Summer support for students: review

Student Engagement Workshops

Following on from the high-level results emerging from the survey, the Scottish Government conducted Student Engagement Workshops throughout May 2022 to obtain more in-depth information on student financial experiences over the summer. These workshops were comprised of students from FE and HE and included specific groups of students who were identified as most vulnerable in regards to support over the summer. This included students with care experience and student parents.

The Student Engagement Workshops focussed on four areas to be discussed with students in more detail as identified by the Student Summer Support Survey:

• 1. Financial Support
• 2. Discretionary Funds
• 3. Benefit Interaction and Entitlement
• 4. Communication and Awareness

Below is a summary of the key points and themes identified from the discussions that took place. Feedback from students has been grouped under the headings noted above.

Financial Support

1. Financial Costs

• Feedback from the workshops was that typically students incur the same financial costs over the summer as they do during term-time.
• Students also reported that they incur additional childcare costs over the summer as their children are not attending school or nursery. Some student parents reported that they also pay to keep their child's place at nursery over the summer so that they can return in August.
• It was noted that some students are faced with council tax payments over the summer, particularly those who are not classed as a continuing student or those who are articulating from one course to another.
• Some students reported that they try to save throughout the year to manage their finances over the summer whereas some advised they are able to claim Universal Credit for this period.

2. Courses and Placements

• Students participating in the workshops reported difficulty in finding a balance between conducting a placement for their course over summer and working part-time to support themselves.
• Some students are required to resit part of their course or examinations over the summer which is also difficult to balance with employment
• Some courses are not eligible for a reimbursement of placement expenses and therefore the student has to subsidise these costs themselves.
• Some courses continue over the summer break (e.g. Medicine) and the study costs will therefore continue over this period.

3. Employment

• Some students reported that jobs specific to the summer period are difficult to come by and often employers will not take students on for fear of them leaving after the summer has ended.
• It was noted that the job market is competitive as students begin to look for work or to increase the number of hours they work over the summer period.
• Most students in the workshops agreed that parenting and caring responsibilities are difficult to balance with work and often limit student employment prospects over summer.
• Some students reported that they are unable to gain experience from volunteering as they need to find some form of employment in order to support themselves over the summer.

4. Timing of Payments

• Discussions were had around the 12 monthly payment option being made available to care experienced students from 2022/23 AY. Most students welcomed this approach and agreed that they would find it helpful if they were provided with this option.
• Some students reported that they think this approach would make it easier for them to budget and would welcome this option even if there was no monetary increase to their student support package.

"Applying for benefits and discretionary funding is a stressful process and neither are guaranteed. It would just make more sense to provide students with year-round financial support instead of passing on the problem to another body or to the student."