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Parents and Carers

Newcastle University supports colleagues and students with parenting and caring responsibilities.

Overview

Newcastle University is a family-friendly university. It offers best practices and a supportive environment, allowing both parents and carers to thrive.

Our University Executive Board approved a three-year funded project named ‘For Families’. The project looks at both high level issues such as organisational culture to smaller, more detailed amendments. Addressing these issues can transform the institution into a leading family-friendly institution.

Our policies and practices

Our leading policies and practices include:

  • a removal of service qualification periods for all forms of family-friendly leave
  • the Returners Support Programme which provides funded support for all colleagues returning to work following parental leave
  • paternity/partner leave entitlement of 4 weeks at full pay
  • a family time policy with paid provision and time off for foster carers and those undergoing assisted conception
  • enhancing provision for parents of premature babies (Employer with Heart Charter)
  • bereavement leave of up to two weeks for colleagues who experience an early miscarriage and their partners
  • a time for grandparents provision of up to one week unpaid leave when there is a new addition to the family
  • a carers policy which provides an additional 5 days of leave for colleagues with caring responsibilities

Find out more

The funding for the project has now finished, but the work continues and is overseen by the University’s central EDI team. Get in touch with us to find out more about our support for parents and carers.