Single mum....Financial help? - OU degree?

emmafifema

Hi all,

So, I'm 34 and after being diagnosed with a spinal condition and having spinal surgery 2 months ago my doctor has advised me that I cannot work in the job I am trained to do which is childcare (creche work) due to the lifting etc.
So as I don't have any other qualifications to do anything else I have been looking at the OU and doing either an open degree or Business studies degree. I am also starting my GCSE maths next month as that's the only one I didn't get a grade C in at school!

What I need to know is what financial help I can get whilst doing this as I'm a single mum of 1?

I'm aware that I may need to get student loans etc but need to know If I'm likely to get them and if there is any grant or anything else I can claim as I will literally have an income of £50 child tax credit per week to live on....really want/need to do this but need to know I will be able to financially support my son at the same time.

Any advice would be much appreciated even if it's pointing me in the direction of where to get the help/advice

xx

dizzyrascal

I think you need to post this on the benefits board so someone can help you get the right benefits. It's not possible for 2 of you to live on £50 per week in my opinion.
If you are taking an OU degree you need to think about the long term commitment. It will take six years to complete part time so you should be aiming to get some sort of part time job or jobs to do whilst you are studying. 16 hours worth will bring you into the right bracket to get more financial help.
In the meantime I would focus on a named degree, if only because employers understand more about what you have studied from the degree title and you won't have to explain yourself so much.
You will only get your fees paid for your OU study from SF. Part time study does not attract any living allowances but you may get some further help because of your low income. You will need to apply to the OU for financial help and see what they can offer. It probably won't be vast piles of cash, more likely to be fee waivers or a small grant for books etc.

debrag

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/ways-to-pay/england.htm

you can get a loan like any other student, no maintenance though.

emmafifema

thanks for the replies....I would want to do the degree full time over 3 years would I still not get any maintenance then?

dizzyrascal

Yes the degree and OU courses are classed as part-time so you cannot get any maintenance from SFE.
They are designed to be taken along side working.
The OU may not let you take 120 module credits per year (as you would in a traditional university). They may stretch it to 90 but they will look at your circumstances and take a view on whether you can commit to that level of study.
If you haven't studied for a while it might be a big ask. Perhaps you should do some of their starter courses to see how you get on.
OU degrees are not an easy option. You will need to put in the hours to get through the work. For a 60 credit module lasting 9 months you will need to find between 20-40 hours per week to study depending on the level.
You need to have access to a good library and need to be highly organised to manage your time. You need to fit this in around all your other commitments and as you have said you are already taking Maths GCSE I think that one 60 credit module as well as that will be more than enough.

pandaonmyshoulder

I am currently doing an OU BSc Social Science Hons degree. Time management is vital but I am managing to complete my degree within the standard 3 years but that is doing 2 courses at once ! I am a Mum to 4 but thankfully mine are aged 22,19,17 and 13. You will get some help with fees but a lot of it is down to you ! You just have to decide what is important to you and go for it !!!! Contact OU they don't bite x

DuckEggGingham

I am starting a degree with the OU in October and I am aiming to do it in 3 at the very most 4 years. I am doing 120 credits this year and hope to be able to do the same amount of credits (if life goes to plan!) in the next couple of years. I chatted with the OU and they were fine about it.

There are some very knowledgeable people in regards to student finances on the student board, you should maybe give them a try:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=25

Good luck with everything! It is most certainly do-able!

dizzyrascal

I think if you have no other commitments in life other than study, it is very possible to do 120 credits but the OU do assess each case on merit and 120 credits is a lot to do if you work full time or have a brace or more of preschool children.
The amount of study does depend on the course. English & History for instance require a great deal of background reading, and as you get beyond year one, you need to do more research.
The OP did say that she has her son to support although he may be of school age, which makes a big difference as far as study time goes.
Also, and I would recommend this to anyone, you need to be gaining work experience alongside your degree studies so that you have something to show employers when you graduate. In the OP's place, if she got a job to help with her finances, it might help her move up an organisation quicker, if they are aware that she is working towards a degree.

Catherine_Johnson_2

Wow, I don't think I could be a single Mum and also study full time for a University degree!

How on earth are you going to juggle your time? Have you really thought about this?

Easier, yes, if your child is at school, but still doesn't leave many hours in a day.

I would have thought you would need to study part time and do part time work to bring some money in. How you do this with a child I simply don't know.

Does the father of the child contribute to his/her upkeep?

DuckEggGingham

dizzyrascal wrote: »

I think if you have no other commitments in life other than study, it is very possible to do 120 credits but the OU do assess each case on merit and 120 credits is a lot to do if you work full time or have a brace or more of preschool children.
The amount of study does depend on the course. English & History for instance require a great deal of background reading, and as you get beyond year one, you need to do more research.
The OP did say that she has her son to support although he may be of school age, which makes a big difference as far as study time goes.
Also, and I would recommend this to anyone, you need to be gaining work experience alongside your degree studies so that you have something to show employers when you graduate. In the OP's place, if she got a job to help with her finances, it might help her move up an organisation quicker, if they are aware that she is working towards a degree.

I have a pretty demanding job, though luckily it is part time hours at present. I do have a family and a husband that is hardly here lol ( forces ) so I do have other commitments other then study but I am lucky in that my children are teens, well, not sure about lucky, have you met a teen recently? They can be more work some days then when they were toddlers lol! But in general 'on paper' doing 120 credits a year is feasible for my situation.

I respectfully disagree with your comment that someone 'needs' to be gaining work experience along side their degree to show employers when they graduate. Whilst having a job can be a huge benefit not least for the money aspect and especially if the job is in the 'line' of work that your chosen degree is in, it is not a definite 'need.' Lots of maturer students take on degrees so that when they graduate they can have a complete career change or some students may be a stay at home mum/dad taking a degree in preparation for returning to work in the years ahead. It is not a need/necessity to have a job alongside your studies other then the obvious benefits.

dizzyrascal

DuckEggGingham wrote: »

I have a pretty demanding job, though luckily it is part time hours at present. I do have a family and a husband that is hardly here lol ( forces ) so I do have other commitments other then study but I am lucky in that my children are teens, well, not sure about lucky, have you met a teen recently? They can be more work some days then when they were toddlers lol! But in general 'on paper' doing 120 credits a year is feasible for my situation.

I respectfully disagree with your comment that someone 'needs' to be gaining work experience along side their degree to show employers when they graduate. Whilst having a job can be a huge benefit not least for the money aspect and especially if the job is in the 'line' of work that your chosen degree is in, it is not a definite 'need.' Lots of maturer students take on degrees so that when they graduate they can have a complete career change or some students may be a stay at home mum/dad taking a degree in preparation for returning to work in the years ahead. It is not a need/necessity to have a job alongside your studies other then the obvious benefits.

Firstly, if you work full time in a demanding role (and have any kind of life) then I don't think it is possible to study full time.
I have three children and they were in their teens when I did my second degree (through the OU, first was through the more traditional route). I also work with "teens" daily in my job in a university careers service.
Whilst there may be some people who do not need work experience like mature students who already have some years under their belts most undergraduates do.
In general, you can only be helping yourself by gaining some of the skills needed for work. Employers tell us this over and over again. They want our graduates to be work ready, if they haven't had any kind of job whilst at university, they will most probably not get offered a job, or will at least have a very uphill struggle to get one.
In the OP's case it seems she is on a very low income so some sort of work can only help and I believe that if she worked part time and studied this would help her achieved her goals. Not to mention earn some income