• Nearly a quarter( 23 %) of working parents said their work does not enable them to manage childcare in the school holidays
• However, the majority( 57 %) of working parents said their work does enable them to manage childcare in the school holidays
• Parents in the North East of England( 30 %) and in Northern Ireland( 27 %) are the most likely to say their job doesn’ t enable them to manage childcare, alongside disabled parents( 28 %)
• More than a quarter( 26 %) of parents in households under £ 35,000 income said their work doesn’ t enable them to manage childcare in the school holidays
• More than a quarter( 26 %) of primary school parents also said their job doesn’ t enable this
• Mums are more likely to say their work enables them to manage childcare in the school holidays than dads( 61 % vs. 54 %)
Still thinking about the school holidays … In the last 12 months, have you:
Yes
Taken unpaid leave to look after your child( ren)?
22 %
Taken leave separately from your partner to cover childcare?
53 %
Argued with your partner about looking after the children during the school holidays? 23 %
Sample: 6,053 parents in England( 3,552), Scotland( 1,333), Wales( 860) and Northern Ireland( 308) who have at least one child aged 4 to 18 in school Base: UK parents in employment( 5,089), UK parents in employment excluding single parents( 4,309), UK parents excluding single parents( 5,015) weighted
Image: iStock. com / SolStock
14 THE NATIONAL PARENT SURVEY 2026