Universities call on government to provide childcare funding to postgraduate students

The GW4 Alliance of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter Universities with the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) is calling on the government to extend the current undergraduate Childcare Grant to postgraduate students.

A joint report outlines the impact of the gap in childcare support for postgraduate students, and makes recommendations to government on how to best address the issue.

Unlike students studying for full-time undergraduate degrees, postgraduates on taught courses, as well as researchers, are ineligible for Childcare Grants.

Extending the same undergraduate childcare support to postgraduates would help ensure that those with children, and from the most economically disadvantaged backgrounds, were not disincentivised from studying for higher qualifications, they said.

This would provide support towards childcare costs for those with a household income under £19,795.

GW4 said most postgraduates are also ineligible for the funded childcare entitlements available for working parents unless they take on well-paid jobs while they are studying, which for many  is ‘incompatible’ with the hours they needed to spend on their studies.

Most PhD programmes expect their postgraduate students to study full-time and some do not allow regular outside work.

In exchange, PhD students are usually offered a stipend – a fixed sum – to cover the cost of housing and other living expenses.

However, with a typical stipend for a PhD student between £15,000 to £19,000 per year, the report said stipends do not provide enough money to cover living and childcare costs.

PhD students interviewed for the report explained how a lack of childcare funding has impacted them. Interviewees stressed the importance of undertaking postgraduate studies not only for themselves, but also for society, including one student who is pursuing a career in cancer research.

They said they all struggled with paying childcare fees while studying because the stipends they received being insufficient to cover their childcare costs. 

Melissa Barlow, a parent and a Biomedical PhD student at the University of Exeter, said paying two lots of nursery fees put ‘an overwhelming financial strain’ on her family, because they had to take out loans and accrued nearly £15,000 of credit card debt.

‘The only way I could continue studying was by going part-time and taking on a part-time job to help financially,’ she said.

‘Given that the average age of a postgraduate researcher coincides with the average age of starting a family, preventing postgraduate students from accessing financial support for childcare, that is available for undergraduates or workers, feels inequitable.

‘It means many parents are unable to access postgraduate education and secure jobs that require these qualifications. It also limits the access children of postgraduate students have to early years education.’

According to GW4, ‘This lack of equitable provision disproportionately affects women and those from lower-income communities, hampering efforts to increase the diversity of the higher education and high-skilled workforce.’

Postgraduate studies are critical for the high-skilled jobs of the future, providing upskilling and reskilling opportunities for many career paths and delivering ambitions for the UK to be a science superpower, they added.

Professor Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor and president of the University of Bristol, and incoming chair of GW4 Council said, ‘A diverse research community plays a crucial role in a university’s ability to produce innovative and impactful research and achieve academic excellence. The best research reflects the world we live in. Research informed by researchers from different backgrounds and the widest possible talent pool, is fundamental to economic, scientific and societal progress.’

Meanwhile, the Welsh government has already expanded the Childcare Offer to include postgraduate students meaning eligible parents can claim up to 30 hours of childcare a week for three-and-four-year-olds.

Professor Wendy Larner, president and vice-chancellor at Cardiff University said, 'We support GW4’s campaign calling on government to also extend the Childcare Grant to postgraduate students, improving access to economically disadvantaged parents and helping to diversify the research community for the benefit of all.' 

The NUS is also backing the campaign. It is calling for the government to introduce a living stipend for postgraduates, in order to have ‘true equality of opportunity’ in higher education.

NUS UK vice president higher education, Alex Stanley, said, ‘Everyone should be able to access education, including parents. Moreover, without an adequate Childcare Grant for postgraduates, we disproportionately exclude women, who often take on the bulk of the childcare, and people working class students, who can’t rely on family connections to help with childcare costs, from furthering their education.  

‘Postgraduates get little to no financial support, meaning that it is much easier for people without caring responsibilities and from wealthier backgrounds to access postgraduate education.’

• The report, Who cares? How postgraduate parents fall through the gap for government childcare grants, and how to fix it, is available here