Whether you are already a student parent or you are about to have a child, this is the place to find practical help and emotional support.
Are you unsure about your rights and responsibilities as a student parent or are you about to become a parent and are concerned as to how this will affect your future at the university?
Whether you need information on childcare, funding, pregnancy and maternity, you can find it here!
Join our Newcastle University Student Parents Facebook Group! A place for student parents to support each other, sharing tips, tricks and stories good and bad!
Housing Benefit - For lone parents, disabled people who qualify for Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium, disabled people who receive Disabled Students Allowance and people aged over 60.
Income Support - For lone parents, disabled people who qualify for Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium, disabled people who receive Disabled Students Allowance. You may also qualify if you are on a low income and your partner is on maternity or paternity leave.
The Childcare Grant - This grant is available for students who have dependent children and a low household income. If you have children under 15, the grant pays up to 85% of your actual childcare costs throughout the whole year.
Child Benefit - You normally qualify for Child Benefit if you have children under the age of 16 (or under 20 and in relevant education or training) and you live in the UK.
Universal Credit - This is a new benefit that has started to replace several existing benefits with a single monthly payment into your account. The rollout began in 2013 and it is hoped that it will have national coverage by 2016. New claims to existing benefits, which Universal Credit is replacing, will then close down, with the vast majority of claimants moving onto Universal Credit during 2016 and 2017.
Drawing up a weekly study timetable can help to focus your time, but it's hard to stick to a timetable while juggling university and family life and other things you may have on like a job. Instead, try setting personal goals for each day, so you can stay focused even while grabbing fifteen minutes' study time in the doctor's waiting room.
Staying organised is one of the best ways to save time: filing away lecture notes straight away takes a little bit longer at the time, but saves time and stress hunting for them later.
Prioritise: Working out which tasks are most important is an obvious way to manage your time, but make sure you stick to those most important tasks!
Try to get hold of your timetable in advance to you can work out your schedule. Universities often finalise these very late, so if you can't get it, ask for a draft version. You can do this by contacting the school administrator in the school that you are going to study in (eg the Law School, School of Chemistry etc).
Quality Time
Try to stick to a reliable schedule: it's much easier to spend quality time with your family when you know what you're doing when.
Student parents can feel guilty when they start leaving their child to study. Remember that you're doing it for their benefit as well as yours. Try talking to other student parents.
If you're really struggling and want some help, come to the Student Wellbeing Service. We can arrange for you to meet with a therapist to talk through and explore your difficulties. This is a free and confidential service.
Travel Time
On foot, on the bus or in a car, travel time seems like dead time, but there are a few things you can do to make the most of it.
If you're not driving, you can brush up on old notes. It's not a great time to learn new material, but taking the chance to refresh what you've learned already can give you a head start when you start revising for exams.
Check out ‘Recap’ there may well be recordings of your lectures and you might be able to listen to these while travelling.
Travelling time can be useful for getting tasks like phone calls out of the way.
Work out what you can do to keep travel time to a minimum. For example, there are lots of shops and hairdressers available locally, so you can pick up some milk or get a haircut between lectures.
If you have a placement as part of your course, don't forget that it could have a big impact on your travel time and remember to factor this into your plans.
Saving Time
When you've got spare time, you really can 'save time' like you save money. Think of things you can do in advance, from preparing blank timetables to fill in each week to writing the year's birthday cards!
If you are a current student parent, there are several steps that can be taken to support you as a student who has parental responsibilities. The Welfare and Equality Officer at the Students’ Union will be able to assist you with each step.
Step 1
You need to consider whether your caring responsibilities might have an impact on your attendance and/or assessments. If yes, you will need to request a meeting with your personal tutor or other trusted member of staff in your school. If applicable, a Personal and Extenuating Circumstances form may need to be contact Student Progress for more information.
Step 2
The member of staff responds, meets with yourself and considers the implications of the caring responsibilities for all elements of the programme of study, including course placements, study abroad and field work.
Step 3
The School/Faculty prepares a written statement detailing the agreed flexibility and sends a copy to you.
Step 4
The responsible member of staff communicates written agreement to relevant others e.g. personal tutor, exam boards along with, where appropriate, a mitigating circumstances form.
Step 5
The member of staff and yourself jointly monitor the agreement and agree further adjustments if the need arises.
