New report calls on government to fix the gap in childcare support for postgraduate students

The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and GW4 (an alliance of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter universities) have jointly published a report entitled Who cares? How postgraduate parents fall through the gap for government childcare grants, and how to fix it. The report shines a light on the unacknowledged gap in childcare support for postgraduate students, in direct contrast to the support and provisions available for undergraduate students and workers.

Report overview:

• Postgraduate students (on taught courses and researchers) who are parents have been forgotten by previous governments. They are currently ineligible for the childcare grants available to undergraduate students and ineligible for the same free hours entitlements available for workers.

• The GW4 Alliance (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter universities) is calling on the Government to extend the current undergraduate Childcare Grant to postgraduate students. In line with the current childcare grants for undergraduate students, this would provide support towards childcare costs if a household income is below £19,795. This would help ensure that those with children, and from the most economically disadvantaged backgrounds, are not disincentivised from studying for higher qualifications.

• 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/reskilling opportunities for many career paths and delivering ambitions for the UK to be a science superpower.

Students studying for Masters and PhDs are ineligible for Childcare Grants, which are in place for full-time undergraduates to help with childcare costs for children under 15 years old. They are also ineligible for the childcare benefits available to workers unless they are in substantial paid employment in addition to their studies.

For most parents, combining postgraduate study, substantial outside work, and childcare responsibilities is incompatible. 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 of money) 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 and the average cost of a full-time childcare place for an under 2-year-old over £14,000 a year, stipends do not provide enough money to cover living and childcare costs.

GW4 is concerned that this lack of childcare support disincentivises parents from pursuing postgraduate qualifications. This lack of provision also limits the equality and diversity of the higher education and high-skilled workforce, despite growing evidence that more diverse workplaces, particularly in Research and Development sectors, are more innovative.

As part of the report, GW4 interviewed PhD students from its partner universities who explained how a lack of childcare funding has impacted their professional and personal lives. 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. However, they all struggled with paying childcare fees while studying, with 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 us as a family, we 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. 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.”

Professor Lisa Roberts FRSB, FRSA, President and Vice-Chancellor at University of Exeter said: “We support GW4’s campaign calling on government to address the ineligibility of postgraduate researchers for government-backed childcare support. The best research reflects the world we live in, and a diverse research community plays a key role in creating innovative and impactful research. We are concerned the current policy has a negative impact on the diversity and inclusivity of postgraduate research, and is particularly relevant with the cost of living crisis. This campaign is a great example of the combined strength of GW4 universities to affect change and we look forward to working with government on this issue to extend childcare support to postgraduates parents.”

Professor Evelyn Welch MBE, Vice-Chancellor and President of 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. We support GW4’s childcare campaign urging the government to 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.”

Dr Joanna Jenkinson MBE, GW4 Alliance Director, said: “Postgraduate researchers have fallen between the gaps in government childcare provision, usually unable to meet the eligibility requirements for government schemes or student support. GW4 is concerned that the current childcare grant policy is having a negative impact on the diversity and inclusivity of postgraduate research and is limiting opportunities for parents who are economically disadvantaged. We want to work with government to ensure parents of young children are not disincentivised from upskilling or reskilling and pursuing postgraduate qualifications and then accessing the high-skilled jobs that require these qualifications.”

Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute, adds:

“I support GW4’s ongoing childcare campaign and welcome the suggested first step of expanding the undergraduate childcare grant to reduce barriers for economically disadvantaged parents. I also support GW4’s recommendation to extend the free-hours provision, particularly to those undertaking postgraduate research who form a critical part of the research workforce.”

Recommendations:

• Expand the eligibility of undergraduate Childcare Grants to include home taught and research postgraduates. This initial step would help to remove barriers for economically disadvantaged parents wishing to undertake postgraduate studies. A further recommendation would be for the Government to consider how to extend the free-hours entitlements only available to workers to those in postgraduate education, a critical part of the research workforce.

• Bring responsibility for postgraduate students’ childcare provision fully within the remit of the Department for Education.

• The Higher Education Statistics Agency should work with universities to improve data collection on postgraduate students with childcare responsibilities.