcare arrangement, whether it's live in or live out.
Childminders Ltd gets many last-minute requests from parents in June and the experienced childminders on its books can expect to be paid £40 to £50 per day net. In a tighter labour market, Ms Valerie Watson of Childminders Ltd has noticed a shortage of applicants for jobs. "The difference now is that the people we have coming to us are trained in childcare and they are really interested in the work".
Mr Heino Schonfeld, head of the National Children's Resource Centre (NCRC), said parents should be satisfied with the quality of care before committing to it and ensure they ask plenty of questions. Childminding Ireland has a register of childminders and provides a referral service for parents. Its chief executive, Ms Patricia Murray, said many women who looked after children until recently are leaving the occupation to take up jobs with flexible hours.
Ms Murray suggested that parents consider talking to local secondary school students who may have babysitting experience and be interested in summer work. Summer camps are not a total solution to filling your children's time as many courses are run for half days or short days. Residential courses are the most expensive but are generally more suitable for older children. There is a fantastic range of activities for children of all ages and interests including arts and crafts, sports, horse riding, watersports, language, dance, and drama.
Prices depend on age, the type of activity or centre involved and the number of hours offered. Some outdoor centres and multi-activity camps charge as little as £30 or £40 per week for a full day's programme but fees can go up to £90 or £100 with full waterside or equestrian facilities.
Drama, music and arts courses tend to be more expensive than multi-activity summer camps, ranging from £50 to £90 per week. Most camps and courses offer reductions for two or more children from the same family.
Many of the outdoor adventure centres, watersports centres and language courses are residential, with fees ranging from £100 to £150 per week.
The NCRC produces a guide to summer activities in the midwest region, along with many other useful publications for parents. It has walk-in branches in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, and will point parents in the right direction if they do not have the information themselves.
For information on local camps and courses in your area, Mr Schonfeld recommends a visit to your local youth information centre. This year for the first time a national guide to children's summer courses has been published. Summer Camps in Ire- land, published by Grapevine Productions, provides comprehensive listings of a broad range of camps for primary and secondary school children, and costs £8.99.
There is no quick fix to the problem of working while your children are out of school. Unless you are lucky with your extended family or have an accommodating childminder, the summer is likely to stretch the best organisational skills.
If it's the case that neither of the parents can pick up the slack, it's likely that families will have to budget for increased expenses of £50 to £150 per child per week outside term time.
