GW4 calls for action on postgraduate childcare provision with submission to Government’s Spending Review

The GW4 Alliance of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter Universities has submitted their recommendations on postgraduate childcare support, as part of Phase 2 of the Government’s 2025 Spending Review. 

GW4’s Spending Review submission focuses on the issue of childcare support for postgraduate students. The submission is part of GW4’s ongoing wider campaign calling on Government to extend the undergraduate Childcare Grant to postgraduates and, as a further step, recommends Government consider how to extend the free-hours entitlements currently available to workers to those in postgraduate education, a critical part of the research and innovation workforce.     

This submission follows GW4’s postgraduate childcare proposal to the Government’s Autumn budget in 2024 and publication of GW4’s report ‘Who cares? How postgraduate parents fall through the gap for government childcare grants, and how to fix it’, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).   

The report and proposals make the case that despite the increased political interest in childcare, there is an unacknowledged gap in provision for postgraduate students.  

Currently, students studying for Masters and PhDs are not eligible 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 unable to claim 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 not feasible.  Some funders also do not allow postgraduate students to undertake additional paid work or limit the number of hours.     

GW4 is concerned that this lack of childcare support creates a barrier for those with childcaring responsibilities who wish to undertake postgraduate studies.   

The lack of equitable provision disproportionately affects women and those from lower-income communities, hampering efforts to increase the diversity of the higher education sector and high-skilled workforce.  This is despite growing evidence that diverse workplaces, particularly in Research and Development sectors, are more innovative.   

Postgraduate studies are critical for the high-skilled jobs of the future, providing upskilling and reskilling opportunities for many career paths and delivering ambitions for productivity and economic growth.    

Dr Joanna Jenkinson MBE, GW4 Alliance Director, said: “GW4 is concerned that the current approach to childcare support is having a negative impact on the diversity and inclusivity of postgraduate research and is limiting opportunities for the most 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.   

“While the Chancellor’s commitment in the Autumn budget last year to increase the accessibility of government-funded childcare is a step in the right direction, we would urge the government to take into account our recommendations and extend its childcare support schemes to postgraduates. We hope government will acknowledge these issues and look to address them in their spending review and wider policy making.”   

The Spending Review 2025 is taking place in two phases. At the Autumn Budget in 2024, the Chancellor set out the outcome of Phase 1 of the Spending Review, which confirmed departmental budgets for 2024-25 and set budgets for 2025-26. The total level of funding planned for Phase 2 (‘the envelope’) was also announced, details of which are due to conclude and be published in June 2025. Phase 2 aims to prioritise delivering the government’s missions.  

As part of government’s policy making and budget process, HM Treasury provides an opportunity for individuals, interest groups, and representative bodies to provide feedback on government spending priorities and suggest policy ideas that could inform decisions about departmental budgets and resource allocation over the multi-year Spending Review period. 

GW4 will continue to make the case to government that increased support is vital 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.