In Scotland, childcare funding for student parents comes from discretionary funds. In the rest of the UK, this funding is often a legal entitlement and is available as a matter of right.
Funding shortfall
The Scottish Funding Council has recently made some additional funds available 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.
NUS Scotland believes that Scotland’s discretionary funding of childcare support creates unequal access to education for people with children. We are calling on the Scottish government to meet the demand on childcare funding for this year as a matter of urgency. We also ask 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.
Campaign with us
The Women's Campaign has set up a campaigning website, issued a briefing for students' associations on the Parent Trap campaign and produced postcards to support the campaign, one with the women's campaign logo only, and the other with space for you to include your own students' association logo. Help us make a difference.