While I sympathise I think you might need a bit of a reality check!
50% of my income goes on rent so I wouldn’t consider that a low rent.
How many bedrooms? Because assuming 2-3 that sounds about right for your area.
Uk average is 45-50 % of income if privately renting.
Have you checked out social housing where you are which would likely be at least a little cheaper not just in terms of rent but also utilities etc?
Your dc are young enough to share a bedroom if they don’t already and I’m fairly certain you’re only eligible for a 2 bed property or else you might be liable for bedroom tax.
Who exactly did you speak to? Because the dwp are NOT above outright lying to deter people from claiming - I’ve had it happen to me, first when I split from ex (I was told I couldn’t claim because he was army! Total bullshit) and again in the same position as you as a full time student with a child I was told I wasn’t eligible for any help - again bullshit!
I too would strongly advise you speak to uni student support finance dept - when I was a student I was able to access the hardship fund (you tend to have to get in early as this is usually finite and it’s first come first served so you might miss out this year but bear in mind for next year), books and equipment help, transport cost help and a lone parent grant.
Now admittedly that was around 15 years ago so I understand a lot has changed but it’s still worth speaking to them.
Indeed from a quick look at my old uni’s site there is additional help for students with children - childcare grant, dependents grant, parents learning allowance, clinical students can get help with transport to placement costs - these are from the govt they also say that they have a regular advice clinic for those students who may be eligible for state benefits
I would think your uni would be the same.
In addition I would strongly advise (wish I’d known this as a student) that you get advice from your welfare rights advice service who are usually part of your local council services - don’t know exactly where you are but again a quick google shows this type of service does exist in Manchester.
Are you maximising your use of student discounts/reductions? Definitely worth getting on to, are you a member of the students union? That gets you a lot of discounts/special offers and they can also provide advice and support.
I’m an ex nurse myself (wasn’t a parent at this time) and when I was studying we were also eligible for nhs discounts/offers - this WAS a long time ago but again worth exploring I think. May possibly also be worth joining an nhs based union too - you can belong to as many unions as you’re eligible for.
The calculators unfortunately can only cope with straightforward claims/circumstances and they advise of this in their “small print” and also state that they are guidance only.
would also contact CAB because they will know the complex rules around student finance and UC.
Definitely not my experience, I’ve not found cab well informed on benefits and I’ve tried several offices in several areas.
Nurse training to the best of my knowledge still doesn’t allow for a long summer break but op will know - ah and I see she’s confirmed this. As I say it’s been a while for me.
Also the free childcare hours etc weren’t there when I was a student but I got iirc 85% of costs paid by tax credits.
It is bad in that it tends to be all “dribs and drabs” so you do need to be well informed and good at creating and managing a budget that suits - eg moving any direct debits you can to points in the month when you have more income etc it’s a juggling act for definite and I definitely had very tough times but that was mainly as when I was a lone parent student child maintenance WAS included as deductible income and the system was shit as “it” assumed if my ex paid one month he’d definitely pay the next month, which he very rarely did and if he did not necessarily the full amount he was supposed to! Thankfully that aspect has now been changed to cm not being included, I wouldn’t have been loads better off if that had been the case for me but it wouldn’t have been quite so precarious!
Amass as much information/knowledge as possible and use it to maximise your income.
Also if possible reduce outgoings where you can, as pp said you’re exempt from council tax as a student and there may well be other areas you can cut back.
Are there any bills you’re paying that are for things only your ex used? Eg mobile phone, additional tv packages, subscriptions? If so get rid of these as soon as possible. If you’re tied into contracts then ideally he should be covering them but I realise this can be problematic, certainly contact the companies concerned and explain the situation they MIGHT be able to offer a reduction or payment plan.
Overhaul your regular bills to see if you can cut back on these, switch suppliers if it will save you money etc
That’s all I can think of for now, I genuinely hope it is of use to you and that you are able to continue with your studies. It’s bloody hard work doing clinical training and as I said I did it without 2 kids in tow! But there were single mums on my course plus I know some now who are doing the training and again it’s difficult but they are managing somehow, one qualified recently and seems to be doing ok.