New report by GW4 calls on government to fix the gap in childcare support for postgraduate students

GW4 (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter universities) has published a Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report entitled ‘Who cares? How postgraduate parents fall through the gap for government childcare grants, and how to fix it’.

The report argues that postgraduate students, 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  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.

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.

The situation for postgraduate researchers in Wales is slightly better, but GW4’s report encourages the Westminster government and the devolved nations to consider how they can better support postgraduate researchers.

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.

Professor Wendy Larner FAcSS, PFHEA, President and Vice-Chancellor at Cardiff University said: “The best research reflects the world we live in, and a diverse research community plays a key role in creating innovative and impactful research. 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. However, 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.”

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."

On behalf of the four university Vice Chancellors, GW4 has also written an open letter about the report to government ministers calling for action.