Latest news with #CoramFamilyandChildcare
Scottish Sun
30-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Seven summer side hustles you can start now to make hundreds of pounds
Find out how to max your side hustle income MONEY MAKER Seven summer side hustles you can start now to make hundreds of pounds Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PREPARE now for the expense of summer. July and August are among the costliest times of year. 4 Mum-of-two, Melissa Howard, shares how she's set to make £1,000 Credit: mel hunter 4 Clare Ford makes an extra £100 with her smart summer side hustle Credit: Mel hunter Parents may fork out an extra £1,000 a week over the school summer break. The average price of a family holiday for four is more than £3,600. Childcare alone can add up to more than £1,000, found Coram Family and Childcare. But there are ways to ease the financial pain. Taking a job on the side could net you hundreds of pounds. On average, side-hustling Brits make around £320 per month – and you can do it too. MEL HUNTER explains how to boost your bank balance between now and the start of the summer holidays. SELL YOUR SKILLS One of the easiest ways to make extra money is by using the skills you already have. Are you a whizz at admin? There's a demand for office help as people take time off in the warmer months. If you're good at gardening, get paid to help people look after their patch. Psychic's path to manifesting money and getting rich | Talking Money Head to platforms like Fiverr, AirTasker and Nextdoor to find jobs or advertise what you can offer. Pioneering People matches vetted companies to temporary workers and promises to pay at least £13 an hour. If you've got the skills to help others learn – from biology to ballet – check out tutoring site superprof. RENT OUT YOUR THINGS Tap into the rental economy to make some extra money At this time of year, your garden and camping equipment is in demand at A four-person tent could net you around £15 a day. The web site takes a 25 per cent cut of the rental price. If you have a gorgeous dress, have a go at hiring it out through A £200 Reiss dress costs around £55 to hire for four-days. 4 Mike and Sarah Jones make £6,000 a year renting out their Campervan Credit: Supplied You can rent out almost anything. If you're the lucky owner of a Campervan, caravan or mobile home, you can make money instead of leaving it on your driveway. Mike and Sarah Jones, from Surrey, make £6,000 a year renting out their VW Campervan. They've travelled in the van with children Dan, now 23, and Emily, 20, but when lockdown hit, the van just sat in the driveway. IT manager Mike, 51, says: 'It made sense to sell it. The kids were older, and we didn't have time for trips like we used to. But I couldn't bear to part with it.' Mike found campervan rental platforms Camplify UK and got enquiries straight away. Four years on, the family has rented it out more than 200 times, from £79 a night, and made £24,000. They use the profits to help fund their own family holidays. 'We love the freedom a van offers and we're so glad we can share that magic with other people.' MAKE A DATE The summer season is jam-packed with special events, from small festivals to massive sporting events. Many of them take place before the school summer holidays and are a great opportunity to make some extra money. Jobs vary, from bar staff to set-up crews. Look at the jobs page on festival websites and check out 'festival jobs' on Facebook. 4 If you are a whizz at gardening you can make money from your skills, especially around the summer months Credit: Getty MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR HOME If you've got an empty bedroom, rent it out through a site like or offer it up for storage through Renting out a parking space is also an easy way to make cash. Amy Knight from the finance website Nerdwallet says: 'Summer 2025 is packed with major music and sporting events, giving homeowners a prime opportunity to rent out their driveway. 'Sports fans will flock to the Women's Rugby World Cup, which will take place across the country. 'Registering with a platform like YourParkingSpace or JustPark takes just minutes.' SELL YOUR STUFF It's the perfect time to sell off old clothes, shoes and accessories on sites like Depop, eBay or Vinted. Nerdwallet reckons you could make up to £540 by selling 30 items of clothes, 10 pairs of shoes and 15 toys, and make more from the most popular brands. You can sell old mobile phones at Sell My Mobile or Mazuma Mobile. Books, CDs and DVDs can be exchanged for cash on WeBuyBooks. Sell old tech or furniture on Facebook Marketplace. Even old cables and instruction booklets are bought by eBay buyers. For instant cash, it's car boot season. Setting up an early morning stall could boost your summer coffers. You could also try 'flipping' – buying something cheaply and then reselling it for profit. Melissa Howard, 36, from The Wirral, resells children's and vintage clothes on Vinted and eBay. The mum of two, who runs a creative agency and a photography studio (@itsmelissahoward), buys bales of second-hand clothes from online wholesalers, before photographing and listing them on the resale sites. From a £300 bale packed with 80 items, she expects to make £1,000 profit. She pays up to £50 extra to get them cleaned before they're delivered, and buys up to seven bales over the spring and summer. The extra earnings help pay for days out with her children Grayson, four, and Rowan, two, who also have expensive summer birthdays. Melissa says: 'I work hard for the profits, but I also get a real buzz from it. It also helps as my main businesses are quieter during the summer.' Top tips for selling on eBay NEW to eBay? It's head of secondhand, Emma Grant, reveals how to optimise your listings: Use key words - eBay automatically filters listing titles for key words, so it's crucial to use the terminology people search for - especially brand and product names. Choose the right category for your product - It might sound obvious but it's important to always choose the most specific category to sell in. Pictures are important - Most users will not bid on items they cannot see. For best results, take photos in natural light against a neutral background and be honest about any scratches or damage to the item. Be as detailed as possible - Be honest about the condition of the product and be sure to note any wear and tear. Look at past sold items- eBay has a function that allows you to search for the item you want to sell and then filter the results by sold items. Here, you can view the price the item has sold for and get insight into how others have listed it. Selling Sundays - Get the timing right. The busiest time for buyers is Sunday evenings, so schedule your listings to end around that time. Opt for seven-day auctions to ensure the max number of bids. The longer your item is listed, the more chance of people seeing it, so unless it's time-sensitive, pick seven days. December is the busiest month on eBay. Be realistic with pricing - Try searching for similar items on eBay, to make sure you're going for the right price and always ask yourself "would I pay this price for this item?" Donate to charity - When listing your item, consider donating a percentage of the sale to a cause of your choice – from 10% to 100% - you can donate the funds raised from your item straight from the platform. CUT YOUR COSTS Using tax free childcare could save you 20 per cent on childcare costs over the summer – that's around £300 if you have two kids in clubs for five weeks. It's available for children aged under 12, or 17 if your child has a disability. For the last half of term, if your child's school is one of the 750 piloting free breakfast clubs, enrol them for an early start. It will save you the cost of breakfast, give you an extra hour to earn and it's fun for them too. SEASONAL SIDE HUSTLES Think about the hottest ways to make money during the summer season. Advertise your services to water plants, feed cats or walk dogs when people go on holiday. Look for casual jobs with fruit farms, gardening firms, hotels, tourist attractions and theme parks. Clare Ford, who runs a teen coaching business, adds to her income by doing GCSE and A level exam invigilation in May and June, earning around £100 a week. The mum of two from Ashford, Kent, says: 'I've been doing it for six years and it's a helpful boost.'
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Parents 'punished' by highest childcare costs in Britain
Families in Wales are being "punished" by childcare bills for under-twos that are more than double the average of those in England, Oxfam Cymru has said. Parents in Wales with children aged two or under do not receive any government help with childcare costs, whereas in England parents can claim 15 hours of free childcare a week for children aged between nine months and two years. Children's charity Coram said nursery costs for under-twos were now more expensive in Wales than anywhere else in Great Britain. The Welsh government said it had invested more than £100m a year to sustain and grow high quality childcare. What help is there with childcare costs in Wales? Who can get 15 and 30 hours of free childcare? Moving 10 miles could save us thousands in childcare According to a survey by Coram, the cost of a part-time (25 hours per week) nursery place for a child under two in Wales is now £155. In England, the cost of a part-time place - once the funded hours are taken into account - has fallen to £70. "These are bills that many families simply cannot afford - and risk keeping parents locked out of the workplace," said Lydia Hodges, head of Coram Family and Childcare. Sarah Rees, head of Oxfam Cymru, said the data showed families in Wales were "really being punished in comparison to the offers being provided to families who need childcare in England". "People in England have access to childcare support for younger children – from nine months onwards – and that means their bills are practically half of what bills are for families in Wales." The cost of childcare is why mum-of-three Katie Bromley feels she is not in a position to go back to work. "Childcare costs have gone up," said Ms Bromley, who was with her one-year-old daughter at a Salvation Army baby and parent group in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, while her two older children were at school. "Even with my husband working full-time every day it's still expensive and hard to get back into work. "If I had more support I would definitely be looking for a job... so I can get a bit more freedom and find a job that could help me get back out there." Mum-of-three Ffion Ryan said it was a "struggle" until children turned three, after which parents can claim financial help with childcare costs wherever they live in Wales. "We're expected to go back to work after nine months and obviously it's a long time from then until three and that's when you need the help really," said Ms Ryan, a teacher from Llansannan in Conwy county who is currently on maternity leave. Ms Ryan said she believed financial support towards childcare should be available at the point that maternity pay ends. In the UK, statutory maternity pay ends at 39 weeks, or roughly nine months. "If you're asking women to go back to work after nine months, then the help should be there," said Ms Ryan. In England, working parents of children between nine months and two years can claim 15 hours of free childcare a week, which will be expanded to 30 hours for all under-fives from September 2025. However, some childcare providers in England have expressed concerns about rising costs, leading to fears over a shortage of spaces. In Wales, funded childcare is available for children aged two, three and four. Under the Childcare Offer, parents and guardians of three and four-year-old children can claim up to 30 hours of free childcare each week, for up to 48 weeks of the year. The Flying Start programme provides 12.5 hours of free childcare to two-year-olds in eligible areas. It is being rolled out gradually to all two-year-olds, prioritising the most disadvantaged. Oxfam Cymru said it should be rolled out "much quicker" and that only 60% of families with two-year-olds had access to it so far. But nursery owner Lisa Owen said she did not believe the childcare system could support free care for children from nine months, even though she agreed with the principle. Ms Owen said the money which providers received from the Welsh government for delivering the Childcare Offer did not meet costs and had an impact on parents' bills. "All of our costs have gone up," said Ms Owen, owner of Chuckles nursery in Newport. "We have staff ratios to maintain so when costs go up, the only thing we can do is put charges up. "The Childcare Offer unfortunately underfunds so we're losing money. To try to recoup those costs we've had to put our overall rates up which has a massive impact on the children two years and under." She said the increase to nurseries' National Insurance bills added to problems. "We're losing money hand over fist every day," she said, warning some settings were at risk of closing. Childcare costs are likely to feature in the 2026 Senedd election campaign. Plaid Cymru, which helped to secure free childcare expansion for two-year-olds as part of a 2021 deal with the Welsh government, said it wanted to "deliver an expanded, more affordable and seamless childcare offer in 2026". The Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds, who helped to pass the Welsh government's budget last month which included an extra £30m towards childcare, wants 30 hours of free childcare for all pre-school Welsh children from nine months old. The Welsh Conservatives said the consequential funding Wales received as a result of the UK government's increased childcare spending should be used "to replicate England's policy of 30 hours of free childcare for all under-fives". The Welsh Labour government said it was focused on the most disadvantaged communities in the first instance. "We are providing an additional £50m in 2025-26 for the further expansion of our Flying Start childcare scheme to two-year-olds, which will support more families, and to increase the hourly rate for the childcare offer to further support childcare providers," a Welsh government spokesperson said. What help is there with childcare costs in Wales? Who can get 15 and 30 hours of free childcare? New mums say careers hurt by high childcare costs Childcare costs could force us to sell our home
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How can working parents get 15 and 30 hours of free childcare?
Annual nursery costs for children under three in England have fallen, according to the children's charity Coram. The government has expanded free childcare in England, and eligible parents of all under-fives will be entitled to 30 free hours a week from September. However, some childcare providers say they may have to leave the scheme due to rising costs, leading to fears of a shortage of spaces. Free childcare arrangements vary in other parts of the UK. The average cost of full-time nursery (50 hours a week) for a child under two in England is £12,425 in 2025. That's a fall of 22% from 2024, according to the Coram Family and Childcare charity. Wales is the most expensive place in Great Britain for under-twos, at £15,038. The cost of a full-time place for a two-year-old fell 23% in England, but rose in Wales and Scotland. The cost of a full-time place for three and four-year-olds went up in all three nations. Extra help with childcare costs in England has been rolled out in stages. The help you can get depends on the age of your child, and whether you are working, or receiving certain benefits. Working parents can already get: 15 hours of free childcare for children aged between nine months and two years 15 hours of free childcare a week for two-year-olds 30 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds From September 2025, eligible parents will be able to get 30 hours of free childcare for all under-fives. To qualify for the new hours, the majority of parents must earn more than £9,518, but less than £100,000 per year. Those on certain benefits can get: 15 hours of free childcare for two-year-olds 15 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds If you do not work, you might still be eligible for 30 hours of free childcare if your partner works, or you receive some benefits. UK government: Childcare choices UK government: Childcare calculator Parents can apply for 15 hours of childcare from when their child is 23-weeks-old, and for 30 hours once their child is two-years-and-36-weeks-old. The entitlement starts at the beginning of the term after your child reaches the qualifying age. The government website has details of the deadlines to apply for each age group. Free childcare hours are designed to be used over 38 weeks of the year - during school term time. However, some providers will stretch them over 52 weeks if you use fewer hours per week. The government is increasing the hourly rate it pays childcare providers offering free hours. But in many cases, this rate does not cover the full cost of the childcare. So, some providers charge for extras like meals, nappies, sun cream or trips. According to research from the Pregnant Then Screwed charity, almost a quarter (23%) of parents it surveyed said they couldn't afford to access free childcare hours because of top-up fees. In February, the Department for Education (DfE) wrote to nurseries saying parents should be able to opt out of paying for these extras, "to ensure no family is priced out". However, some providers say they use these payments to subsidise the cost of the free hours for three and four-year-olds. More than 5,000 nurseries have signed an open letter to the Dfe asking for the new rules to be delayed. The DfE says an additional 35,000 staff and 70,000 places will be required to meet demand by September 2025. The education regulator Ofsted has warned that access to childcare in England has declined since 2020 and improvements have not been evenly spread across the country. On average, so-called "childcare deserts" have lower household incomes and higher levels of deprivation than other areas. The government offers a cash incentive of £600 to those who become childminders (or £1,200 for those joining via an agency). The DfE has not given figures for the numbers who have signed up, but says childcare staffing rose by 6% across 2024 as a whole. However, the number of childminders - those providing early years care in homes - has continued to decrease. It adds that while the latest ONS data shows the total population of zero to five-year-olds fell by 1% per year from 2018 to 2022, the number of childcare places increased by 44,400 between 2023 and 2024. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said early years had been her "priority from day one". However, nursery bosses argue the government's updated funding rates for 2025 will not offset rising costs. The Early Years Alliance charity said about 185 nurseries of 1,100 it surveyed said they were "likely" to withdraw from the scheme within the next 12 months "due to unsustainable financial pressures". All three and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds in Scotland are entitled to 30 hours a week of funded childcare during term time (or 22 hours a week if used across the year), regardless of their parents' working status. Eligible parents in Wales can get 30 hours of childcare for three and four-year-olds, and the government says it is expanding support for two-year-olds. The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) provides a 15% discount on childcare to qualifying working parents with pre-school-age children. Parents may be entitled to other support, including the UK-wide tax-free childcare scheme. For every £8 you pay into an online childcare account, the government adds £2 (up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for disabled children). You can use the money to pay for approved childcare, for example childminders, nurseries and nannies after school clubs and play schemes Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme. Parents who qualify for free childcare hours can save in the tax-free scheme as well. How much is child benefit worth and who can claim it?
The Independent
20-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Disadvantaged children could be ‘priced out' of expansion to funded childcare
Disadvantaged children could be being 'priced out' of accessing the same early years education as their peers in working families due to the Government's expansion of funded childcare, a report has warned. Families who are not in work, or do not earn enough to be eligible for new funded childcare entitlements in England, will pay around £105 a week more than eligible working families for a part-time nursery place for a child under two, a survey by the Coram Family and Childcare charity has suggested. A report by the charity said the gap between entitlements for disadvantaged children and those with working parents is 'now wider than at any other time' and is set to get 'even wider' later this year. The expansion of funded childcare – which was introduced by the Conservative government – began being rolled out in England in April last year for working parents of two-year-olds. Working parents of children older than nine months are also now able to access 15 hours of funded childcare a week, before the full roll-out of 30 hours a week to all eligible families in September. A part-time nursery place (25 hours per week) for a child under two now costs an average of £70.51 per week in England after working-parent entitlements are accounted for – which is down by 56% on 2024. But the survey suggested that for families ineligible for the 15 hours of funded childcare for working parents, a 25-hour part-time nursery place for a child under two-years-old costs £176.27 per week. On the difference in childcare costs between families in England, the report said: 'This raises the question of whether disadvantaged children have the same opportunity to learn and play as their more affluent peers, or whether they are simply priced out of the chance to boost their future outcomes.' A part-time nursery place for a child under two costs an average of £122.38 per week in Scotland – a 7% rise on 2024, and an average of £155.04 per week in Wales – a 10% rise on 2024, according to the survey. The research – based on surveys from 173 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales between November and February – found that the cost for a part-time nursery place for three-to-four-year-olds in the UK is up by nearly 5% on last year as entitlements for this age group remained the same. Nearly four in five (79%) of local authorities in England surveyed said they have enough childcare for at least 75% of the children of working parents entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare a week. But only 29% of local authorities in England surveyed said they have enough childcare for at least 75% of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in their area. Lydia Hodges, head of Coram Family and Childcare, said the system needs to be 'rebalanced' to ensure that all children have the best start in life. She said: 'Parents who are not eligible for the entitlements are unlikely to be able to meet the cost involved in giving their children the same amount of early education that other children get for free, and many children with special educational needs and disabilities are still finding it hard to get a place.' Ms Hodges added that many parents highlighted the 'positive impact' that childcare has had on their child's independence, development and happiness. She said: 'These are things we want for all children, and we call on the Government to commit to immediate and longer-term actions so that no child misses out on this vital boost to their outcomes.' Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance (EYA), said: 'While it is positive that early years places are becoming more affordable for those families who are eligible for funded places, it's clear from today's findings that the early years sector in England is fast becoming a two-tier system. 'With the bulk of the early entitlement offers skewed towards working families, more and more children from disadvantaged backgrounds – who we know benefit the most from early education and care – are at risk of being frozen out of accessing affordable places. 'Add to this the fact that children with special educational needs continue to find it more difficult than their peers to access provision, and there's no doubt that under the existing system, the children most in need of support are now the least likely to be able to access it.' Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'Delivering a better early years system is a top priority—it's as close to a silver bullet as we have in breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving young people the best start in life. 'This survey highlights the real difference the expanded childcare entitlements are making, with much more to come from September as government funding increases from 15 to 30 hours a week of funded childcare. 'Through our Plan for Change, we're delivering much-needed improvements for parents, making childcare more affordable, expanding school-based nurseries, and improving early language and maths support. With over half a million children already in a place this term, we'll keep working with the sector to ensure even more families benefit.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Childcare costs fall for the first time in 15 years – but nurseries are worried
Annual nursery costs for a child under two in England have fallen for the first time in 15 years, according to the children's charity Coram. It comes as the government continues to roll out its funded childcare scheme, which will provide all eligible working parents of pre-school children, not only three and four-year-olds as currently, with 30 hours of childcare per week from September. However, some nurseries and childminders say they may have to drop out of the scheme as government funding struggles to meet rising costs, including National Insurance increases from April. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says the survey highlights "the real difference the expanded childcare entitlements are making". In England, the government has been rolling out a scheme to help working parents with the high annual cost of childcare, which peaked at almost £15,000 last year. However, currently parents of children under three years old can access 15 hours a week of childcare paid for by the government. Coram Family and Childcare's annual survey shows the impact of the changes, with eligible working parents seeing a 22% reduction in their annual cost. Elsewhere, prices have risen for childminders, nurseries, pre-schools and after-school care. Wales is now the most expensive place in Great Britain for a full-time nursery place for a child under two, which costs £15,038. The cost for three and four-year-olds has risen across England, Wales and Scotland. Coram Family and Childcare's head, Lydia Hodges, said that while the funded hours in England are "a welcome step" for making childcare affordable for working parents, the system now needs to be rebalanced. She says parents ineligible for the funded childcare "are unlikely to be able to meet the cost involved in giving their children the same amount of early education that other children get for free". The report also found that the availability of nursery and childminder places varies between council areas, with the lowest provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities and families living in rural areas. For Meg Pattern, who is eight months' pregnant, the funded hours have been a massive help and brought her childcare costs down. However, securing a space for her second child has been difficult because of the increase in demand. She says she has tried all of the local settings, including the nursery her three-year-old son Rupert goes to, but they are full until September 2026. The nearest one with availability next April is a 40-minute drive from her house, in the opposite direction to work. "I told them when I was eight weeks' pregnant, which is pretty early," she says. "It's really stressful - when I go back to work, I'll have both kids going in opposite ways." Her son Rupert is eligible for 30 hours of government funding per week, but his nursery only has a space for two days. It means Meg's parents, who also live in north Birmingham, are helping out until he starts school. Joeli Brearley, from the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, says the decrease in cost for under-twos is "a milestone worth celebrating", but that "a looming crisis in availability threatens to leave families stranded". The Children's Garden Day Nursery in Stamford has a waiting list until September 2026. Working parents who already have a space are now requesting more hours from this September, when the government will double the number of hours for which their children are eligible. Claire Kenyon, the owner, says she is considering capping the amount of funded hours people can use, or pulling out of the scheme altogether, because she cannot balance the books. This would mean fewer government-funded nursery places available. The government estimated 70,000 additional spaces will be needed by this September because of the increase in demand. Ms Kenyon says, on one hand, the government is telling parents they can expect cheaper bills, but she believes they are not paying enough to nurseries to provide them. Last month, the Department for Education (Dfe) sent a letter to nurseries saying parents should be able to opt out of paying for chargeable extras including lunches, "to ensure no family is priced out". However, Ms Kenyon says some nurseries have been using these payments as a way to subsidise the funding for three and four-year-olds, and that more than 5,000 nurseries have now signed an open letter to the Dfe asking for the new rules to be delayed. "The government has decided to impose stricter rules on us, and I think some nurseries are just saying, 'We can't do it - if we want to keep our businesses and our staff employed we're going to have to pull out'." Changes to National Insurance are also adding further financial pressure. Ms Kenyon says she will have to pay an additional £200,000 a year in staff costs from April. The National Day Nurseries Association says nurseries would have to increase their fees by around 10% to remain sustainable. In December, the government announced that early years funding would increase by £2bn this year to support the expansion. Neil Leitch, from the Early Years Alliance, says their research suggests many providers are choosing to limit their funded places, or opt out of the offers entirely, "due to unsustainable financial pressures". About 185 nurseries out of 1,100 surveyed by the charity said they were "likely" to opt out of the scheme entirely within the next 12 months. There are different types of support available for families across Great Britain. Thirty hours a week of funded childcare during term time is available to all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds in Scotland regardless of their parents' working status, according to the Scottish government. The Welsh government says its focus is on the "most disadvantaged communities", and is expanding childcare support for two-year-olds across Wales. Phillipson says delivering a better early-years system "is a top priority". And there is "much more to come from September, as government funding increases from 15 to 30 hours a week" for working families. Data analysis by Wesley Stephenson
