Childcare options for PGCE

[tethersend]

Hoping to get some advice for a friend...

She wants to start a full time PGCE, but is worried that she won't be able to afford childcare for her DD who is 18mo. She is married with a mortgage, and her husband is self employed and earns around £30,000 before tax.

Is anyone in a similar position?

Would she have any help with childcare costs?

TIA

Not sure but don't they also have to pay tuition fees? That's the reason I didn't do a PGCE. However, the college/uni may have a creche/day care of some sort which could be substantially reduced for students.
Through her DHs salary, they should be eligible for the basic govt. working tax credits I would have thought. Check out www.directgov.uk for all the info.

Thanks lucie - you don't have to pay tuition fees for a PGCE, and receive a £4,000 grant; the college creche only has places for children 3 yrs and over, so my friend is concerned that the grant will not even cover childcare costs.

Thanks for the tax credits link.

ooh sounds good because at the college near me, it was worded as though PGCE students had to pay fees but that's something for me to think about then.

Hello
You do have to pay tuition fees! £3225

I am doing my PGCE at the moment.
I get a bursary of £4000 but no help with childcare costs. My dd's are 4 and 6 and one was in Nursery for 15 hrs a week and the other at school and then both with a childminder the rest of the time so my fees were possibly not as high. I pay from 7.50 to 17.30 each day.

My husband earns a similar amount and I also get a Maintenance grant of about £2400 I think. I got this through SLC.

I have also got a loan for £4000 to cover additional costs.

You can also get a loan to pay your fees.

Using childcare on campus might not help anyway in the long run as a lot of time is on placement and so childcare near home might be a better option.

HTH.
Tell her to make sure she has ALOT of support in place, but that it is do-able. The course will be as tough as they say it is though...

Oh. Think I might do a PGCE once DCs are old enough to look after themselves...............in about another 6 yrs