Student Parents
FE to HE: Supporting Student Parents' Transition
Brightside is being funded by the Nuffield Foundation to pilot an innovative ementoring programme to support student parents during the transition from Further to Higher Education.
It should be a viable option for parents to become students to build their skills, improve their prospects and enjoy the lasting benefits that higher education brings them and their families. However, they face significant barriers.
With the costs, pressures and lifestyle changes that university brings, the decision to enter higher education is not an easy one. Alongside practical challenges of limited time, money and childcare, student parents often lack the information and support they need to make informed decisions and to prepare for, and cope with, the transition to higher education.
- Read Meet the Parents, the National Union of Students report on the experience of student parents in FE and HE
StudentParents.org
Launched in September 2010, StudentParents.org was developed by Brightside in association with NUS, The National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA) and AMOSSHE, the UK Student Services Association to provide student parents with clear information and guidance to help prepare for university life.
The website provides a range of online information and tools including;
- Jargon buster to provide clear information about student support
- Budget calculator with information about financial support and tools to build their own budget
- Tips on preparing for higher education, including time management, childcare options and study skills
- Case studies from students already balancing higher education with parenthood
Student Parents Ementoring
As well as StudentParents.org, this programme is also piloting the use of ementoring to support student parents with the transition from further to higher education. Students at Level 3 in college who are thinking of going to university are mentored by student parents already studying at a local university. Mentoring pairs communicate online at a time and place which suits them, so mentees receive personalised support from someone who has been in their shoes while mentors get a flexible way to volunteer, and access to a support network of other student parents.
The programme spans two academic years, so that mentees receive support to help them to make informed choices and prepare for university, as well as to adapt to student life. Through the ementoring site, mentors can access a support network of other student parents at their university as well as a university student adviser through the site, if they need support themselves.
The programme is piloted in partnership with five Further Education Colleges and five Higher Education Institutions in England in five cities:
- Liverpool
- Birmingham
- London
- Leeds
- Northampton
The ementoring service is a closed pilot but there are a range of free resources that any student parents can access from the website.
Getting involved
Anyone can access studentparents.org. If you’d like to add a link to the site from your website, please use the URL: www.studentparents.org and the Strapline: Preparing student parents for university, developed by the education charity Brightside
If you would like to find out more about the project, please contact Harry Warwick on harry.warwick@thebrightsidetrust.org or 0207 922 7802