Families in East Lothian received more than 8,000 hours of free childcare for school age youngsters during the summer holidays as part of a Scottish Government initiative.
A report on how East Lothian Council spent its share of funding from the national Summer Holiday Food, Activities and Childcare Programme revealed significant demand for help from vulnerable families.
And it said the 'prohibitive' costs of child care had put significant pressure on some families.
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The report said: "Childcare costs can be prohibitively high and prevents many parents from returning to work, or are pressured into low paid roles that offer flexibility.
"The summer holidays pose a significant challenge to many families, with the pressures of child care, costs of food and summer activities placing further strain on families with low income. "
The local authority received £161, 537 from the Scottish Government programme to support children aged 5-14 over the school holidays in the summer.
The report said a total of 8,286 hours of childcare was provided, along with 13,500 snacks and lunches provided to 1,777 children and young people. More than 1100 children took part in outdoor activities with beach days, picnics and other events organised with 315 children taking part in day trips.
The funding provided additional activities targeted at children in priority groups on top of the programmes already run by the council and voluntary groups including Connected Communities, sport and arts services, the East Lothian Play Association and After School Clubs.
Priority groups identified for the funding were described as single parent families, ethnic minority families, families with a disabled adult or child, families with a young mother (under 25), families with a children under one-year-old or with more than three children.
The report said in total 17 projects were put forward and approved receiving £110,231.37. In addition the East Lothian Play Association received a total of £7,480 to provide cluster based Pop-up Play sessions events, and a further £43,825.63 was awarded to Children’s Services to enable social workers to provide positive interventions for families most in need.
It said more than 100 children and young people received intensive family support through children's services with 58 children taking part in activities aimed at those with additional support needs.
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