GW4 Childcare Campaign Case Studies

At the heart of GW4’s Childcare Campaign are real people – the postgraduate students as well as their families and loved ones – all of whom are affected by the lack of childcare support.

In preparation for the ‘Who cares? How postgraduate parents fall through the gap for government childcare grants, and how to fix it’ Policy Note, GW4 interviewed students from our partner universities, who kindly agreed to share their experiences with a wider audience. Not all wish to be identified, so these students have been given a pseudonym (*):

Each has their own story about how the lack of childcare funding has impacted their professional and personal lives. You can read their individual experiences below:

The human cost: case studies from students

Aamir*: A full-time EPSRC-funded student at the University of Bath, with two children aged one and three, with the three-year-old in nursery 2.5 hours a day, five days a week.

Charlotte*: a full-time ESRC-funded student at the University of Bristol, with two children aged two and five, with the two-year-old in nursery four days a week.

Erin*: a part-time ESRC-funded student at the University of Exeter with three children, twins aged 10 and, a five-year-old, who were all cared for by a childminder when younger.

Grace: a full-time student at the University of Bath with three children aged five and under.

Kate: a part-time Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded student at the University of Bristol, with one child aged 20-months in nursery three days a week.

Lara: a full-time MRC-funded student at the University of Bristol, with two children aged four months and two, with the two-year-old in nursery three days a week.

Meera*: a full-time student funded by an international government and attends the University of Bristol, with one child, aged six. who attended a nursery when younger.

Melissa: a part-time Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded student at the University of Exeter, with two children aged one and three, both in nursery two to three days a week.

Veronica: a full-time Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded student at the University of Bristol, with a six-year-old.

Share your experiences

As part of our campaign, calling for the government to extend the current undergraduate Childcare Grant to include postgraduate students, GW4 is looking to capture the lived experience of postgraduates with childcaring responsibilities, and to understand how the lack of funding for childcare is impacting students' professional and personal lives. If you've been affected by this issue, and would like to share your story or are interested in being involved in our campaign, please get in touch.

Contact GW4