Just 3% of councils are reporting they have enough places for children with disabilities, which is down two percentage points on the previous year.
“Too many families dread onset of the summer holidays,” said Ellen Broomé, managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, which carried out the research.
“Rather than a time for families to rest, play and have fun together, many parents worry about how to pay for holiday childcare during the long summer break.
“With ever growing shortages of available childcare, finding a place will be a challenge this summer, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities.”
She is calling on the government to overhaul the childcare system to ensure there is enough places to meet demand during holiday periods.
“Meeting the needs of disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be an early priority, followed by reform of the system to provide the year-round support that families need,” she added.
Places for all categories of holiday childcare have dropped this summer compared to last year.
Only 17% of areas have sufficient places that are suitable for parents who work full time, compared with 24% the previous year.
The proportion of places in rural areas has almost halved from 13% last year to seven per cent this summer.
Meanwhile, there has been a three-percentage point fall in places for 12- to 14-year-olds. Just 7% of areas have sufficient places for this age group this summer.
Only 3% of areas have enough places for parents who work atypical hours, down from 9% last year, the research also found.
Costs for parents are also increasing in many areas, by 15% in Wales and by 13% in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Across the UK parents face an average bill of £174.91 a week, amounting to £1,000 over the six week summer break, Coram found.
But average costs vary widely across the UK.
While in inner London the average weekly cost is £152.56, families in the South East have to pay £215.68 on average. In Wales the average weekly bill is £208.82.
Coram is also calling for better data collection locally to help areas better meet demand and support providers with training and funding, especially to provide places for children with disabilities.
Free hour entitlement for parents during term time needs to be extended to 48 weeks a year, Coram adds.
