Childcare in further education

Aims of this project

• Explore the issues of young parents in Further Education (FE), with particular focus on those wishing to study through the medium of Welsh.
• Determine the extent to which childcare acts as a barrier to education, with a focus on the use of Welsh medium childcare.
• Understand the extent to which current levels of support meet the demand from young parents, and how current support systems compare to the rest of the UK.
• Estimate how many additional young parents could continue, or enter, FE if additional support was provided.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1

This study concludes that current discretionary funding arrangements appear to meet the needs of FE parent learners who require support with the costs of childcare. As such, and based on the evidence reviewed from various sources, we recommend that an additional pilot programme is not required at this moment in time.

Recommendation 2

Further Education Institutions (FEIs) rely largely on their Financial Contingency Fund allocation to provide the childcare support that their parent learners require. The Welsh Government should therefore consider continuing to allocate these funds to FEIs. 

Recommendation 3

Further efforts may be required to improve the way information about available support is shared with young parents in order to raise their awareness of the financial support opportunities that are currently available to them.