If you’re a working parent, chances are the summer holidays fill you with dread.
Not only is the pressure on to think of ‘rainy day activities’ (thanks a lot, British summertime), but having to cover six weeks’ holiday – or as many as eight or nine if your kids are at independent schools – can be an expensive nightmare.
Many schools run their own holiday clubs, offering activities such as sports, trips to the cinema and visiting zoos. But most charge in the region of £20 or more per day, adding £100 a week per child to your budget from July to September. Ouch.
Until now. You might not associate Sainsbury’s with childcare, unless your child’s idea of a fun day out is buying toilet roll, cheese and yoghurt, but the supermarket chain is offering a low-cost deal to parents.
And for just £7.50, it says it will provide childcare for children aged between five and 15, from 9am to 4pm – and that even includes lunch.
The new ‘Active Kids’ scheme is available at 70 locations in the UK, and is usually based at a local primary school.
Those in charge are trained and accredited coaches, The Mirror reported.
“Last year we took a fresh look at how we could help keep kids active and launched our Sainsbury’s Active Kids holiday clubs, replacing our voucher scheme,” Sainsbury’s said.
“Thousands of children took part, enjoying a wide range of activities from fencing and circus skills to tennis and quick cricket, so we’ve expanded this year to 70 locations and are just as committed as ever to keeping kids healthy and active.”
I put the idea to my working parent friends and after a spot of confusion over whether the kids would be manning the tills – “isn’t that just a ‘summer job’?” a pal quipped – they all agreed it would be a huge help to the family budget.