Student parents can face a monthly shortfall of up to £1,000 between the cost of childcare and the amount of financial support they get to help pay for it, a new report has revealed.

While more than a third of student parents get help with childcare costs in the form of discretionary funding from the Students Awards Agency Scotland, research by the National Union of Students (NUS Scotland) found it did not meet the total bill for half (50.4%) of this group.

The shortfall ranged from £20 to £400 for college students with children, but for those at university the amount they had to make ranged from £100 to £1,000 a month.

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The figures were revealed in a new report by NUS Scotland looking at life for student parents called The Bairn Necessities.

The research, which included a survey of 721 student parents in Scotland, also found a "small but significant number" had to take out commercial loans to pay for childcare, with others relying on family members helping out or income from a part-time job.

The Scottish Government has been urged to carry out in-depth research into the real costs of childcare for students, with NUS Scotland saying this is "necessary to gain a fuller understanding of why monthly shortfalls for some students can be so high and could provide solutions that enables childcare funds to meet the full costs of childcare".

It also suggested colleges and universities should be required to keep a record of how many students have children after the report found it was "difficult to say" what the total was for Scotland as only a "handful" of colleges and universities collect the data.

Overall, the report said "colleges, universities and their students' associations need to be more understanding of the needs and life circumstances of student parents in order for them to succeed".

NUS Scotland said its recommendations - which include a call for bursary support to cover maternity and family leave for those who have a child while at college or university - could make a "substantial positive difference to student parents".

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Emily Beever, NUS Scotland women's officer, said: "Respondents told us how the current support system isn't fit for purpose, leaving them out of pocket by hundreds of pounds each month, which isn't being matched by the necessary support from government or their institution.

"Others are torn between missing valuable class-time to look after sick children or face simply unaffordable additional childcare costs.

"Many are caught in a trap, between student support and a loss of benefits, and some have even been advised to not even consider higher education in order to remain on benefits.

"The Scottish Government have announced they'll be launching a review into student support and it's vital that student parents are a part of that.

"We need serious reform so that no student loses out because they're trying to make a better life for themselves and their children."

Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: "Women should be able to return to education to get the skills they need after having a child but too many of them are simply priced out of the system because of childcare costs.

"The Scottish economy loses out because we continue to have a childcare policy written to fit on an election leaflet rather than around the real lives of families.

"Cuts will only make this worse, with the SNP slashing the capital budget to build nurseries to deliver on their own childcare promises."

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Liberal Democrat education spokesman Tavish Scott said: "This report shows that student parents are being left hundreds of pounds a month out of pocket. Will that help them get the qualifications they need?

"Parents have every bit as much to gain from a quality education as anyone else and we need to ensure that the right support is available to help them learn.

"The challenges that student parents face in accessing childcare and financial support will only have been compounded by the massive cuts to part-time college courses we have seen under the SNP."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "This government recognises the importance of access to education for students with children.

"Currently, lone parents in higher education who have formal registered childcare expenses can apply for up to £1,215 per year to help with these costs and, in addition, all student parents can apply to their institution for discretionary childcare funds.

"Students with children also benefit from the amount and flexibility of funded early learning and childcare by nearly 50% since 2007.

"Since 2015, this entitlement has also been rolled-out to over a quarter of two-year-olds.

"In this Parliament, we will go even further and almost double the hours available - to 1,140 hours per year, representing a transformation in the levels of early learning support for children and families."