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 today 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 is part of GW4’s ongoing campaign, calling on Government to extend the undergraduate Childcare Grant to postgrads 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 workforce.
The report argues that postgraduate students, who are parents, have been forgotten by previous governments. 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, some PhD students are 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. The lack of equitable provision also 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 the growing evidence that diverse workplaces, particularly in Research and Development sectors, are more innovative.
Postgraduate studies are also critical for the high-skilled jobs of the future, providing upskilling and reskilling opportunities for many career paths, and delivering ambitions for the UK to be a science superpower.
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.
Melissa Barlow, a parent and a Biomedical PhD student at the University of Exeter said: “Paying two lots of nursery fees put an overwhelming financial strain on us as a family, we had to take out loans and accrued nearly £15,000 of credit card debt. The only way I could continue studying was by going part-time and taking on a part-time job to help financially.
“Given that the average age of a postgraduate researcher coincides with the average age of starting a family, preventing postgraduate students from accessing financial support for childcare, that is available for undergraduates or workers, feels inequitable. It means many parents are unable to access postgraduate education and secure jobs that require these qualifications. It also limits the access children of postgraduate students have to early years education.”
Professor Evelyn Welch MBE, Vice-Chancellor and President of University of Bristol, and incoming Chair of GW4 Council said: “A diverse research community plays a crucial role in a university’s ability to produce innovative and impactful research and achieve academic excellence. The best research reflects the world we live in. Research informed by researchers from different backgrounds and the widest possible talent pool, is fundamental to economic, scientific and societal progress. We support GW4’s childcare campaign urging the government to 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, added: “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."
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.
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.”
On behalf of the four university Vice Chancellors, GW4 has also written an open letter about the report to government ministers calling for action.
GW4 institutions host over 40 externally funded Doctoral Training Centres and Partnerships and these are home to over 7,000 doctoral researchers. Of these training programmes, 14 are GW4 entities, and GW4 works with other universities, research institutes, businesses and charities to create a highly skilled workforce for the UK and worldwide.
GW4 is committed to creating optimal research and educational environments that enable our postgraduate researchers to push forward the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. GW4 was first approached in 2023 by postgraduate students who shared the impact of the lack of childcare support on their physical, mental and economic well-being and sought assistance in raising the issue nationally. This led to the creation of GW4’s childcare campaign and exemplifies the combined strength of GW4 universities to affect change. Change doesn’t happen alone.
