Nursery World - Colleges support lone parents best

Further education colleges offer lone parent students more support with childcare than universities, according to a survey carried out by One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS). The charity found that in the majority of cases, Scottish further education colleges can fund all the childcare costs for one child during term-time, time-tabled periods, drawing on assorted childcare funds.

The charity found that in the majority of cases, Scottish further education colleges can fund all the childcare costs for one child during term-time, time-tabled periods, drawing on assorted childcare funds.

The picture for university students is rather less positive. One of the main sources of funding for childcare is the Mature Student's Bursary, available to students over 25 or students under 25 who have been self-supporting for at least three years. The maximum award is 2,000 per academic award. The other is the Higher Education Hardship Fund, formerly known as Access Fund, which is open to any student studying a higher education course. Awards from this fund vary greatly but are likely to be far less generous than a bursary award.

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