Single-mum says she’s ‘better off’ after putting kids into £22,000 a year boarding school
A SINGLE mum of two says she's better off putting her kids into boarding school after being pushed into £15,000 of debt by childcare fees.
Hannah Whitrow from Froome in Somerset earns just over £40,000 a year from her job in PR.
But the 46-year-old found juggling a full-time job with an hour's commute each way while arranging and paying for childcare for her two children Oscar, 13, and Florence, 11, impossible.
After getting behind on bills, the mum took out £15,000 in loans and credit cards to pay for childcare fees.
"I do miss the kids when they're at boarding school. This is the first week they're both away after the summer and it's going to be very strange for me coming back to an empty home," Hannah told The Sun.
"I'm organising things to do in the evening to keep myself busy. But I'm not guilty about it as I feel it's the right decision for everyone.
"The kids love the school and they are warm and safe and they're not on the streets at night, plus they have a home to come to on the weekends and in the holidays.
"And if they ever said they didn't like it I would take them out."
Hannah was paying £11,520 a year during term-time for childcare for both kids.
Plus an extra £1,500 a year to cover the cost of looking after them when she has to travel or work late.
In the school holidays, she mostly manages by taking annual leave and having family members help out.
She says she receives "hardly a penny" in maintenance from her ex-husband who has moved abroad, meaning he can't help with the school runs.
How much was Hannah spending on childcare fees?
HANNAH says she used to have to cough-up the following on childcare fees:
- £10 a week per child on breakfast clubs during term time
- £150 a week per child on a nanny for after school pick-ups during term time
- £250 a week per child for a live-in nanny when Hannah has to travel for work - roughly three times a year
- £69 a week per child on food, energy bills and other expenses
- Total annual childcare for both kids: £13,020
- Total annual cost for both kids, including childcare, food and bills and other household expenses: £20,220
Hannah said: "I feel for single mums, it’s stressful and hard and women don’t necessarily get a lot of money from their ex-husbands.
"My career is a necessity to provide for my family but I work long hours and have to travel a lot.
"After school care is so expensive, and the stress of having to get back to school at a certain time put a lot of pressure on me.
"I found it more and more of a struggle."
So Hannah has taken the decision to send her children to a state-run school 20-minutes down the road which allows boarders in the week, costing a total of almost £22,000 a year for both kids - almost double the cost of childcare fees.
But the single-mum says that not having her children at home during the week means she saves an extra £7,200 a year on food and energy bills.
That means overall she's only down £1,770 a year for both kids and she points out that having some time away from the children also means she can focus on her job during the week and then spend quality time with the children at weekends.
"As the children get older they need more things, and they need more structure and help with homework after school, which I was struggling to provide," said Hannah.
"My situation is not terrible, and I’m lucky because I have a well paid job.
"But I really feel for others because it's really hard trying to be the breadwinner and be a mum.
"Now on the weekends when they're home we go on walks, watch films together or the children might have their friends over - my relationship with the kids is so much better."
Childcare costs vary wildly depending on where you live, but the average monthly cost for a child under four is now a whopping £12,504 per family, according to a recent study by Noddle.
While Hannah's children are old enough to go to school, she found the wraparound care before and after school even more difficult to manage.
Hannah even tried a live-in au pair for £80 a week but the kids didn't like her and she felt uncomfortable having someone else live in their home
Boarding school solves this issue but Hannah is worried about how she'll afford to pay for both of the children's school fees in future.
She added: "It will be a struggle to keep them both in school until sixth form - I might have to sell my house or maybe only one of the children can continue going.
"But then I also might get a pay rise, so I can't worry about it too much now. If it has to work, I will make it work."
What help is available for parents?
CHILDCARE can be a costly business. Here is how you can get help:
- 30 hours free childcare - Parents of three- and four-year-olds can apply for 30 hours of free childcare a week.
To qualify you must work at least 16 hours a week at the national living or minimum wage and earn less than £100,000 a year. - Tax credits or Universal Credit - Those on a low income might qualify for help with raising a child and for childcare costs under Universal Credit. This has replaced tax credit for most people, although if you currently get these you can continue to do so.
- Childcare vouchers - If your employer offers childcare vouchers you can get up to £1,900 a year in tax and national insurance savings. You pay for your childcare before your tax contributions are taken out.
This scheme is now shut to new joiners but existing users can still get it as long as they renew their vouchers once a year. - Tax-free childcare - Available to working families and the self-employed, for every £8 you put in the Government will add an extra £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 a year per child.
See the childcare help worth £25,000-plus parents may be missing out on for more information.
More on parenting
So we've rounded-up the childcare help worth £25,000-plus parents may be missing out on.
Plus we look at tax-free childcare vs childcare vouchers – which one should parents go for?
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