A 35-year-old student has been suspended from university after taking her baby to lectures. Leah Foster, 35, is studying psychologyand says she had been told she would be able to take son, Emmett into class with her.
But after taking Emmet to lectures she has been suspended and an investigation has begun. The University of Derby says it would not exclude a student because they wish to continue studying while breastfeeding, but babies and children are not allowed into teaching sessions as they may distract other students, reports DerbyshireLive.
Mrs Foster was called into a meeting with student services in October. She said: "[I] felt a bit blindsided by some of the things they were saying because I was expecting to have an actual supportive chat but it wasn't supportive whatsoever. They did say they've received complaints but I don't see how he can be distracting in any way, if he starts to make a noise I remove myself and him from the lesson so it's no more disruptive than someone getting up and going to the toilet."
"They also said that some people have complained that they can't bring their children onto campus but I said that he's only coming with me because he's so young and he's breastfed. I have a two-year-old as well but he doesn't come with me because he would be two disruptive so I have different childcare arrangements for my two-year-old son but Emmett is still too young."
Mr. and Mrs. Foster along with their two children, Magnus (right) and Emmett (left) (Image: Leah Foster)
In November, Mrs Foster received an email stating "we understand you've continued to bring him in despite what we told you" however, she claims she wasn't told she couldn't bring Emmett in.
She said: "I explicitly asked them, in that meeting, 'are you saying the University is telling me I cannot bring Emmett onto campus' and they didn't say no, they gave me a wishy-washy answer and referred back to the options they'd already given me."
Mrs Foster then received a phone call from the university telling her that she was suspended pending an investigation. She said: "There's a lot of anxiety about how much I've missed, I actually miss going into campus and I miss my friends, I'm worried that I'm missing out on content in the seminars and workshops."
A spokesperson for the University of Derby said: "The University has not and would never exclude a student because they wish to continue studying while breastfeeding or caring for children, or because they wished to breastfeed on any of our campuses.
“We have many students who are combining studying with parenthood, and support them in every way we can, including personal support plans tailored to the individual. However, we do not permit babies and children to be brought into teaching sessions, primarily because of the disruption caused to other students.
"We have received complaints from students who have struggled to concentrate on occasions where babies and children have been present. Where students wish to keep their child or baby close and continue to study, we will always work with them to find ways to best support them while being mindful of the need to ensure a good experience and suitable learning environment for all our students.
“We are very supportive of breastfeeding, have facilities on campus to support this, and our position is clearly laid out in our Student Pregnancy, Maternity and Paternity Policy.
“With regards to this particular case, in line with our procedure, we reviewed Leah’s temporary suspension at the end of the two weeks and wrote to her on 7 December to invite her to a meeting to revisit all the options we have offered her that would allow us to end her suspension and further support her as a student parent, without impacting on the experience of other students and staff.”
