Tag Archive for: University of Birmingham

Free Childcare Grant for Students

A free childcare grant is available to eligible students who are also parents.Did you know that there is a free childcare grant available to students who are also parents? This could be a game-changer for you if you are thinking about enrolling in a further education course and have a child. One major consideration will be that you’ll need to arrange childcare for your child while you are learning, so you can give your course your full attention while in attendance. However, childcare costs money, so may be a real concern. Indeed, it could be a deciding factor as to whether the whole studying idea is even viable.

Well, there is good news for undergraduate students who have a child under the age of 15 (17 if they have special educational needs). Under a UK Government scheme, you may be eligible for a grant to cover a big chunk of your childcare costs and, actually, it’s quite generous.

How Much is the Childcare Grant for Students?

Eligible students can get a grant worth up to 85% of their childcare costs.Eligible students can get a grant worth up to 85% of their childcare costs during study. Even better — it does not need to be paid back and is in addition to other student finance. One of the stipulations, in fact, is that you must be eligible for student finance in order to be eligible for a student Childcare Grant.

For a parent with one dependent child, this could amount to as much as £179.62 per week or, for two or more children, up to £307.95 per week*. That’s all so long as this is no more than 85% of your childcare costs. If it is, then the lower (85%) amount applies. Either way, though, you’ll have to pay for the remainder of the childcare costs.

* Figures are correct, at time of writing, for the academic year 2021-2022.

Additional Rules Around Eligibility

In addition to the rules already confirmed above, several other factors affect eligibility for the student Childcare Grant:

  • Eligible students need not juggle looking after their little one with study.The childcare provider must be officially registered as such with Ofsted or the General Childcare Register;
  • They must not be related if the childcare is to take place at home;
  • The child or children being claimed for must be financially dependent upon you, the applicant;
  • You must be a permanent UK resident and be studying full-time;
  • You must receive, or be eligible to receive, undergraduate student finance based on household income.

You are not eligible if:

  • You or your partner receive childcare funding help from the NHS;
  • You or your partner claim the childcare part of Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit, or claim Tax-Free Childcare;
  • You are receiving a Postgraduate Loan.

How to Apply for the Childcare Grant

Apply for a Childcare Grant and have much of your childcare costs covered.You should apply for the Childcare Grant for students as part of the process of applying for your main undergraduate student finance. You’ll need to set up a Childcare Grant Payment Service (CCGPS) account too. You will receive instructions on how to do so, along with confirmation of how much you’ll get for the Childcare Grant, once you’ve started the process.

All of the above is usually done online. However, should you want to retrospectively apply for the Childcare Grant having already applied for student finance, you can use a paper form. You can also do this should you wish to make an application for an additional child later on. More details about applying for the Childcare Grant for students is available here.

How the Childcare Grant is Paid

You are not paid directly. Instead, the grant gets paid to the childcare setting you are using for your childcare. They apply to be paid out of the CCGPS account that you set up after applying for the grant. You need to approve the payments by logging into your CCGPS account on a weekly basis once your course has started.

A Great Nursery for Student Parents: Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery, Edgbaston

Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16

Leaps & Bounds Nursery is rated as a Good Provider of childcare by Ofsted.If you are a student parent or are considering studying somewhere local to Edgbaston or Birmingham, we have your childcare needs covered! Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery is based in Edgbaston, so is within easy reach of the University of Birmingham, Moss House (University College Birmingham), Edgbaston College, South & City College Birmingham, Sparkhill Adult Education Centre, Birmingham Adult Education Service, Saltley Learning Centre, Selly Oak Learning Centre, Joseph Chamberlain Adult Learning Centre, the Midlands Arts Centre and Northfield Education Centre amongst others. We’d be delighted to look after your baby, toddler or under-five child on weekdays when you attend your further education sessions. We’re also a Forest School (great for kids who enjoy the Great Outdoors and nature). Choose a button below to find out more or to arrange a visit:

Main photo: Gavin Warrins (Public domain)

10 Fascinating Facts About Edgbaston
Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery is fortunate to be based in Edgbaston, an affluent suburb of Birmingham, just to the south-west of the city. In this post, we take a look at some of our favourite facts about the location, touching on history, significant venues, plus a few famous people with close links to the area.

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The name Edgbaston is derived from the Old English naming convention whereby a place name consisted of, in this case, a person’s name (‘Ecgbald’) followed by the word for farm (‘tun’). So ‘Ecgbald tun’ (Ecgbald’s Farm), to all intents and purposes, became the name of the small village as it was then.

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At the time the village was recorded in the Doomsday Book in the year 1086, it had just 10 homes.

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Cattle grazing in Edgbaston. Image: Lines family sketchbook, public domain.

Edgbaston village remains quite an exclusive and affluent area. Indeed, in terms of property prices, it is one of the most expensive areas in the West Midlands. Much of this is owed to the village’s historical background. Back in the 19th Century, the Gillott and Gough-Calthorpe families, then land owners of much of Edgbaston, refused to allow the area to be industrialised with warehouses or factories and indeed it was often referred to as the area “where the trees begin”. In so doing, the unspoilt area attracted the more wealthy people who typically lived in impressive detached houses, many of which are still in use as private residences today.

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Priceless works of art from the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Turner, Whistler, Van Dyck, Picasso, Botticelli & Van Gogh can be seen at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts.Priceless works of art from the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Turner, Whistler, Van Dyck, Picasso, Botticelli, Van Gogh and many other masters can be seen — in the flesh — at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts. It is a small but incredibly impressive art gallery located on the University of Birmingham campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

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Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Image: Annette Randle /CC BY-SA 2.0Edgbaston also boasts its own 15-acre botanical gardens. Birmingham Botanical Gardens has its main entrance at Westbourne Road and is a superb attraction. It boasts beautiful formal gardens, planted zones of different kinds, impressive glasshouses with tropical, subtropical, Mediterranean and arid plants, a butterfly house, alpine house and pinetum. It also has a sunken rose garden, a rock garden, rhododendron and azalea walks, a waterfowl area, a bird aviary, a museum, two children’s playgrounds, a café, gift shop and much more.

Neville Chamberlain. Image: British Museum, Public domain6

During his lifetime, Neville Chamberlain, a British Prime Minister (1937-1940), was a major donor to the botanical gardens, as was his father Joseph Chamberlain. Neville was born in 1869 at ‘Southborne’, a house in Edgbaston village.

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J. R. R. Tolkien. Image: Tucker FTW, CC BY-SA 4.0The author J. R. R. Tolkien was also an Edgbaston resident for a time. When he was a teenager, he lived at Starling Road. This was close to two towers; the Waterworks Tower and Perrott’s Folly. It is said that these were the inspiration for Tolkien’s novel The Two Towers, from his trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

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England vs India Test match at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham (2011). Image: Jimmy Guano, CC BY-SA 3.0Edgbaston is, of course, famous for international Test Cricket matches and one day ‘internationals’ featuring the England cricket team. These take place at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, which is also home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club and the venue for various county matches.

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DFS Classic, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Image: Matt Morelli, CC BY-SA 2.0Edgbaston is also synonymous with tennis.

Firstly, Edgbaston Priory Club is a world class tennis venue and is located in Sir Harry’s Road. Top female players from around the world compete there in tournaments like the DFS Classic, which is part of the WTA Tour (run by the Women’s Tennis Association).

Secondly, Edgbaston is also the home of Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society (est. 1860). It is the world’s oldest lawn tennis club still in use.

Thirdly, the first ever game of lawn tennis took place in Edgbaston, in the garden of a house called ‘Fairlawn’ — a strangely apt name!

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Edgbaston Arts and Crafts house by Herbert Tudor Buckland. IMAGE: Oosoom, CC BY-SA 3.0Birmingham’s only Grade 1 listed domestic building can also be found in Edgbaston. It was designed and built in 1899 by the influential Arts and Crafts architect Herbert Tudor Buckland, who lived there. The property boasts stylish and well-preserved Arts and Crafts style interiors and a formal garden with a Gertrude Jekyll design. It is open to the public and tours are sometimes available. It’s an impressive and imposing house, located at 21 Yately Road, Edgbaston. This is a leafy road which also features other Arts and Crafts houses designed by Buckland.

The architect was also behind the design and build of nearby University House, in Birmingham University, which was built in 1908 (incidentally having been funded mainly by the aforementioned PM Neville Chamberlain). Buckland and his partner E. Haywood are indeed responsible for many designs and ideas that have helped to shape much of modern Birmingham.

An Outstanding Nursery, Pre-School & Forest School Setting in Edgbaston, Birmingham

Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16Leaps & Bounds Nursery is rated as a Good Provider of childcare by Ofsted.This post was brought to you by Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery, which is also located in Edgbaston. We’re an ideal nursery/pre-school for those looking for outstanding weekday childcare for babies and children under five near Bearwood, Smethwick, Harborne or Ladywood. We are also a Forest School setting, so children at our nursery can enjoy and learn from everything that nature and the outdoors has to offer. If you’d like to explore the idea of your child attending the nursery, please call 0121 246 4922 while places are still available. Alternatively contact us here and we’ll be happy to answer any questions or arrange for you and your child to see the nursery in action.

Main image: St Augustine’s Church, Edgbaston – The Nave. Photo by ProCivitate, CC BY-SA 3.0