A student mum has been left 'distraught' after her university suspended her for bringing her baby son along to lectures with her. Leah Foster said she was previously given permission by the University of Derby to bring little Emmett onto campus before she was called into a meeting, the Mirror reports.
The 35-year-old says she felt 'blindsided' by the meeting as she was suspended from the institution while the situation is being investigated further. The psychology student has been forced to put her studies on hold after being told that she was forbidden from entering the campus if she took her son into classes despite apparently previously being told that she could bring him.
The University of Derby says it would never exclude a student who wished to continue their studies while breastfeeding which is what Leah is doing. However, they do not allow babies and children in lectures or classes as they might unfairly distract other students.
Leah had started taking Emmett onto campus with her but received an email from her tutor a few weeks later asking if she could arrange a meeting with the head of student services. Leah said she was under the impression the unexpected meeting would be about how they could support her needs when bringing Emmett into class.
However, Leah said their formal discussion was not 'supportive whatsoever'. She said: "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."
The mother added that people she has spoken to on campus have nothing but good things to say about Emmett and how well behaved he is. She said that she's never personally been told by another student or a lecturer that Emmett is being disruptive to the class.
Leah said on November 3 she was sent an email which read: "We understand you've continued to bring him in despite what we told you" - but 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."
She was then temporarily suspended by the university via a phone call on November 22 after they said that they were going to look into the miscommunicated situation further.
The student's suspension was set to last for a fortnight and she's submitted her case to the university but she said she is still waiting to hear if her suspension has actually been lifted or the result of the investigation. The 'stressed' out mother said that the situation has left her in a very confusing position as she isn't even sure if she can submit any of her assignments while under suspension.
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.
“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".
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