Petition · past parliament

Make Student Nurses and Midwives eligible for 30 hours free childcare

Closed 328 signatures

What the petition asks

Earlier in the year, the government introduced 30 hours of free childcare for 3-4 year olds in the UK. It has since emerged that this scheme ignores the workforce of Student Nurses and Midwives with children who work 30+ hours in the NHS, who are now without a bursary and have limited support.
In 2017, Student Nurse and Midwifery applications fell by a staggering 23% after the abolition of NHS Bursaries. These students now need to take out loans and take up second jobs in order to make ends meet. This is even harder for students with children and often forces them to drop out after the first year of training.
There are 24,000 nursing posts in the UK which need filling. This is a change that could benefit thousands of Student Nurses and Midwives, and help fill those vacancies.

Timeline

13 Sep 2017 Petition opened for signatures
13 Mar 2018 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 328
Status Closed
Opened 13 Sep 2017
Closed 13 Mar 2018

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.