Wellbeing Advice

Information for family, friends and carers.

Family, friends and carers

Advice for family, friends and carers who are concerned about one of our students

We understand there may be times when you want to contact your student and are unable to do so. You may also be concerned about them and want to speak to someone at the University about their wellbeing. If this is the case, then this advice explains how we will engage with you and with your student.

Almost all of our students are legally independent adults. This means that, except in very exceptional circumstances, we need their consent to be able to talk to anyone outside the University about them. It even means that we can’t confirm that they are enrolled with us as a student.

We do however recognise that parents and others often have real concerns about a student, so this page includes information about what we do to protect the student and respond to the concerns of those who care about them.

Read our privacy statement for students.

What we CAN do

If you are concerned about a student and are unable to contact the student yourself, let us know by contacting the Counselling and Mental Health Service on 0161 247 3493 or [email protected] and we will follow up on your concerns. We will always ask the student to contact you themselves, and we can also get back to you following the action we have taken if the student agrees.

If you are concerned about a student and are trying to encourage them to use one of the many services we offer to support them if they encounter problems, then these pages explain what we offer. Students who are experiencing mental health or wellbeing issues are encouraged to complete our anonymous Wellbeing Support Questionnaire, which will help direct them to the support they need.

When students enrol with us they are asked to provide us with details of who to contact in an emergency. This is updated each year and they can update it mid-year if they wish to. We are able to use this contact information to connect with the person the student has named if it is in the student’s vital interests that we do so, for example where we are dealing with a very high-risk situation. We can do this without their consent, but we will usually try to reaffirm that consent when these situations arise.

In crisis?

Please read this information if someone you know is in serious distress or danger.

Get help urgently

Useful Resources