If you are a member of Queen Mary staff supporting a student in an urgent situation, please refer to the guidance below.
- Read our step by step guide for supporting a student in an urgent situation. It includes advice on how to follow up with Queen Mary’s mental health team once the immediate crisis is over, so that you can pass the situation on to staff best placed to help. The guide also provides guidance on other difficult situations that are less immediately urgent, as well as information about sexual violence and safeguarding issues.
- If there are concerns about a student’s mental health or wellbeing, email welfare@qmul.ac.uk a record of: what happened, who else was involved and the student’s name and contact details as soon as possible. The mental health team within the Advice and Counselling Service (ACS) will liaise with emergency services, Accident and Emergency and other relevant agencies, and will contact the student to offer support.
- Find further information on supporting someone you are worried about and the support available, both to you and to them.
Risk to others
If there is a risk to others (e.g. a serious incident has taken place on campus or involves a member of the Queen Mary community), you should speak to Chris Shelley, Director of Student Experience (Lead Safeguarding Officer), Simon Jarvis, Head of Student Wellbeing (Deputy Lead Safeguarding officer) and Security. Details of the safeguarding policy and contacts are here. Speak with your line manager/colleagues to decide who will take responsibility for doing this. You, or a relevant colleague, will need to talk to the student about whether or not they want their identity revealed to other staff. It is generally good practice to limit the sharing of personal information to a ‘need to know’ basis.
If there is a risk to others (e.g. a serious incident has taken place on campus or involves a member of the Queen Mary community), you should speak to Chris Shelley, Director of Student Experience (Lead Safeguarding Officer), Simon Jarvis, Head of Student Wellbeing (Deputy Lead Safeguarding officer) and Security. Details of the safeguarding policy and contacts are here. Speak with your line manager/colleagues to decide who will take responsibility for doing this. You, or a relevant colleague, will need to talk to the student about whether or not they want their identity revealed to other staff. It is generally good practice to limit the sharing of personal information to a ‘need to know’ basis.
Advice for staff during or following an incident or disclosure
Senior staff in the Advice and Counselling Service and Disability and Dyslexia Service can provide advice and support to staff who are supporting students. This might include:
Senior staff in the Advice and Counselling Service and Disability and Dyslexia Service can provide advice and support to staff who are supporting students. This might include:
- Talking through a meeting with a student after it has happened to debrief and discuss next steps
- Getting advice in advance about how to approach a conversation with a student where there are issues of sexual violence or concerns about mental health and wellbeing.
Contact the Advice and Counselling Service (ext. 8717 or email welfare@qmul.ac.uk) or the Disability and Dyslexia Service (ext. 2756 or email dds@qmul.ac.uk).
Senior staff from the Advice and Counselling Service and the Disability and Dyslexia Service are also available to facilitate 90-minute discussion and support groups for staff. The aim is to:
- Provide a supportive and informed space for staff to share their experiences of supporting students
- Share, and further develop, student support practice
- Debrief situations that are causing concern and discuss dilemmas.
For advice and support about QMUL processes and procedures in cases of sexual violence where the victim-survivor is a student, please contact the Sexual Assault and Harassment Advice service, based within Advice and Counselling. You can email welfare@qmul.ac.uk or telephone +44 20 7882 8717 (Mon-Fri 10am-4pm).