DATA-BACKED GUIDE · UPDATED JULY 2026
How much does holiday club cost per day in the UK?
A holiday club fills the gap left when term-time wraparound care stops but the working day does not. It is priced by the day rather than by the hour, so parents are booking a full working day of cover, not a top-up either side of school. One day looks affordable on its own. Stack it across the summer break and the shorter half-terms and it becomes one of the bigger recurring costs in a family's year. This guide sets out what sits inside that day rate, why it moves around so much between clubs, and what actually brings the total down.
The quick version
- Holiday clubs are priced per day and run full days through the school breaks, not just the few hours covered by an after-school club.
- Summer is the big one, with roughly six weeks to cover on top of shorter half-term breaks, so the same day rate gets charged far more often.
- Funded hours are aimed at pre-school children, so they do not help with school-age holiday cover. Tax-Free Childcare and the Universal Credit childcare element are the schemes that actually apply.
- Trips, activities and lunch can be charged on top of the headline day rate, so the price you see is not always the price you pay until you check what is bundled in.
- Block or early bookings often come with a lower daily rate than paying for single days as term ends.
- Who runs the club matters: a school-run or council-linked scheme tends to be priced differently to a private operator running trips and specialist coaching.
What people actually paid
Where these 8 prices come from — 4 named sources
Each is a published price list, an official survey, or a receipt/quote a reader shared. The full per-price list with year and area is on the holiday club page.
The gap: advertised vs actually paid (medians)
People reported paying 16% less than the advertised list price for holiday club.
List prices are advertised prices; paid figures are what people reported, often for different cases. Treat the gap as a signal, not a quote.
Real prices, in people's own words
- £30“Ours are about £30 a day”
- £30“I charge £30 a day for my holiday club”
- £32“£32 per day central London, 9am-5pm”
- £43“Midlands £43 a day and we send a packed lunch”
- £50“£50 a day for a full 9-5 day but tax-free childcare takes a tenner off”
Genuine amounts posted publicly. We publish the price and the quote, never the person.
Why the price varies so much
Holiday club prices depend on the length of the day, what is included, who runs the club and where you live, and these factors tend to stack rather than cancel out. A club with trips, sports coaching or a hot lunch costs more than one that stays on site with packed lunches from home, because staff ratios, transport and outside instructors all have to be paid for. Full days from early morning to early evening cost more than shorter ones, simply because you are buying more hours of staff time. Who owns and runs the club changes the picture too. School-run or council-linked schemes tend to sit at the lower end since they use existing premises and staff, while private operators running branded activity programmes and off-site trips price for that extra content, and a chain operating across several sites can spread costs like booking systems and staff training in a way a single independent site cannot. Location follows the pattern seen across most childcare in the UK, with London and the South East above the rest of the country, reflecting higher staff wages and premises costs in those areas. Booking a full week or the whole holiday often unlocks a better daily rate than paying for single days as you go, since the club can plan staffing and activities around a known number of children rather than filling ad hoc places.
How to pay less
- Pay through a Tax-Free Childcare account, which works for holiday clubs in exactly the same way as term-time care, so there is no reason to leave it unused just because school is out.
- Check whether the Universal Credit childcare element applies to your household, since it covers holiday cover too and is easy to overlook if you only think of it as a term-time benefit.
- Book early and in blocks, since many clubs offer a lower rate for a full week booked ahead than for single days picked up as you go.
- Split the weeks with a partner, family or a childminder, or mix a couple of club days with days at home, to cut the number of paid days rather than the price of each one.
- Check what the day rate includes before you book. Some clubs fold in lunch and trips while others charge these separately, and the real total only becomes clear once you ask.
- Compare a stay-on-site club against one built around trips and coaching, since the extras that make a holiday club feel special are usually what pushes the price up.
Common questions
Why does summer feel so much more expensive than half-term?
The summer break runs around six weeks, against a handful of days for most half-terms, so the same daily cost is repeated many more times. An after-school club only needs to cover a few hours either side of the school day, but a holiday club is standing in for the whole school day, every working day, with no term-time routine or free funded hours to lean on.
Do the funded hours I get for my younger child cover holiday clubs too?
No. Funded early education hours are for pre-school children during term time and do not extend to school-age holiday care. Tax-Free Childcare and the Universal Credit childcare element are the schemes that actually apply to holiday clubs, so it is worth setting these up before the summer rather than during it.
Are block bookings cheaper than single days?
Often, yes. Many clubs give a better rate for a full week or an early booking than for single days dropped in at the last minute, effectively rewarding parents who plan ahead. If your work pattern is fixed enough to know your dates in advance, booking early is usually the single easiest saving available.
What can push the price higher than the advertised day rate?
Trips out, sports coaching, a hot lunch and extended hours at either end of the day are the most common extras. Some clubs fold all of this into one price, while others quote a lower headline rate and add each item separately, so the only reliable way to compare two clubs is to ask exactly what a single day's fee covers before booking.
How can I cut the number of days I actually pay for?
Sharing the weeks helps most. Splitting cover with a partner, grandparents or a childminder, or mixing a couple of club days with days at home, lowers the total without needing full-week bookings every single week of the break.
Does it matter whether the club is run by a school, a council or a private company?
Yes, this is one of the bigger drivers of price. A school-run or council-linked club usually keeps costs down because it reuses the school site and existing staff, while a private operator running trips, branded activity days or specialist coaching charges more to cover transport, external instructors and the extras that come with it.