Postgraduate Child Support: Why There’s a Call for Change

Where you’re from will determine what you are and aren’t eligible for as a parent doing a postgraduate degree:

• England – Not eligible for childcare grants but can use interest-bearing loans to help pay for childcare costs, and take advantage of the universal offer of 15 hours of support for three and four year-olds for 38 weeks a year.
• Wales – Eligible for the childcare offer to claim up to 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, for three and four-year-olds, for up to 48 weeks of the year. Eligibility criteria apply.
• Scotland – Eligible for the discretionary University Childcare Funds of up to £1,215 per year available to help with the cost of registered childcare expenses. Eligibility criteria apply.
• Northern Ireland – Not eligible for childcare grants but can apply for loans to cover associated costs of studies, including childcare.

HEPI and GW4 are making a case in support of postgraduate students who are parents and don’t have access to the same childcare support as undergraduate students or those in the workforce.

In their report, they are calling on the UK government to extend the current undergraduate Childcare Grant available in England to postgraduate students. If extended, the grant would provide support to postgraduate students with children if their household annual income is below £19,795 for one child or £28,379 for two or more.

The report also recommends extending the free childcare hours entitlement for workers to postgraduate students.

Even though the Childcare Grant hasn’t been extended to postgraduate students yet, if you’re a parent in England thinking about studying a Masters or PhD, it’s worth knowing what this could mean for the future.

If the undergraduate Childcare Grant was extended in its current format, you could get either 85% of your childcare costs or a maximum fixed amount. The amount depends on the number of children you have. Currently at the undergraduate level parents can get:

• Up to £193.62 a week if they have one child.
• Up to £331.95 a week if they have two or more children.

The Childcare Grant also depends on your household income. Your household income should be less than:

• £19,795.23 if you’re applying for one child.
• £28,379.39 if you’re applying for two or more children.

If the free childcare hours entitlement is also extended to postgraduate students, then you could be looking at:

• 15 hours per week of free childcare if your child is nine months to two years old.
• 30 hours per week of free childcare if your child is three to four years old (other eligibility criteria may apply).

Mark Bennett, Director of Audience and Insight at FindAMasters/FindAPhD, has been a strong advocate for more financial support for postgraduate students throughout his career. Having become a father during his PhD, Mark is also aware of the difficulties of balancing study and childcare.

“My first child arrived halfway through my PhD and, contrary to my naive assumptions, did not agree to sleep in a moses basket on the desk whilst I pondered eighteenth-century travelogues.

The reality is that Masters and PhD students are more likely to be parents. Our own Pulse data reveals that 60% of the people searching for a Masters or PhD are over 35 and an even greater proportion are women (who unfairly bear a greater proportion of childcare responsibilities). These aren’t enrolments – they’re people, like you, who are looking to study a postgrad course. And the current state of financial support makes it too hard for too many of you to do so.

At FindAMasters/FindAPhD, we absolutely welcome this report and agree completely with its core suggestions: at the very least, postgraduate parents should receive the same level of support as undergraduates.”

These are only recommendations, and it’s in the hands of the current government to take these into consideration and make any changes. We’ll keep you updated on any new developments.

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