In Scotland, funding for childcare for student parents comes from discretionary funds. In the rest of the UK this funding is regarded as an entitlement and is therefore available as a matter of right.
The Scottish Funding Council has made some additional funds available this year for students on FE courses, but this still falls well below the level of demand. Furthermore, no additional funds have been made available for student parents on HE courses.
Sign the petition
NUS Scotland will be launching a petition at the end of the month for you to send to your MSP. Details will be available online shortly.
A matter of urgency
NUS Scotland believes that Scotland’s discretionary funding of childcare support creates unequal access to education for people with children and is calling on the Scottish government to meet the demand on childcare funding for this year as a matter of urgency.
We are also calling on them to ensure that student parents studying in Scotland are not put at an unfair disadvantage in the future by making funding for childcare a right, not a privilege.
More information:
You can email NUS Scotland Women's Officer Kainde Manji for more information.