Monday 03-02-2025 - 16:19

Hello everyone, Summer here!

You may have seen some of my interviews on social media where I’ve been interviewing various staff members within Student services at the University, getting them to tell us all about what they can offer students.

This blog is going to cover the rest of those I interviewed, explaining what services are available and how you can access them.

 

Carl Christie, Student Money Advisor in the Your Money team

What is your role?

I offer one-to-one support and guidance to any student who is struggling to manage their money. I can also refer and signpost students to other departments and services, such as Careers or Wellbeing.

What support do you offer to students and how do they access it?

As a team, we’ve worked hard to make it easier for students to get support, and it all starts with a quick call or email to our Student Services Helpdesk. They’ll chat with you about the type of support you need and find an appointment which fits your schedule.

From there, you’ll meet with a Student Money Adviser either face to face or on Teams, and they’ll chat with you to get a good idea of the situation and try to identify any support which will help you.

You’ll usually meet with us again to look a little deeper into your financial situation, and we’ll ask you to send through a few documents to help us, such as bank statements and tenancy information, but don’t worry, our service is non-judgmental – we’re only interested in helping you save money and finding the best support to help you.

We’ll then check in 8-12 weeks later to see how things are going, but if you feel you need advice before then, you can get in touch any time.

What kind of problems can students come up to you with?

Anything and everything money related! We’d encourage any student worried about money to get in touch.

What is one thing you want every student to know?

It is okay to talk to us about money and there’s no judgement!

 

Rachel Ward, Student Wellbeing Advisor in the Wellbeing and Mental Health Team

What is your role?

My role is to speak to students in regards to wellbeing and those who struggle with their mental health, for example those with low mood or anxiety, to those in crisis or who need support with suicidal ideation. I also speak to students who have perhaps experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence and am able to support them. The job is different every day.

What support do you offer to students and how do they access it?

Students can access the service through the helpdesk in Binks, by email which is studentservices@chester.ac.uk or telephone which is 01244 511550. If the student is referred by their PAT or department then the helpdesk will contact said student and ask what the students’ needs are. Then the helpdesk will work around the student and book an appointment of up to 45 minutes.

We understand it can be busy so in the meantime the helpdesk will provide and refer other support such as the student assistance programme. In this appointment we get to understand what the issue is and talk to students and eventually crafting a plan for ongoing support after the meeting whether this be signposting to different department such as Residential Life, Disability and Inclusion or Counselling or referring to externals. We work closely with the NHS or Tomorrow’s Women. There are 6 wellbeing advisors within the team who truly care about supporting students and want students to come to them so they can support.

What kind of problems can students come up to you with?

Anything that impacts a student’s ability to study, including things such as sleep issues, panic or anxiety, to more things that cause risk such as a risk to self, life or others including suicidal ideation or self-harm. Even issues that cause students to not be able to go to lecturers, cause students to fall behind or problems in accommodation. Nothing is too small.

What is one thing you want every student to know?

There is no issue to small, we want to support you.

 

Joanne Rowe, Disability and Inclusion Manager at the University of Chester

What is your role?

My job is to manage a team of disability support officers who have jobs such as being a non-medical worker or an admin worker. It also is my role to manage the operational element of the disability and inclusion team so that is managing the service on a day-to-day basis, ensuring that accessible appointments are offered to students and service requirements are met.

What support do you offer to students and how do they access it?

One way me and my team can support students is by supporting the potential student at applicant level. During open days we can provide applicants with advice around support that the university offers including the disability support allowance and the creation of inclusion plans. We can also provide information about navigating the disabled students allowance (DSA) procedure, pursuing assessments for dyslexia, dyspraxia through an educational psychologist. Also identifying if they have autistic traits which can be done through an educational psychologist assessment. We can also advise applicants and support existing students around accessible accommodation on campus, liaising with social services and occupational therapists for suitable equipment that may be required. We can also create personal evacuation plans for students if they are unable to independently evacuate a university building in an emergency such as a fire.

 We offer a variety of appointments for students we can offer face to face appointments, teams appointments or telephone appointments and when students call in or email in students will be offered any of those options for their first appointment.

What kind of problems can students come to you with?

Students can contact my team with a variety of issues. For example, enquiries about obtaining an educational psychologists assessment, they may have been identified as having processing difficulties, potentially dyslexia in school or college but to access full support through DSA they would need a full educational psychologist assessment in order to confirm this. My team can direct students about how to get this. We can also support students in navigating and getting the disability student allowance (DSA). It can be a complicated procedure with long waiting times and the need to obtain medical evidence but we can help students at any level with this. As there is often a delay with getting DSA, we can provide interim support in certain cases. We would be able to thus provide in house study skills support, in house mentor support and also facilitate the loan of laptops or assisted technology such as recording devices. Students can often talk to us about exam arrangements so maybe coming from school or college they have had exam arrangements such as extra time or use of a computer so we can discuss that with students and put all the implementations and recommendations in place via an inclusion plan. This is a document that outlines the reasonable adjustments for students academic lives. It could detail exam arrangements, support they get from DSA and reasonable adjustments as students may need to ask questions due to processing issues. We can also provide in class support that is necessary. It does not mean it is necessary for all students however but for example they may need a manual note taker because assistive technology isn’t working for them, they may need somebody with them to keep on track or reassure them or assist them with group work we can discuss that as a possibility.

What is one thing you want every student to know?

Please engage with us as soon as possible. You may be of the opinion that your long-term condition isn’t a disability, and it does not impact you but if you contact us we can discuss it with you and potentially put reasonable adjustments in place. Putting these reasonable adjustments in place will put you on a level playing field with other students who do not have long term health conditions or disabilities and that will go a long way to getting you reach your potential and to be as successful as possible. Any question isn’t silly, we are happy to help.

 

Maria Skinner, Residential Life Manager from the Residential Life Team

What is your role?

I’m the Residential Life Manager, so I’m responsible for supporting students who live in University owned accommodation. This can mean anything from advising on life skills, encouraging students to adhere to Accommodation regulations, through to quite serious incidents and out of hours support.

How do you support students and how do they access this?

We support students through Residential Advisors, who are students and also live in halls and can respond to routine queries and escalate concerns to us. We have a dedicated email address – reslife@chester.ac.uk and we set up Teams sites for all halls. Student Services Advisors, Accommodation colleagues, Report a Concern, Wellbeing, Security, Catering, and Domestic Services will also let us know if a student needs our help. We offer mediation support if there are tensions between residents, and we also deliver social events and activities.

What kind of problems can students come to you with?

Anything from how to change a bin bag, through to quite complex problems.

What is one thing you want every student to know?

Always talk with housemates in person rather than message each other in chat groups or on social media – this would prevent so many misunderstandings and escalated tensions.

 

I hope this is useful! Catch me at the different university campuses soon to talk to you about these services and your experiences!

Summer x