Learning well

As a student at the University of Portsmouth we want you to fulfil your potential and have a life-changing student experience. At the heart of this is the personalised academic and pastoral support we offer, with a focus on wellbeing and resilience.

Wellbeing for learning

As the hub for our whole-university approach to wellbeing, the Student Wellbeing Service has developed a distinctive ‘Learning Well’ framework that informs the support we offer. Learning Well is about recognising the vital role of emotions and emotion regulation for successful learning.

Understanding better how our human emotions have evolved is the starting point for learning skills for being a better friend to yourself and for building the supportive networks with others which will help you succeed in your valued learning and life goals.

Being a better friend to yourself and others

At Portsmouth we want to make sure you know that you belong, and feel welcomed into our inclusive learning community. We want every student to know about all the support networks available to them, and to have the skills to make use of these support networks and contribute to supporting others. 

The Learning Well approach shows that you are one of your own most important potential supporters. Being a better friend to yourself means taking care of your own wellbeing and treating yourself with kindness and compassion instead of self-criticism.

You can now learn more about how to do this by completing the short online Learning Well foundation course.

Go to Learning Well on Moodle

Mapping your support network

Supportive connections are essential resources for successful study and a flourishing life. At Portsmouth we encourage you to map out your own customised Learning Well support network. And to keep strengthening the supportive connections which will help you succeed. See the Learning Well foundation course for links and guidance about how to record your map.

Your map should include the named people in your inner circles, occasional options in the middle circles and possible/potential services and options at the outer circles. What can you do to bring more people onto the map and/or closer to the centre?

The Portsmouth 5 Ways to Wellbeing

The well-known 5 Ways to Wellbeing list is based on research evidence supporting these 5 simple ways to improve your sense of wellbeing:

• Connect – building our human connections will support and enrich us every day.
• Give – recognising that our happiness is linked to the wellbeing of the wider community can be rewarding and creates lasting connections with the people around us.
• Be active – engaging in regular purposeful activity, especially physical activity, will invigorate and energise us while keeping us in good health.
• Take notice – becoming more aware of the world around us helps to appreciate what really matters.
• Keep learning – setting ourselves challenges we will enjoy achieving can be fun and builds confidence and improves wellbeing.

As part of our Learning Well model, we promote the 5 Ways to Wellbeing with a Portsmouth twist – linking the evidence-based 5 ways with the 5 values in our Student Charter.

Student Wellbeing Service

The Student Wellbeing Service has a popular course, workshop and events programme where you can learn more about the evidence-based Compassionate Mind and 5 Ways to Wellbeing models and build your wellbeing skills.

When you register for support with the Student Wellbeing Service we will work out a personalised support pathway built on the Learning Well framework, with a focus on strengthening both your wellbeing skills and your support network.

Learning mindsets

Learning Well is about growing the ‘compassionate mindset’ supporting the positive learning mindsets which will help you to successfully meet and overcome the challenges inherent in studying for a degree.

Find out more about positive learning mindsets and get inspiration by hearing from our students about how they have met and overcome challenges in their learning and student experience, and found their belonging at uni.