Parents may have had to pay up to £98 for emergency childcare to cover teacher strike

Parents may be paying as much as £98 for emergency childcare to cover for today’s teacher strike which affect around 10,000 primary and secondary schools across England, according to Findababysitter.com.

It says that since Monday when school closure notices were sent home, it has seen a 77% surge in demand for emergency childcare in areas affected by the strike and bases its calculations on the fact that the average cost for emergency childcare is £9.83 per hour, which takes it to over £98 to cover 10 hours of work and commuting.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of School Masters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) are striking to block changes to pay, pensions and workloads.

The 77% rise in emergency childcare adverts being posted compares to the same time period in the previous week.

Tom Harrow, working dad of two and CEO of Findababysitter.com, says: “Public sector strikes always affect the pocket of someone – for better or worse, but this time it’s the parents, many of which are already struggling to make ends meet.  It seems this comes back to government again.  These parents are paying their taxes, and therefore should expect to be able to go to work while their children go to school.

“Any parent who doesn’t have the luxury of informal childcare to rely on will have been forced to spend an average of £100 on childcare today – an amount that they won’t have budgeted for.  Alternatively, parents will have been forced to stay home, which is going to have a negativce effect on the workplace.”

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