• If you or someone you know is hurt, in danger or experiencing a mental health crisis please call 999 or 111, or attend St Richards Accident and Emergency department : St Richard’s Hospital, Spitalfields Ln, Chichester PO19 6SE.
• You can contact NHS 111 any time to access support for your health. To get urgent mental health support, call 111 and select option 2.
• You can also call the Samaritans on 116 123 at any time for mental health and crisis support. They can discuss mental health or illness, family and relationship problems, isolation, loneliness, bereavement and suicidal feelings.
• Text SHOUT on 85258 at any time int the UK for free, confidential mental health crisis support via text message. You can receive help for various issues, including suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and loneliness, from trained crisis volunteers. The service aims to provide immediate support, empower individuals to find their strengths, develop coping strategies, create safety plans, and connect them to further help when needed. free, confidential mental health crisis support via text message. You can receive help for various issues, including suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and loneliness, from trained crisis volunteers. The service aims to provide immediate support, empower individuals to find their strengths, develop coping strategies, create safety plans, and connect them to further help when needed.
• If you are outside the UK, the Befrienders Worldwide website has a tool to search by country for emotional support helplines around the world.
• The Stay Alive App , developed by Grassroots Suicide Prevention, is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis. You can use it if you are having thoughts of suicide or if you are concerned about someone else who may be considering suicide.
• If you are under 35 and struggling with suicidal feelings, or concerned about another young person who might be struggling, You can call Papyrus HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, email pat@papyrus-uk.org or text 07786 209 697 (24 hours, 7 days a week).
• If you identify as LGBT, you can call Switchboard on 0300 330 0630 (open 10am–10pm every day), email chris@switchboard.lgbt or use their webchat service . Phone operators all identify as LGBT+.
• For more specific options, visit the Helplines Partnership website for a directory of UK helplines.

We are committed to providing all students facing a wellbeing / mental health challenge, academic struggles, or a personal issue with timely access to professional advice and support.

Students are encouraged to book a confidential appointment with a Wellbeing Adviser to talk through any concerns. This could be to discuss something that is on your mind, for advice and referral to other services (within the university and/or externally) or if you just don’t know who to talk to about something we can refer you to the right support.

Students can access support through the Support Portal for concerns such as:

• Emotional Wellbeing
• Personal and Social Issues like depression and anxiety.
• Bullying or harassment
• Identity and self-discovery (e.g. gender, sexuality).

How do I book an Advice and Guidance Appointment?

You can book an Advice and Guidance appointment through the Student Support Portal. Appointments are available over the phone, over Microsoft Teams video call, or in person on campus. Please note that not all appointment slots are available in all formats, so if you are after a specific type of meeting format, you may have to check a few appointment types to see what is available. You will need to share some information about why you have booked the appointment in the booking form, but it is okay if you aren’t sure what to say, you can talk things through with the adviser.

If you are struggling with the Support Portal, please email us at wellbeing@chi.ac.uk for further guidance or support accessing it.

What will an Advice and Guidance appointment be like?

During your appointment we will discuss what you are struggling with. We may ask questions so we can gain a better understanding of the best support for you. We can then provide you with advice and signposting that will be tailored to you.

Appointments are confidential between you and us. We will never share information about you without consent, unless we have reason to believe you might be a danger to yourself or others. This decision is never taken lightly. That being said, please double check our permissions to share information with your next of kin on your ChiView account if you are concerned about this. Please see our data protection and safeguarding policies for more information.

After your appointment, you’ll receive an email from your adviser with a summary of what you discussed. This will include a list of suggested actions, and links to relevant resources and external support. That way you don’t have to worry about remembering everything or finding websites later.

Our mental health advisers are here to offer practical support if you are experiencing more complex mental health challenges, such as a diagnosed condition, addictions, crisis presentations or initial safeguarding concerns. They are a small team, between them working Monday to Friday and offer appointments at both Chichester & Bognor Regis campuses.

Please note: mental health appointments cannot be booked directly unless you have previously seen a mental health adviser before. If you need support, book an Advice and Guidance appointment in the first instance. You could also speak with your academic adviser / head of school. They can discuss your needs and, if it’s the right next step, they can refer you to a mental health adviser.

What we provide:

• Private and confidential one-to-one appointments: We can work with you to address your previous and recent mental health concerns, and to refer you to internal and external services as required. We will never share information about you without your consent, unless we have reason to believe you might be a danger to yourself or others. Please see our data protection and safeguarding policies for more information.
• Practical support and planning: We can work with students to provide individual wellbeing or support plans help you develop coping strategies for managing academic and personal challenges.
• Liaison and advocacy: We can act as a link between you and your academic department, accommodation, or other university services and external services where required. We can support you to seek any reasonable recommendations or adjustments, as required under the Equality Act.
• Crisis Support: We are here to provide timely and compassionate support for students in distress. This includes , conducting risk assessments, and helping you connect with statutory services if you are experiencing issues like suicidal thoughts or self-harm.

What we cannot offer:

• Emergency crisis support. Please see urgent support information for crisis support from external services. Please call 111 or 999 if you or someone else are in danger.
• Diagnostic assessment and treatment for mental health conditions, which should be accessed through your GP, or the NHS services local for your area (Primary and/or Secondary Care Services).
• Longer-term emotional support. This should be considered via alternative services, including applying for Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), which requires medical evidence. Through DSA, you might be able to get funding for a Mental Health Mentor to support you during your studies.

If your mental health (alongside any physical health or disability) affects your ability to study, the University is legally required to provide support and reasonable adjustments. This might include, for example, rest breaks or extra time in exams.

We encourage you to share with us information about any diagnosed mental health condition that you have via the Student Support Portal. Once logged into the Support Portal, simply go ‘Support Pathways’ and select ‘Tell us about your disability and /or long-term health condition 2025-26′. Once the form is completed and submitted, a member of our team will be in touch to discuss the support that is right for you.

We provide a range of wellbeing initiatives such as bereavement counselling, support groups and peer mentoring:

• Weekly support groups: Autism support group, LGBTQ+ support group and “Weekly Pause” which is a relaxing crafts and social group open to everyone. Check the student Support Portal events calendar for up-to-date information.
• Bereavement support: In partnership with Bereavement Care UK, online appointments can be scheduled with bereavement counsellors. Your bereavement does not have to be recent for you to access these appointments. However, these are not appropriate for those with complex PTSD responses to traumatic bereavement. Email wellbeing@chi.ac.uk to book an appointment.
• Academic coaching is a free and confidential service designed to help you get back on track and achieve your goals. Email wellbeing@chi.ac.uk to register your interest.
• A peer mentoring service run by trained student mentors to offer friendly guidance and support. Email wellbeing@chi.ac.uk to register your interest.
  • If you would like to get involved as a peer mentor, please email peersupport@chi.ac.uk

To learn more about our groups and initiatives, follow us on Instagram: @uocstudentsupport.

What are mitigating circumstances?

Any student who believes that there are circumstances (e.g. ill health or close family bereavement) which have seriously affected their performance in assessment is advised to submit a claim so that those circumstances may be taken into account when the Board of Examiners meet to discuss candidature, particularly in cases of failure or failure to submit. Mitigating Circumstances are serious events which impact upon your performance and must be:

• Severe: the event or circumstance must have had a serious impact on assessment performance
• Unexpected: In most cases the student must have had no prior knowledge that a particular event would occur
• Unpreventable: there must have been no reasonable steps that the student could have taken to prevent the event or circumstance from occurring
• Relevant: the event or circumstances must have occurred at the time of or during the period immediately leading up to the assessment
• Corroborated: the claim must meet the requirements for independent documentary evidence outlined in the FAQ Document .

Any student who believes that there are circumstances (e.g. ill health or close family bereavement) which have seriously affected their performance in assessment is advised to submit a claim so that those circumstances may be taken into account when the Board of Examiners meet to discuss candidature, particularly in cases of failure or failure to submit.

Claims for mitigation are only for the notification of circumstances which have not previously been taken into account by the University (for example where a disability has been recognised by the University), or where it is felt that the effect of your circumstances on your performance has been greater than allowances which have already been made. All claims will be treated in confidence. The contents of the claim will normally be kept confidential to the Chair and Officers of the Board of Examiners.

Please note that claims for mitigation should normally be submitted before the point of assessment. If this is not possible, claimants should liaise with the Academic Quality and Standards Service who will give guidance on the maximum timeframe for submission. Please see more information on the Mitigating circumstances (Moodle Page) and the Academic Quality and Standards Page .

In some instances, our mental health advisers can provide a supporting statement as evidence for a mitigating circumstances claim. However, students must be previously known and supported by the Wellbeing service.

The university offers short-term counselling with an initial assessment session followed by, in most cases, four subsequent sessions. Our counselling service provides support and a safe space to explore a wide range of emotional and psychological issues, including:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Family concerns
• Bereavement
• Work and study related problems
• Worries about drugs and alcohol
• Eating difficulties
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Relationship difficulties

Our counsellors are registered members of the BACP and adhere to the BACP ethical framework

Please note that during busy periods there may be a waiting list for counselling which is allocated on a first come first serve basis. Suitability for counselling and referral to the counselling service can be discussed in a Wellbeing Advice and Guidance or a Mental Health Adviser appointment, bookable via the Student Support Portal.

The mental health ambassadors are a student-led initiative aiming to raise awareness of mental health within the University and wider community. “We promote the importance of looking after mental health including signposting to services, events and campaigns across the University.”

If you would like to get involved with the mental health ambassadors or peer mentors, please email peersupport@chi.ac.uk. You can also find them on Instagram: @uocpeersupport