Imperial will be providing staff with access to emergency child and adult care, as part of a new service to support parents and carers at the College.
The new service is being rolled out in partnership with My Family Care, a specialist provider of family-friendly services and resources, to provide all staff with access to three backup care services – emergency childcare, school holiday cover and backup adult and eldercare.
The College will fund the registration costs to My Family Care, with individual staff then paying for any care depending on how long services are required.
Imperial is the first university in the UK to offer the service, which is designed to provide staff with greater flexibility when managing their care and workplace responsibilities.
Staff will also have access to the Imperial Work + Family Space - an online resource that also provides advice, information and both practical and emotional support to help staff balance the demands of work and family. The resource also provides information on clubs and activities to fill childcare gaps during the school holidays,
Professor James Stirling, Provost of Imperial, said: “Imperial recognises that parents and carers, who make up a significant proportion of our staff, can find it challenging to juggle the demands of work and family. This initiative is part of our continuing commitment to ensuring that Imperial staff receive the support and help that they need to balance these responsibilities.”
This step comes in response to the 2012 Maternity and the 2013 Paternity Surveys, in which more than half of respondents called for back-up childcare provision at the College.
As a parent of three children under the age of 5, I know that My Family Care will be a valuable source of support for working parents.
– Dr Victoria Salem
Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Medicine
Dr Victoria Salem, Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Medicine and Athena SWAN co-ordinator for the Faculty of Medicine said: “As a parent of three children under the age of 5, I know that My Family Care will be a valuable source of support for working parents. I’m looking forward to having peace of mind that I’ll be able to proceed with an important meeting or experiment even if my usual childcare arrangements fall through.”
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Deborah Evanson
Communications Division
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 3921
Email: d.evanson@imperial.ac.uk
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