Concerned about a student?

As part the University of Portsmouth Student Charter students are encouraged to make use of strong partnerships and support networks to achieve their personal, academic and career goals. As part of our distinctive Learning Well philosophy we actively encourage students to map their support networks and to strengthen all their supportive connections.

When students are receiving support at the Student Wellbeing Service, we work collaboratively with them to consider and make additional use of all relevant sources of support. This includes active encouragement to tell key members of their support network when they are experiencing difficulties, and to involve parents and other family members whenever relevant. We also proactively ask and encourage them to give their consent to share concerns with others who can contribute to keeping them safe.

The University of Portsmouth has a longstanding practice of asking all students to provide a name and contact details for a family member or other suitable responsible person that we can contact if we have serious concerns about their welfare. Such concerns would include the accumulation of triggers such as non-attendance at lectures, seminars or other academic activities, a reduction in academic progress, difficulties in accommodation, deterioration of mental health, or hospital admission.

A decision for the University to contact a student’s Emergency contact is always considered carefully and taken with the advice of professional staff from the Student Wellbeing Service (SWS) and other relevant senior staff. We would always aim to contact others with the student’s explicit consent, but would do so without consent if we thought this was in their best interests, or would help to keep them safe.

In the first instance any concerns from staff or students at the university or third parties will be raised with the SWS through their consultation service. Advice and guidance will be given on the best course of action and what to do next. 

The SWS will gather all relevant information and make contact with the student, when necessary,  to identify  individuals in their life who could provide helpful support, such as family members, partners and/or friends. When necessary, staff will support those students to make contact with families or others to explain the problem they are having. This may involve planning out conversations or, for example, a practitioner joining a student on a phone call, or in a meeting with a family member, to support disclosure.

This leaves the control of sharing with the student, but also mobilises their external resources. This practice is consistent with national guidance, which encourages practitioners to work with families and the individual, when the individual wishes it and it is in their interests to do so. 

Whether or not to share information, should be based on an assessment by a suitably qualified and trained practitioner of: the level of risk, balancing the factors of the whole situation, what else can be done to reduce risk, whether the student has mental capacity, and whether sharing information without consent will reduce or has the potential to increase risk.

Where and to whom information is shared should be part of this risk assessment, and should consider emergency services, statutory services, GPs, families and others. Our position regarding information sharing is based on best practice identified in the University Mental Health Charter (Student Minds).