Single parents studying at Waterford IT this year will have a new source of support thanks to a project undertaken by the college's equality office.
"Halfway through the term last year, a young woman arrived here in my office complete with pram and baby. She was in a panic as she had a lecture the next hour and no place to leave her baby," says Dr Venie Martin, the equal opportunities officer in Waterford IT. The immediacy of this predicament prompted the college authorities to see if anything could be done to ease the problems faced by single parents. A major problem was that of resources. "Some universities have creches but they are often losing large amounts of money," says Martin. No institute of technology has creche facilities because "if we did, we would be taking money away from other students' capitation fees".
There was still much that could be done however. Martin says: "A lot of young students didn't know how to go about getting care for their children." Student parents at Waterford will now be given an information pack and will have one-to-one support - "someone to go to for advice", as Martin puts it.
Even if money were available, Martin points out that there are many arguments against the use of creches, and it was because of this that they set about compiling a list of those willing to be childminders for student parents.
"There are many advantages of home-based childcare for student parents. Because many of them are very young themselves, the one-to-one support of a mature adult can help them in coping with parental responsibilities," she says. Especially in the case of parents with more than one child, Martin says "there is a big move away from creches to a more stable family situation, especially when some of the children may not be of creche age."
Childminders do not come cheap though, at between £50 to £70 a week, and one would have thought they would prefer someone who would employ them on a full-time basis rather than just in term time but that is where the work put in by the college pays off. The minders on list they have made are aware of when the students will need them and for various reasons - such as their own children returning from college during the holidays - are happy with the arrangement. Martin is very careful to highlight the fact that the childminders came forward because they like the idea of childminding. Because of their flexibility, the college wants to ensure they stay with the project. "They are very important people to us; we want to give them training and look after them. They can phone the office if they are having problems."
It is hoped that a fund can be set up to help students with the cost of childminding with the help of local agencies such as the St Vincent de Paul. The fund would obviously be limited, however, and Martin says access to it would need to be "semi-means tested".
The college is mindful of the fact that this is an innovative project and Martin says that the Department of Education is monitoring it. "We are keeping records of every step and would be happy to share our experience with other colleges."
