UK 'behind' on grandparent childcare provision

The UK is lagging behind other European countries by failing to recognise the role grandparents play in looking after children, a study claims.

The report by Grandparents Plus claims one in three mothers in the UK rely on grandparents to provide childcare.

It says the state gives little financial recognition for this caring role, unlike other European countries.

Grandparents should not be taken for granted as cheap childcare, says the report.

The study - written in partnership with the Beth Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Gerontology at King's College London - said many grandparents struggled to juggle work and childcare, without financial support.

It said that a number of EU countries had taken steps to help grandparents.

This included measures to allow parents to transfer parental leave to grandparents, letting working grandparents take time off if their grandchild is sick and, in some circumstances, paying them for the care they provided.

Flexible working
The report acknowledged that from April next year, grandparents in the UK would be able to claim National Insurance credits for the care they provided.

But it said they did not currently have a right to request flexible working and parental leave could not be transferred to them.

Parents also could not use childcare vouchers, which are taken from their salaries before they pay tax and National Insurance, to pay grandparents, the report said.

Research carried out for the report found that seven out of 10 grandparent carers thought they should be paid through tax credits or childcare vouchers for childcare.

Nearly half of all grandparents who looked after their grandchildren said they would opt for flexible working if they were allowed.

And 53% of grandparents aged between 45 and 54 thought grandparents should be given time off work when a grandchild is born.

Grandparents 'crucial'
Dr Karen Glaser, a specialist in ageing who helped write the report, said there needed to be a system in place whereby parental leave from work could be transferred to grandparents.

"There are more women in employment and grandparents are absolutely instrumental in terms of child care," she said.

"And lastly there have been significant changes to family lives, so in terms of increasing levels of divorce and one-parent families and a lot of research has shown that grandparents are absolutely crucial, especially at times of family crisis."

Sam Smethers, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said: "National Insurance credits from April next year will certainly help to protect their [grandparents'] pension entitlement, but this won't help them now.

"We have to match it with steps towards transferable parental leave and flexible working if we really want to make it easier for them to combine work and care."

'Cheap childcare'
The Family and Parenting Institute also warned that poorer grandparents were at risk of being exploited by the state as a "cheap safety net for childcare".

Dr Katherine Rake from the institute said grandparents were not just expected to care for their grandchildren, but they were also increasingly having to support their adult children as well, as many were divorced and financially vulnerable.

The group said poorer grandparents were especially likely to feel the strain of helping care for their grandchildren, as they were more likely to become grandparents before they retired, while their own children were also more likely to be single parents and need extensive childcare support.

Dr Rake said: "These working-class women, who have attempted to juggle their family and their careers for decades, now find that grandmotherhood offers no relief.

"They will always want to contribute to the welfare of grandchildren - but they don't want it foisted on them by a state that either ignores or assumes their assistance.

NEWS BY:http://www.bbc.co.uk

UK University Foundation Courses

Russian high school programs finish a year earlier than those in the UK, which means Russian students looking to do a UK degree course almost always need a need to do a foundation year first.

There are two types of foundation programs. One has its course content validated by a UK university, and successful students are guaranteed a university place. These offer courses in specialist subjects together with academic English. They employ highly qualified teachers - the English language staff, for example will have at least a diploma. The other kind does not have validated courses and does not guarantee a university place. At best they offer a good top-up in a specialist subject and/or a solid academic English course.

From 2009, Russian students who wish to study at private institutions will need to enroll in a college accredited by the British Accreditation Council (BAC) or a language school covered by Accreditation UK to obtain a visa.

Unfortunately, the BAC inspects only specialist subjects while Accreditation UK inspects only English-language teaching. Foundation programs should offer both. In addition both schemes accredit courses that don't guarantee university places as well as those that do.

So how do you choose a good foundation year? By asking some very tough questions.

If you already know which university you want, simply ask the admissions office. The university may run its own foundation program or outsource it to a state college, private college or a language school while guaranteeing degree places to successful students.

In either case, it is important to check what assistance is available if the student fails. "If a student [barely] fails the foundation year, we help them find a place somewhere else," says Claire Ballard of Reading University's International Office.

An increasing number of universities have private-sector partners who run foundation programs on the university campus. Students can enrol direct with these partners and get help choosing a university subsequently. Most of these organizations have formal arrangements with other universities for students who don't quite make the grade.

Study Group, for example, runs international study centers in nine British universities but many more universities accept people on their foundation program.

INTO is involved in joint ventures, currently with three British universities, which means the university remains responsible for academic quality. Again other universities will accept their course. INTO are building on-campus centers for their courses which include pre-foundation courses for those whose English is weak through to English-language support for students during their degrees.

Students who haven't decided on the university to which they wish to apply, could consider a foundation year at an accredited college whose programs are formally accepted by a number of university partners. For example, those at Bellerby's Colleges, part of Study Group, is accepted by forty British universities. There are language schools, too, which have validated courses. The program run by the Bell School in Cambridge, for example, is formally accepted by twelve universities and students are guaranteed a place at a university on successful completion of the course.

Some language schools are building a reputation in specialist subjects as well as English. IH London has a business track and another for science and engineering. These are accepted as entry qualifications for specific degree courses in universities such as King's College, London; Queen Mary, London; and Nottingham University.

Proper validated foundation years do not come cheap. University-run courses cost in the £7,500 to £13,000 ($14,900 to $25,820) range for non-EU students and the private-sector fees are much the same.

Courses without validation can be much cheaper. But if no university will accept them, what is the point?


NEWS BY:http://www.themoscowtimes.com/careercenter/JC/article/381487.html