list for the day nursery, which means that many parents have to go private – a luxury many can hardly afford. Student T\T *HYVSPUL [VSK TL ¸4` KH\NO[LY has been on the waiting list for about six months, and the staff seem sure that she won’t get a place for a while as the list is very long.” She further commented that her experiences had left her wishing that the University had “a nursery system that is accessible to everyone rather than a privileged few.” Many student parents also called for childcare facilities to extend to Sutton Bonington campus. A large proportion of the student parents I interviewed claimed that a nursery on our satellite campus would help save time and money, with many parents having to skip lectures and ÄUPZO LHYS` [V NL[ IHJR [V <UP]LYZP[` 7HYR to pick children up on time. It is obviously a good thing that the current facilities exist, but it would appear that there are still many things that could be improved in order to help even more students. :V P[ PZ JSLHYS` X\P[L KPMÄJ\S[ [V IHSHUJL the hectic life of a parent and student, but what if you hadn’t planned on being a parent whilst at university? What would you do if you found out that you were pregnant? Would you know where to look for help? Verity has been studying at The University of Nottingham for 5 years, completing OLY <UKLYNYHK\H[L HUK 4HZ[LYZ +LNYLLZ ILMVYL Z[HY[PUN OLY 7O+ PU :LW[LTILY 2010. She found out she was pregnant Q\Z[ ^LLRZ HM[LY HJJLW[PUN OLY 7O+ VMMLY HUK OHZ MV\UK P[ KPMÄJ\S[ [V KLHS ^P[O [OL University since. “It was never a case VM º>PSS 0 KV [OL 7/+&» P[ ^HZ Q\Z[ º6R this is the situation, how am I going to deal with it?’” explained Verity. “The biggest problem I had was that there is no maternity clause for students. When I spoke to my supervisors to tell them I was pregnant I wanted to know what my position was, so I was really surprised that there wasn’t actually any policy for students.” Verity has been constantly battling with administration over how to deal with her maternity leave. The University asked her to sign off and suspend her studies, but Verity didn’t want to, nor could she afford to. She has since spent the last 6 months conducting a year’s worth of research in order to prove to her department that she doesn’t need the time off. “I told myself I ^HZ NVPUN [V OH]L HSS T` ÄYZ[ `LHY ^VYR ÄUPZOLK I` [OL TPKKSL VM -LIY\HY` HUK I have. I have worked my arse off,” said Verity. “I have proven to people I can still
jump through all of these admin hoops they want me to jump through.” It is disappointing then, that the University still do not to have a system in place for those students who do fall pregnant during their studies. While many would be happy to suspend their studies, it seems unfair that this is the only choice being offered. The Students’ Union champions the Easy Tiger campaign, but there is a question of how much support is offered when students actually become pregnant. Katie Mackay, the Students’ Union ,X\HS 6WWVY[\UP[PLZ HUK >LSMHYL 6MÄJLY admitted that the student handbook needs severely updating in regards to student pregnancies, and it was unclear as to exactly what help would be H]HPSHISL :OL L_WSHPULK [OH[ P[»Z KPMÄJ\S[ to cater for students who have children or who are pregnant, because unless they come looking for help there is no way of contacting them. Katie stated, “They are a hard to reach group. If we don’t know who they are then we can’t make special allowances for them.” 2H[PL HSVUN ^P[O 7VZ[NYHK\H[L 6MÄJLY Morgan Stankey, is campaigning for the university to register students with caring responsibilities in order to start making changes that can really help those who need it. Under current processes, students do not need to state whether they have any dependents when they apply for university or when they complete the university’s registration process, which means that student parents pass under the administration radar. As Katie L_WSHPULK ¸;OL ÄYZ[ Z[LW [V PTWYV]PUN things is to get them registered.” So, with student parents continuing [V IH[[SL ^P[O [OL [PTL HUK ÄUHUJPHS pressures at home and at university, it appears that little can be done to improve things until the number of students that do have caring responsibilities is monitored. An NUS report in 2008, titled ‘Meet the Parents’, called for just that, yet little change seems to have been made since. It would seem then, that the university and the Student’s Union have a basic infrastructure in place to try and help student parents, and the childcare facilities currently available are clearly of a high standard. However, a little more time, money and inclination could seriously improve the systems in place to reach students with caring responsibilities - ensuring that all of these students get as much help and support as possible.
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