Student parents and women's education

We have a long-standing interest in women’s education, particularly the ways that women are disadvantaged in accessing or benefiting from educational opportunities.

Recent decades have seen radical improvement in women’s access to further and higher education. But student parents (the large majority of whom are women) still face significant barriers to accessing and completing courses.

Information about student parents is limited because institutions are not required to collect relevant data, but they face a range of challenges around combining their parental and educational responsibilities. 

If you are interested in applying for a grant, please read more about our priorities for funding in this area. Please note we no longer give grants to individual women in higher education for help with the costs of caring for children or adult relatives with special needs.

The Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund
Our focus on student parents is a progression from the work previously funded under the Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund. This programme is now closed and we no longer make grants to individual women. Information about the programme is available on the Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund page.