Dear Parents and Carers Community Members, 

It has been good to get to know some of you during my first few weeks in this role – thank you for reaching out to me via email and stopping to say hi whilst out and about on campus – I feel very privileged to play a role in helping parents and carers achieve their goal of accessing higher education. I hope that as time goes on and we settle into a routine, we can plan some events that allow us to meet in person and give some in our community an opportunity to meet in person.  

Below are details some of the things I have done for our community since the start of the academic year: 

• Researched and compiled a list of scholarships, bursaries, public sector services, benefits and charities that may be able to provide additional funding for students in my community - these will be linked from the community welcome page at some point soon. It may be useful and time efficient for students in my community to have information on external financial support all in one place. 

• Made a list of financial and practical aid available from our university that specifically targets our community. As above, having clear information regarding what support is available from our university may lessen time taken to search for support and therefore reduce added anxiety at already challenging times. 

• Spoken to students in other communities regarding what we feel could be done to support students to reach their academic potential without added monetary worries.  This is part of an ongoing campaign on behalf of LBSU to help cushion students during this cost-of-living crisis.  

• Supported students from our community in navigating barriers to academic success by signposting them to relevant student services. Some students needed 1:1 support to navigate complex forms and systems that serve as a barrier to receiving support they are entitled to. 

• Provided a listening ear when students have reached out to me for support, as it’s important to network in order to build on our community and help it grow. 

• Planned meetings with other Community Leaders to share ideas for implementing positive change in our communities – especially during a time of such economic and financial uncertainty; hopefully I will be able to share more with you about these exciting developments in my next report. 

Please contact me or leave a comment on this article if there is anything you would like to see that I could add to my agenda moving forwards.  

Best wishes, 

Hannah Moffatt, Parents and Carers Community Leader