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Letters
Dear Bulletin,
I am delighted for all those parents whose
children attend the successful campus nursery ('Nursery in top tot form', Bulletin
17 August), but as I sit here trying to work with my 6-month-old daughter
playing on the floor of my office, I am once again forced to reflect with bad
feeling on the way in which the University of Sussex seems to ignore the needs
of junior members of faculty.
My partner and I have both worked here for
several years and yet, when we put our new baby's name down for the crèche, we
were told that it was unlikely she would be offered a place, as there were only
12 places for children under 18 months, and that students had priority.
To talk of the University nursery as being for
"the children of staff and students" is therefore a bit of a joke. Only one
member of faculty I know has been successful in getting a place for her
daughter - and that was after she hassled them on an almost daily basis. Of
course students need access to subsidised childcare, but I wonder if any of the
senior management of the University realise how difficult it is to breastfeed a
baby when the nearest childcare available is in Brighton.
It is particularly difficult given the problem
of parking on campus - a problem that will be made worse by the introduction of
car-parking charges, which many junior faculty can ill afford (especially those
forced to drive because they cannot afford housing in Brighton or Lewes).
It seems to me as if touting the success of
this workplace nursery at the expense of assessing and meeting real childcare
needs simply allows the University to pay lip-service to equal opportunities
and family-friendly policies, and to thus escape criticism.
Dr Hildi Mitchell
Centre for Research
in Health and Medicine
Sue Yates, Deputy Director of Student Services, replies:
First, I am really sorry that Hildi has been unable to
obtain a place in the crèche for her six-month-old baby. I fully understand how
frustrating this must be for her. What Hildi may not appreciate, however, is
why we are unable to offer more places for children in this age-group.
The University crèche is unusual among child-care providers
for taking babies from four months old. The reason for this is because it is
extremely expensive to provide care for children under one. The staffing ratios
required by the Social Services for this age group is one member of staff for
every two babies, so you can get some sense of what the real cost of this
service is. We would either have to discontinue this provision altogether, or
charge entirely prohibitive fees, were it not for the very generous financial
contribution – over £l40,000 – that the University makes to childcare each
year.
We are planning to expand the crèche in 2002, increasing the
number of places by around 20. This will make it generally easier to obtain a
place although I have to say that, for the reason given above, there may still
be greater demand for places for small babies than we can reasonably afford to
supply.
Regarding Hildi's point about the preference given to
student parents, the priority system for allocating places is, in this order:
children already in the facility, children with a sibling in the crèche or
nursery, final-year students. Thereafter it is equal access. Last year, out of
86 children using the service, 53 were the children of staff.
Dear Editor,
I’m glad to find the lines mentioning the
summer English-language courses for students from non-English-speaking
countries (Bulletin 31 August).
Yes, 26 students from Jissen Women's University,
Tokyo, Japan, have enjoyed the Summer at Sussex Programme. The Jissen-Sussex
programme started in 2000. Students are delighted with their first experiences
of England, and rich opportunities of learning English. I’d like to express my
deepest gratitude to director Sheerin, deputy director Khidhair and organizer
Andrew Blair of the Language Institute.
Professor Akiko Suzue
Jissen Women's University
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Friday 28 September 2001
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