Mature students miss out on childcare provision as nursery waiting list grows
Childcare facilities at York are inadequate for the needs of student parents, it has been revealed.
Complaints about long waiting lists and the ‘first come first serve’ policy has lead the small campus nursery to come under fire as students often miss out on places that become dominated by the children of university staff and public customers.
The on-site nursery, which is run by Commercial Services, provides places for 30 children from the ages of eleven months to five years.
Speaking about the facilities at York, YUSU Academic and Welfare Officer Charlie Leyland said: “The last I heard, there were three times the amount of people on the waiting list as places. There is no strict allocation of staff/student/member of the public ratio, though currently this is approximately 60% staff and 40% students, although I know that the nursery tries to balance this.”
With mature students making up the majority of student parents in York, the GSA has responded to complaints, and began acting on the issue last year with the previous YUSU sabbatical team.
“This situation is absolutely something we are aware of,” commented acting GSA President Daniel Carr. “In fact, our representative on University Teaching Committee, Tom Flynn, has raised this issue. This has been necessary as many graduate students, who often finish their days later than undergraduates, are struggling to find adequate provision of childcare on campus,” Carr said.
The GSA provides subsidies to help students afford alternative places at nurseries around York, however some feel that this arrangement denies students an equitable opportunity to become involved in campus life.
The opening hours of the nursery have also been criticised that timetabling does not allow students to drop off or collect their children easily.
Presently, the nursery operates from 8.30am to 6.00pm. “They neither open sufficiently early, nor remain open late enough to allow a student with an evening class to place their child in the nursery,” commented Carr.
Jon Greenwood, Chair of the Nursery Management Group at York, denied that there was a serious problem.
“We review the requirements continually and as with any business, demand fluctuates up and down. 96% of the places are taken up with staff or students of the University and places are awarded as soon as a vacancy arises,” he said.
Jane Grenville, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Students, did however reveal that the University are “looking seriously at this issue.” She pinpointed three focal points for the University: the possibility of expansion, a conversion to simpler, crèche facilities, or extended opening hours. ‘Shared nursery facilities’ were proposed in the original plans for Heslington East, but will not be completed for several years.
Despite plans to look nursery facilities, Leyland and Carr remain sceptical about the University’s priorities for the future.
“The University of York is an international community where we are constantly extending both staff and student membership from overseas with ‘internationalisation’ being top of the agenda. How can they seriously do this if they cannot cater for the whole family?” stated Leyland.
Any students in need of advice of financial support should contact the University Support Services or acwelfare@yusu.org.
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Just to clarify – the official term ‘mature student’ (according to UCAS and the University of York) refers to a student aged 21 or over at the start of an undergraduate degree. Obviously this doesn’t incorporate postgrads, so I think maybe the title of the article is a little misleading, as the information appears to refer to postgrads only!
Regards,
Emma Ronicle
YUSU Mature Student Rep