Pastoral Care

The wellbeing of students is very important to us. We promote positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in many different ways, throughout the College. We encourage students to get active, get involved and maintain a good balance between study, extra-curricular activities and engaging with others. Being at College, with supportive staff and fellow students, promotes positive mental health and emotional wellbeing. Our tutorial programme educates students about mental health and wellbeing, and help is available for students who need a bit of extra help, for example with exam stress or social anxiety.

The Wellbeing Hub provides a variety of support services to help with health, and well-being. You can drop in to rooms 124 and 125 to access services or ask for information; you can also request appointments for one to one help from the Wellbeing Coordinator or one of the Wellbeing Assistants. email: wellbeing@colchsfc.ac.uk

We can help you to get support from external agencies when that is appropriate. We have a counselling service, which you can access via your Senior Tutor or Jo Cadman or via email: counsellor@colchsfc.ac.uk.

The College also hosts a Mental Health Support Team, who provide programmes of one to one support and groups to provide early intervention for issues such as anxiety and low mood. Referral is via the Wellbeing Hub.

You can find our Mental Health and Wellbeing policy here 

Health and Safety is very important. Everyone should help to establish and maintain a safe environment, like all users of the College, students are expected to take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others. You are asked to bring any hazard to the attention of staff. College safety rules and procedures should be observed at all times, including procedures established for specialist activities e.g. Sport, Science, and staff instructions must be followed at all times. You must not wilfully misuse, neglect or interfere with any item provided for safety. If you have an accident or a near miss in College, no matter how trivial and even if it was your fault, please see any member of staff who will help you complete an Accident Form so that the College can monitor accidents and investigate causes.

The College Health and Safety policy is issued to all members of staff and is available from Graham Rayner (Assistant Principal) or Helen O'Halloran (Health and Safety Officer), both of whom have roles to support students on Health and Safety matters. Students who are not willing to co-operate with Health and Safety requirements established by staff will be immediately excluded from activities.

Fire and Emergency Procedures: In the event of a fire or any other emergency, an alarm will sound and you should leave the building immediately, using the nearest exit. Evacuation practices will take place periodically. Evacuation notices with maps of fire assembly points are displayed in every room in College. Please ensure that you have read these carefully in each room you regularly use.

First Aid: If you require first aid, go straight to Reception, and a first aider will be called for you. The College's medical room is located at Reception.

Medical needs: If you have a health condition which you have not already disclosed to us on application or at interview or on your risk assessment, be sure to let your Personal Tutor know, and we will make a medical care plan with you if necessary.

Other health issues: staff in the Welfare Hub (room 124, email: welfare@colchsfc.ac.uk) can help you if you have a health query.

Promoting good health: There are healthy food options in the College refectories; water is available from water fountains around College and there is a broad range of facilities and activities to increase physical fitness.

The College administers the Government Bursary Scheme for vulnerable students and will also award discretionary bursaries to eligible students. Details are distributed at enrolment. Full details can be found on our student finance information page.

In addition, students should contact their Senior Tutor in case of financial hardship for help with college-related expenses.

The College is committed to creating a teaching and learning environment that is free of harassment and which protects the dignity of all students, staff and visitors. We will respect each other and value the differences between us. The College will not necessarily treat everyone the same but instead we will meet people’s needs in different ways to ensure fair outcomes for everyone. We all take responsibility for making sure that students, staff and visitors are protected from harm, including bullying and discrimination. Students and staff all contribute to making the College an enjoyable, inclusive and personalised learning environment.

We will treat students and staff fairly and solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential. The College values diversity in respect of race, ethnicity or national origin, gender, religion and belief or none, socio-economic background, gender variance, marital status or family circumstances, political opinions and affiliations, physical attributes or appearance, disability, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy and parenthood. The College is a diverse, international and multicultural community. We are developing a teaching and learning environment in which each and every member has an equal opportunity to participate. Supported by the public sector equality duty of the Equality Act (2010), the College is working to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.

In order to ensure that we remain a very successful College it is important that you have the opportunity to provide feedback on all aspects of College life.

We hope that you feel sufficiently confident to inform us of your feelings about, and experiences of, College. You have a number of ways in which your views can be heard:

• through a Tutor Group representative on the College Council
• through direct access to your Subject Tutors, Personal Tutor and to Senior Staff to discuss issues of concern
• through the College Governors either directly or through elected Student, Staff or Parent Governors
• through the annual student questionnaires and department surveys

The College is very keen that students have the opportunity to play a full part in determining how the College is run. Students have their own organisation, the College Council, to represent student views and ensure that students’ needs are met. You have the right to vote in the elections for the College Council Executive Committee roles: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Social, Arts, Sports, Culture, Environment and Charities Committee Chairpersons. You are represented by your Tutor Group representative on the College Council, which holds the Executive to account and meets about five times each academic year. To keep you informed of its work, an agenda is published at least one week prior to the meeting and copies of the minutes from that meeting are circulated to Tutor Group reps. The Chairperson of the College Council joins the Governing Body of the College as a member and is supported by the Vice-Chairperson who is an observer. Members of the Executive also sit on other committees such as the Culture Committee and Library Committee to ensure that your views are being properly aired. They report back regularly to College Council meetings and answer any of your questions. If you have any queries about the role of Tutor Group representatives, the College Council, the College Council Executive, or any Committees, then please refer to the College Council Constitution, or its Code of Practice, or see the Head of Student Services, Chris Throup, in the Geography department.