More than half of parents struggle to find accessible holiday clubs for their disabled children, hitting family finances and forcing many to quit work altogether, according to a survey by the national disability charity Sense. The charity found an estimated 60,000 disabled children live in areas of England with no holiday club provision, describing a “stark postcode lottery” for access.
Survey reveals widespread difficulties
Sense sent freedom of information requests to every local authority in England last year. Of the 114 that responded, 11 (10%) offered zero holiday club provision, leaving 61,415 children and their families without support. In a survey of 1,000 parents, 57% said it was difficult to get a place in a holiday club. One in three (32%) said the situation left them financially worse off, with a third of those reducing working hours and almost a fifth (16%) leaving employment.
Impact on parental wellbeing
The struggle to find holiday cover also affects parents' mental health, with a third (34%) reporting poor mental health. Melissa Mould, 44, from Merton, south-west London, works in TV production with her husband Andrew. Their six-year-old son Frankie has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. “The logistics of organising summer holiday childcare are so complicated when you have a disabled child – it exhausts me mentally,” she said. “There are endless holiday club options for Otis [her non-disabled twin]. For Frankie, there is nothing obvious that he can go to.”
Single parent faces financial strain
Natalie Thompson, 39, a single parent from Birmingham, works part-time as a freelance HR adviser. Her son Azuriah, eight, is autistic, non-verbal and has global development delay. “There are so few holiday clubs that can meet my son’s needs because he requires one-on-one support,” she said. “I can’t work full-time because of my caring responsibilities and during the school holidays I can only work very limited hours. That hugely limits my employment options and affects us financially.” She called for a national framework to end the postcode lottery.
Charity and council responses
Harriet Edwards, director of influencing at Sense, said: “Every child deserves the chance to spend the summer with friends, learning new skills and having fun. Yet too many disabled children are missing out simply because accessible holiday clubs aren’t available where they live.” A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “Councils recognise the shortage of holiday childcare options for children with special educational needs and disabilities. We want to continue to work with government to ensure children get the support they need in the Send reforms, which must ensure those needs are met out of school as well as during term-time.”
