Staff and students brought their children to London Met for games and activities at the annual event, which also provides support for student parents and helps them build connections.
Date: 19 February 2020
London Met opened its doors to the graduates of tomorrow with its annual Family Day celebration. Approximately 150 children of the University's students and staff came together to take part in different activities throughout the day, including painting, games, puzzles and music.
The young people also had the opportunity to get kitted out with graduation ceremonial robes, provided by Ede and Ravenscroft. The budding young academics were given their own certificate and posed for the camera and they got to keep their graduation photo.
Family Day was organised by Berhane Dory, Course Leader in Early Childhood Studies, along with first-year students from the course. She said: “At London Met, we advocate for learning communities and this is really what the day is all about. While the children are having fun doing all the activities and playing games, the students also have the opportunity to get to know each other and develop relationships across the wider University. We organise Family Day at London to develop that sense of community for the children as well as for our students across all courses.”
Nearly 70% of London Met’s students are mature students and a high proportion are also the first in their families to go to university. Family Day provided a valuable opportunity for students to bring their children into the University to show them their day-to-day lives.
The day was designed as part of London Met’s commitments to widening access, and getting young people thinking about and engaged with universities from an early age. It was also developed in response to research by lecturer Patrick Mulrenen, which found that the ‘hidden problem’ of homelessness among students in London is far more prevalent than people may realise. This is in large part due to the high cost of living in the city, including housing and childcare. London Met is committed to providing a supportive environment for students who are juggling their studies with family commitments by making the University welcoming to children and parents.
Patrick said: “It is a huge honour and privilege to be able to allow our students to bring their children to campus. Hopefully, this will inspire the children to apply to university when they are old enough and make a difference in their lives.”
