Direct Line Insurance : Parents fork out £4.7bn on home schooling expenses

Parents fork out £4.7bn on home schooling expenses

4min read

03 Mar 2021

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• Parents have spent an average of £373 on essential schooling items throughout the lockdown periods since March 2020 - amounting to £4.7 billion across the UK
• Over half of parents report their school related spending has increased since home schooling
• More than 6.3 million (50 per cent of those home schooling their children) have also seen their income decrease over this time

New research¹ from Direct Line Life Insurance reveals that parents have each spent an average of £373 on essential schooling items such as laptops, stationery and textbooks since the start of March 2020 - amounting to a total of £4.7 billion.

The research reveals that some 12.6 million people² are currently home-schooling children under the age of 18 due to Covid-19. As a result of this more than half (53 per cent) of parents, some 6.6 million people, say that their spending has increased per term, with almost a fifth (18 per cent), or 2.3 million people, saying that their spending had increased 'significantly'.

Yet simultaneously, a large proportion of parents have reported seeing their income decrease, creating a significant stress on their finances. More than 6.3 million (50 per cent of those home schooling their children) have seen their income decrease over the time their children have been home schooled.

The additional items parents are spending the most on as a result of home schooling include technology for learning, which has cost parents £166 each, or £1.1 billion in total across the UK; additional food, which is setting parents back £115 each (£1.2 billion collectively); and furniture for learning, which has cost parents £101 each (£551 million collectively).

Table one: Proportion of parents that spent money on essential home schooling items since pre-pandemic

Home schooling item	Average expense per item	Percentage of parents who spent on this item	Total spend across the UK
Food	£115	82 per cent	£1.2 billion
Technology for learning/homework e.g. laptop, tablet	£166	52 per cent	£1.1 billion
Furniture for learning/homework	£101	43 per cent	£551 million
Childminder / childcare	£116	36 per cent	£525 million
Arts and crafts	£56	63 per cent	£457 million
Learning resources e.g. books	£59	60 per cent	£448 million
Stationery	£52	65 per cent	£431 million

Source: Direct Line Life Insurance 2021

Parents have also been going the extra mile to ensure their children's life and education is impacted by the lockdown as little as possible. Online tutors to help with home schooling have cost around £146 each term (45 per cent of parents), while virtual after school clubs have cost around £130 (44 per cent). To try and maintain some social life for their child, parents have spent around £138 on virtual parties (45 per cent) and £123 on gifts for classmates (47 per cent).

Before the pandemic the biggest expenses were childcare - £168 (45 per cent of parents), tutors - £147 (46 per cent), birthday parties - £135 (72 per cent), school uniform - £128 (88 per cent) and after-school clubs, activities and trips - £117 (71 per cent).

Vincent Guadagnino, Communications Manager at Direct Line Life Insurance, commented: 'We understand that this has been an incredibly hard time for everyone, especially parents who are having to juggle multiple responsibilities with the additional time spent to teach their children. The reassurance that financial security brings must not be underestimated, especially in such uncertain times, yet many have seen their income decrease at the same time as having to spend money on school related materials for their children, which all adds to the pressure they are under.'

For further information please visit https://www.directline.com/life-cover

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Notes to Editors

1. Omnibus commissioned among 2,000 UK adults between 9^th February and 12^th February 2021

2. The number of parents currently home-schooling children was calculated by extrapolating the proportion of parents who are home schooling their children (24 per cent) using the national adult population to get 12.6 million parents.

Direct Line

Started in 1985, Direct Line became the first UK insurance company to use the telephone as its main channel of communication. It provides motor, home, travel, pet and life insurance cover direct to customers by phone or on-line.

Direct Line life insurance policies are underwritten by AIG, part of the American International Group UK Limited, registered office: The AIG Building, 58 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4AB. American International Group UK Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN number 781109. You can check the FCA register at www.fca.org.uk/register or call the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Customers can find out more about Direct Line products or get a quote by calling 0800 077 8297 or visiting www.directline.com/life-cover.