Many students combine their University studies with caring responsibilities, such as caring for children, disabled or elderly parents and other adult dependants.
Students with Caring Responsibilities

Students with caring responsibilities
Your situation could mean that you have caring responsibilities just in the short term, such as supporting a family member after an accident. You could have a longer-term caring role, such as being a parent.
We understand that coping with caring responsibilities can be challenging. They are likely to add extra pressure on you whilst you are studying for your degree. This may lead to you having trouble keeping up with your academic work or with maintaining regular attendance.
If you find that your caring responsibilities are affecting your studies, it is important that you make the relevant staff within your college aware of your situation. This will allow your college, along with CampusLife, to help provide you with the support you need in order to succeed at Swansea University.
- Depressed - You may begin to feel utterly hopeless and in despair, you may feel like life is not worth as much without the person you love. If you do experience this, it’s important to visit your GP.
These feelings will gradually fade and become less painful over time, and you’ll find you are able to talk about your loved one without feeling upset.
Practical tips & advice
Student Carers
CampusLife are committed to supporting students with caring responsibilities and have recently devised a package specifically for Student Carers.
A student Carer is defined as a student who cares, unpaid, for a family member or a friend who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support. Please note that these duties would be in addition to the usual caring responsibilities that a parent would have for a dependent child, unless the dependent child has a serious illness, mental health problems or disabilities.
The package includes a large amount of support and students will be required to provide supportive evidence in order to access the package. For more information on the 'Student Carers Package' please visit the website.
Money@CampusLife
Money can be a worry to everyone. If you’re a parent/an adult is financially dependent on you/a carer/or a care-leaver, you may be eligible for additional grants. For more information on what you are entitled to please visit the Money@CampusLife website.
Childcare
Coming to University with the responsibility of a child can seem very stressful, especially when trying to arrange childcare.
The Student’s Union provides high-quality and affordable childcare for children aged 3 months - 8 years. They aim to assist all students who are returning to higher education.
The nursery operates from Monday to Friday 7.30am to 6.00pm.
•Full day (7.30am - 6:00pm), £35.00
•Morning Session (7.30am - 1:00pm), inclusive of lunch £24.00
•Afternoon session (1:00pm - 6:00pm), without lunch £24.00
Swansea Employability Academy
Worried about getting a job after graduating? SEA provides a wide range of services and resources, which are available to all Swansea University students and alumni (up to 5 years after graduation), including:
•Programmes of employability workshops, employers’ talks, bespoke events and careers fairs.
•The Swansea Employability Award (recorded in your Higher Education Achievement Report).
•Work experience programmes.
•Resources for job hunting, finding work while you study and volunteering.
•Individual advice and guidance from professionally qualified Careers Advisers.
•Access to information on a wide range of career management topics.
•Advice and guidance on postgraduate study and funding.
Where to go for further support
Support within the University
Welfare@CampusLife
Welfare are a team within Campuslife whose aim is to improve the student experience in Swansea University. We work closely with staff in colleges, other support services within the university and external partners such as the Police and Public Health Wales to ensure that students receive the best support when they are experiencing welfare issues whilst studying. You may find it useful to take a look at our advice pages here
Listening Service
Faith@CampusLife's listening service offers a listening ear to whoever needs it – irrespective of religion, if any. These chats can happen via phone or video calling, whichever you feel most comfortable using. If you would like to speak to a particular member of the team then please indicate who that is when you contact them. To access this service please contact Listeningservice.campuslife@swansea.ac.uk
Faculty Student Information / Experience Team
You can contact the Student Information / Experience staff in your Faculty who can offer you practical advice, guidance, and signposting to appropriate services. They can also discuss the extenuating circumstances process with you should you need to use this. You can find a list of the contact details for Faculty Student Information / Experience staff here.
You can read more about the extenuating circumstances process here.
Wellbeing
Swansea University’s Wellbeing Service can offer students support such as, access to stress control course, self-help resources, group programmes, one-off support sessions and counselling. You can contact Wellbeing by emailing wellbeingdisability@swansea.ac.uk
You can request support by filling out their request form here.
The Students' Union Advice Centre
The Students' Union Advice and Support Centre gives free, independent, and confidential advice and representation to Swansea University students. Their service is run by experienced, friendly advisors who are available for private appointments during weekdays. You can contact them by emailing advice@swansea-union.co.uk
CAS- Centre for Academic Success
The Centre for Academic Success is here to support you in developing your academic study skills and achieving your goals. Please do have a look at their website of all the sessions they offer. You may find something on there that will really help you.
Money@campuslife
The Money@campuslife team provide information, advice and guidance on student money-related issues. They aim to empower students to take control of their finances in order to limit the impact of financial issues to ensure students achieve their maximum potential whilst ensuring a positive student experience. Check out their website to find out more.
Community@Campuslife:
The students of Swansea are also residents in their local communities. Community@CampusLife promotes positive engagement between students and the local community. For more information check out their website.
Students' Union Sports, Societies, and Activities
You may find it helpful to look at joining a sports club or society as these are a great way to make new friends, get to know people and have fun. If you would like to look at the list of Societies available you can check them out on the Students Union website. You can also check out upcoming events and activities here.