Hi
I completed my degree last year and was a single parent all the way through. You cannot claim any DWP benefits while in full time education but you can apply for a maintenance grant through student finance. The maintenance grant + student loan covered everything, food, childcare, travel and some left over for other necessities like bills, clothing for a growing child and a few treats here and there. I was better off financially when I was a student than I am now, a graduate with a fairly good degree.
The jobs market is a horror show and I quit my zero hour factory job as soon as I realised it was costing me more to work than to not work.
I would advise against postgraduate degrees with the 10k postgeaduate loan, as you are expected to pay tuition fees with it, and what you have left is all you have to live off. I tried to get benefits from DWP at the time but they couldn’t pay me anything. Its not doable and I had to quit my MSc halfway through.
I’ve been stuck on JSA since February and it’s so utterly disheartening. I can’t seem to even get a retail or cleaning job.
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