1 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Learning Support and Wellbeing: Annual Report 2017-2018

Learning Support and Wellbeing (LSW) is part of Student Services at the University of Plymouth. This report includes an executive summary and submissions from each of the LSW teams as follows: Learning Gateway and LSW administration; Disability Services (DS), Learning Development (LD), Multi-faith Chaplaincy, Peer Assisted Learning (PALS) and Student Wellbeing Services (SWS), including the Student Counselling, Wellbeing, Care Leavers and Mental Health teams.

2 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Contents

Introduction and Executive Summary 04

Learning Gateway and LSW Administration 12

Disability Services 17

Learning Development 40

Multi-faith Chaplaincy 55

Peer Assisted Learning 58

Student Wellbeing Services 67

Appendix A – LSW staff publications, research and academic outputs 87

Appendix B - LSW organisation & structure diagram 94

SHINE 95

3 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Introduction and Executive Summary

Learning Support and Wellbeing (LSW) is part of Student Services at the University of Plymouth. It brings together key areas of activity aiming to support the University’s mission of advancing knowledge and transforming lives. Our particular focus is on students’ wellbeing and the development of their academic abilities to enhance their overall learning experience. We serve the University’s vision to “make a positive difference to people’s lives. With a truly global outlook, we are an inclusive and inspiring university community. Our students are our partners on their journey of discovery.”

This report summarises the activities of the LSW teams in 2017-18 and describes their services, locations and staffing structure. LSW was established in 2012, was reorganised in 2014, and some further changes were made in 2017, including renaming some of our services. The department consists of:

 Learning Gateway (www1.plymouth.ac.uk/learninggateway) – the University’s access point for LSW information and services, run by our reception and administrative team. We opened our new reception in the Wellbeing Centre in September 2018 (it was previously located in the Roland Levinsky building). Our 3, Portland Mews Reception and waiting area will remain open.

 Disability Services – offering advice and support to students with disabilities, specific learning differences and difficulties.

 Learning Development – (including the Writing Café and the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellows) working with students and staff to develop student learning and academic practice.

 PALS@Plymouth – the Peer Assisted Learning Scheme, offering opportunities for enhanced learning in sessions led by students.

 The Multi-Faith Chaplaincy - for faith-based support and social activities; located at 1, Kirkby Terrace.

 Student Wellbeing Services – an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to student wellbeing. Individual and group opportunities for personal development and support are offered via: Student Counselling; the Mental Health team and Care Leaver and Wellbeing team; and the Listening Post.

4 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 LSW in 2017/18

In 2017/18 the LSW teams have been engaged in a review of our services in consultation with academics and other professionals via several University-wide initiatives including the Mental Health Taskforce; the working group on our Study and Wellbeing Review Policy and a review of Admissions processes. It has been another year of increasing demand for LSW services with further growth of our activities, illustrated in the statistics below; we also made significant changes to widen the variety of opportunities on offer from our services.

Learning Gateway (LG)

 Over 9000 visits were recorded to our reception areas by staff and students to get information or to book appointments with members of our teams. 99.81% of those responding reported satisfaction with information and advice about the range of LSW services.

 New referral and triage arrangements are in place and we recorded 1546 online contacts. Many visitors have some degree of distress and the front- line team assist in offering a supportive and secure environment. 20 cases were recorded this year requiring complex support and presented challenging behaviours.

Disability Services (DS)

 Pre-admission: Disability Services sent 2,065 letters to inform new University of Plymouth students of our services (a 7.83% increase on the last academic year) and offer information about support for their specific needs. 54 individual pre-entry information meetings were held.

 Student Support Documents (SSDs): 1,005 SSDs were produced by the team in 17-18 to provide information for academic and faculty staff about individual students’ disability related needs.

 The DS team leads in advising the University’s Reasonable Adjustments Review Panel (RARP) on spending and support decisions for students with disabilities. The panel met 15 times and assessed the needs of some 50 students. Of the £430,000 available for this support, £145,943 (34%) was allocated by this process.

 During the year, DS participated in the PGCAP programme for new staff and developed and delivered briefing sessions attended by 77 academic staff on inclusive approaches to teaching and supporting learning. A further 65 staff from the Library, PCMD and TIS attended our new ‘In 10’ presentations on a range of disability issues.

5 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18  Working with the Mental Health Team, Mental Health Awareness training was provided to 105 staff.

 DS manage Dyslexia and ADHD reimbursement schemes, which assisted 138 students to obtain a diagnosis in 2017-18, which in turn enabled them to receive appropriate support.

 DS plays a key role in implementing the Study and Wellbeing Review Policy. In 2017-18 we attended 209 Student Support Meetings (Stage 2) and 39 High Risk Student Support meetings (Stage 3).

 Pre-induction programme: 23 students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) took part in this programme prior to ‘Welcome Week’; and 22 students with anxiety accepted an invitation to attend an event tailored for their needs.

 206 students visited DS in Welcome Week

 Our specialist Study Skills tutors: supported 107 students offering a total of 619 hours of 1-1 study skills support.

 DS established the University of Plymouth Autism Social Group (PAS) which met 20 times during the year; and continued to facilitate an ADHD Support Group

 Regional networking: DS takes the lead in organising meetings for university staff across the South West to share ideas and good practice via the South West Disability Advisors Network.

Learning Development (LD)

 A new ‘hub-and spoke’ approach was adopted by Learning Development (LD) in 2017. Each member of the team was aligned to specific schools or faculties to ensure effective use of the service across the University.

 LD ran 205 workshops and taught sessions this year – an increase of 24% - involving 7,882 student attendances.

 512 one-to-one LD sessions were delivered. This looks like a small decrease on the previous year but this is compensated for by the introduction of new drop-ins, Skype tutorials, webinars and discussion forums.

 Our Royal Literary Fund Fellows delivered 263 of these appointments (involving 215 students). This is a significant increase on the previous year (188 appointments) and results from our having two RLF fellows based at UoP for the first time.

6 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18  To improve parity of LD provision with the main Plymouth campus, across other sites online Skype tutorials have been made available throughout the term. Take-up of these has increased during the year.

 The Writing Café had 1143 student visits in 2017/18, the highest number since its opening in 2014. This demonstrates the continued success of the service. The highest numbers are from the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, accounting for 67% of total visitors.

 To cope with increased demand, Writing Café operations were extended in several ways: a fortnightly Writing Café pop up session was trialled during the first semester to the School of Health Professions based at PAHC; and pop up Writing Cafés were held to support students throughout the term in Truro’s Knowledge Spa.

 The number of trained student Writing Mentors increased this year from 13 to 25. In 2017-18 this allowed 3 mentors to be present in the Cafe for each 1pm-4pm weekday shift. Despite the increase the service still remains stretched. Of the 25 Writing Mentors, 10 will continue into the 2018/2019 academic year.

 The English Language Centre continues to provide 2 weekly sessions in the Writing Café, and our Writing Mentors were also available alongside members of the ELC team for international students to discuss their work with.

 The Writing Café is being evaluated and studied as part of ongoing doctoral research by Christie Pritchard.

 LD team leader, Joe Allison presented work associated with his doctoral studies into Critical Thinking at two academic conferences in 2017-18. Jason Truscott collaborated in the production of three conference posters on LD topics. Alicja Syska was appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education.

Multi-Faith Chaplaincy

 8 different student religious societies are now using the Chaplaincy regularly for their meetings.

 In addition to Christian chaplains there are faith advisors for Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Quakers and, most recently, Humanism.

 A new half-time Anglican Chaplain has been appointed and will begin in September 2018.

7 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18  The Senior Chaplin led a Special Study Unit for 4th year medical students on death, dying and bereavement.

 Chaplaincy organised a successful conference, “Science: Exploring God’s Creation” attended by 120 people.

 80 international students participated in walking tours of historic Plymouth.

 in Welcome Week 238 cream teas were given away over eight afternoons and 658 student free meals were provided over four nights.

 78 students went on a Mount Edgcumbe walk.

 313 attended the University Carol service.

 160 students received free pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.

Peer Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS)

 2,818 students had the opportunity to attend PALS sessions and 236 became PALS leaders (the highest-ever number) in 2017-18. The leaders plan and run regular, structured study sessions (1,497 this year) for less- experienced students (stage 1 and stage 2) in their academic programmes.

 11 out of the University’s 14 Schools are now participating in PALS via 95 undergraduate programmes.

 31 academics are directly involved in the scheme as coordinators of their local PALS activities.

 A new PALS Access Mentors Scheme was established with Academic Partnerships, to provide support for students before, during and after arrival, to stage 1. In 2017-18 the University welcomed 401 access students. Twenty PALS mentors were trained and 107 of the 401 accepted an invitation to join a PALS Social Media group moderated by PALS Mentors. Subsequently 81 signed up for a pre-induction mentor-led workshop.

 Another development in progress is the PALS in (Hospital) Placement (PiP) where PALS leaders on the Adult Nursing programme based at Plymouth, Truro and Exeter campuses will receive training to support placement students.

 PALS@Plymouth is represented in the International Academic Peer Learning Network (IAPL) Leadership Group and the SW Peer Mentoring

8 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Network. In March 2018, the University of Plymouth hosted a one-day SW Regional Peer Support Conference.

 PALS leaders from Marine Biology and Adult Nursing (Exeter) attended the 2017 PASS/PAL Leader Conference held at Cork Institute of Technology in November.

 29 PALS Impact Reports were issued. These annual reports are available on request from [email protected].

Student Wellbeing Services (SWS)

 Building on the development of our wellbeing services since 2016 from being primarily a student counselling service, SWS now offers 4 tiers of coordinated, multidisciplinary interventions, providing timely, targeted action to support students’ academic and personal development:

o Immediate help via the Listening Post, drop-in mental health support and a 24 hour telephone advice service o Support for Care Leavers and brief interventions for students with mild to moderate problems o Short-term counselling for students with complex emotional conditions o Mental health support for students with complex and/severe mental health conditions and in transition to or from NHS services

 As part of our new triage arrangements, online referral forms are now in use to provide the main pathway to our wellbeing services. The forms are monitored daily to gather and act on data about mental health severity, risk factors and general information about a student’s situation to enable rapid and effective responses. As a result, 99 urgent welfare checks were undertaken in 2017-18.

 In 2017-18 SWS worked with 2,271 students, some 10.5% of all UoP students, as follows:

o The Listening Post saw 368 students o Student Counselling worked with 876 students (over 4%) o The Mental Health team worked with 314 students o The Care Leaver and Wellbeing team worked with 589 students

 Student feedback on SWS revealed that 94% of respondents found the service they received to be of benefit to continuing their studies. 66%

9 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 rated their experience ‘excellent’; 27% said it was ‘very good’; only 1% rated their experience as poor.

 SWS staff were heavily involved in the University’s Mental Health Taskforce and made significant contributions to the outcomes in relation to overall staff development on issues such as mental health first aid training. Additional staff have also been appointed to Counselling (1 FTE) and Mental Health (1 FTE) as a result of the Taskforce.

 Another outcome of the Mental Health Taskforce was approval for the idea of setting up a mental health and wellbeing related ‘café’ SPACE: Socialise, Play, Aspire, Connect, Enjoy! This opens in September 2018 in the Wellbeing Centre and will be staffed by trained student helpers.

 In a new project for 2017-18, SWS trained 7 students to become Wellbeing Champions to promote mental health awareness, increased knowledge of the support services available and to create a compassionate, non- stigmatising university culture, using listening skills, awareness of services, self-care strategies and basic mental health awareness.

 Following on from Anne Bentley’s 2016 research project funded by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) SWS established ‘Global Buddies’, a social group for international students. This project is described in a paper to be published in the Universities and Colleges Counselling Journal in September 2018. The relevance of this focus is underlined by the fact that international students continue to be under-represented in their use of SW services.

 Another under-represented group is males, particularly for counselling and mental health services. Given that three out of four suicides (76%) are men, this remains a concern and an area where research into provision and take-up is needed.

 SWS is part of a successful HEFCE ‘Catalyst’ funding bid which awarded Plymouth £138,798 to develop online materials to train postgraduate students to provide peer support through informal workshops on mental health and wellbeing. 400 hours of staff time will be utilised in this work.

 In 2017-18, 103 of the 183 care leaver students at UoP engaged with the Care Leavers’ service and received the Care Leavers Bursary; this is the largest number on record. All of those surveyed report that the service helped them with their academic progress; 93% said it had improved their overall experience of being at university; 82 feel their employability is enhanced and 96% say they feel more positive about the future as a result of their engagement with SWS.

10 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

In summary, 2017-18 was a year in which Learning Support and Wellbeing teams again made a very substantial contribution to a positive student experience. The continuing increase in numbers of students expressing concerns and seeking support for their mental health resulted in the greatest demands of staff time and resources. Participation by LSW team members in the University’s Mental Health Taskforce and review of Admissions processes allowed us to review and initiate some much-needed increases in our levels of service in these areas. In respect of further supporting students’ academic progress via our Learning Development and Peer Learning activities, we were not successful in attracting additional resources; consequently, we do not currently match the levels of service provided to students in comparable institutions. These areas of LSW’s work need a renewed focus in 2018- 19 to emphasis the evidence of their impact and to support the business case for their further development.

John Hilsdon, Head of Learning Support and Wellbeing, September 2018

11 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Learning Gateway / LSW admin and reception Learning Support and Wellbeing have two main contact areas: The Learning Gateway offers a vibrant and comfortable space where students can find out about the University’s support services. We are a one-stop shop on the ground floor of the Roland Levinsky Building (moving to the ground floor of the Wellbeing Centre in September 2018) serving an important public facing and signposting function for students and staff. In October 2015 Learning Support and Wellbeing admin team moved into a new location in 3 Portland Mews where there is a reception area specifically designed to greet students who arrive for planned appointments with the Student Wellbeing Service, Disability Service, the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellows and the new external Assessment Centre: Contact Associates. We also open on a Saturday to provide reception cover for our weekend Associate Counsellors which has enabled the team to provide an additional 220 student appointments. A snapshot of our year:

5412 Telephone Calls received by LSW admin team

2027

2685

700

Student Wellbeing Services Learning Development Disability Services

12 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Visitors to LSW Support Services: 17/18 Visitors to LSW 4963: number of staff and students visiting us with walk in queries in the Learning Gateway this year. Many of these 1565 students, due to various disability and emotional needs preferred to speak to someone in person and we were able to 4963 offer this bespoke service. 4835 4835: number of visitors both staff and students visiting us at 3 Portland Mews, this may be for a planned appointment or a general query. Learning Gateway, Roland Levinsky 3 Portland Mews 1565: number of students completed the new online referral system requesting an Online referrals appointment.

Emotional support is an important part of the administrator’s role. We have stabilised and triaged 766 students whilst they have been waiting for one of our drop in services (listening post / mental health drop in), and dealt with 20 complex students supporting them until a duty counsellor and/or emergency service arrived.

Drop-in Triaged 450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0 Mental Health Drop-in Listening Post Drop-in More Complex Triage Series1 318 428 20

To meet our KPI we have recorded the % of visitors to Learning Gateway reporting satisfaction with information received = 99.81%  To support the Disability Advisors KPI: the % of students who disclose a disability having completed a Student Support Document (SSD) within 4

13 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 months of disclosure: We have identified 806 students that had declared a disability and had the necessary evidence to enable them to have modified exam provisions. This information was passed to the Disability Services team to produce the Student Support Document; once a Student Support Document is completed, we link it to unit E for Faculty to see.

SSD linked Sum of students identified as needed SSD 300

250

200

150

100

50

0 Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Qtr3 Qtr4 Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 2017 2018

SpLD Screening Process: Students who believe they may have a Specific Learning Difficulty often ask for information, advice and guidance on seeking diagnosis. As the diagnosis can be a substantial cost to the student, the university’s free screening process is invaluable. We have supported 136 students through the screening process.

14 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Appointments booked: The administration involved in booking the various appointments varies greatly. Most involve confirmation emails sent to the students and filing them appropriately. Student Wellbeing appointments are sent out in response to the Online Referral System but as they do not always suit the student’s timetable we are able to liaise with the student direct and reschedule as required.

Appointments Booked 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Student Wellbeing Disability Services Learning Development Services Counselling Appointment 1314 Counselling Appointment rescheduled 181 Wellbeing Appointment Adviser 730 Wellbeing Appointment rescheduled 87 Disability Advisor appointment 1036 Study and Wellbeing Review Meeting 258 Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow 263 appointment

Admissions 18/19

So far this year we have received a total of 362 completed disability pro formas from applicants which have been processed and sent to the Disability Advisors, Programme Leads and Admissions Tutors. We have contacted 510 applicants to offer support with completing their Disabled Students Allowance application, which will help put support in place sooner and the cost of interim support will be reduced.

This has led to booking 92 Information Meetings for the Disability Advisors to attend to discuss the students’ needs whilst at University of Plymouth.

Through the admissions process, amongst others, students are identified as needing a PEEP (Personal Evacuation and Egress Plan) where the student, a Disability Advisor, Faculty representative and Fire Safety Advisor discuss and evaluate any challenges to emergency evacuation for the student. 20 were booked during 17/18.

Meetings Booked 100 50 0 18/19: Information Meetings 17/18: Personal Evacuation and Egress Plan Meetings

15 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 New initiatives for 17/18 One to one support for students to access Disabled Students Allowance During 2017/18 we set up a daily drop in to offer a bespoke Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) support service offering:  DSA information  application and evidence check and send service  support with arranging Study Needs Assessments  support with arranging DSA recommendations

In addition to this, the DSA administrator has been able to help students navigate the complicated DSA process dealing directly with funding bodies and suppliers to smooth the student’s experience. We have supported 324 students DSA applications to a range of funding bodies, of which 224 have received funding. Disability Advisors identified 312 students needing interim support. We have contacted them and led them through the DSA process. 188 of these students now have DSA in place. This will help reduce the overall cost of interim support for the university. The remainder are still being monitored. Working in Partnership. The Learning Gateway has been working in partnership with the following agencies during 17/18 to provide an enhanced service for students and easy accessibility. The reception team have been able to meet and greet students in a relaxed environment. This year we started building relationships with three new partners, The National Student Survey, Bright Futures and First light, the drop in sessions proved successful and we hope to increase the number of drop in sessions during 18/19.  Devon & Cornwall Police o PC Anni Parr, Sexual Offences Liaison officer has provided 6 confidential out of hours drop in sessions in the Learning Gateway o Property marking advice and information given throughout the year  Victim Support o 12 trained and accredited student volunteers provided a weekly drop in each Wednesday. This year they have seen 6 students in the drop in  The National Student Survey (NSS) 2018 o The NSS is open from 8 January to 30 April 2018. Drop in sessions have been held in the Learning Gateway to promote the survey and increase student participation  Bright Futures Upbeat Project o Bright Futures held one drop in session offering support to Young Adult Carers (aged 18-24) and their families  First Light (previously 12’s company) o One drop in session held where professional staff have been able to offer independent and confidential advice and support to students.

16 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Disability Services

Leading work to support students with disabilities

Manage funds we receive from HEFCE (now Office for Students) specifically to support students with disabilities, which for the 2017/18 academic year was £829,000.

Managing Students with Disabilities: The DS manager and the Head of Student Complaints and Appeals delivered a series of briefings aimed at dispelling myths around supporting students with disabilities and increasing staff confidence in requests for reasonable adjustments. 77 members of academic and professional staff attended the briefings.

Worked with staff across the institution as part of the Reasonable Adjustments Review Panel (RARP) whose remit is to consider adjustments for students with disabilities where the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) does not meet the costs for these adjustments. During the 17/18 AY the RARP budget was £430,000 with an actual spend of £145,943, 34% of this year’s budget.

The Dyslexia and ADHD reimbursement schemes, which assisted 138 students this year to obtain a diagnosis which in turn enabled them to receive appropriate support.

Delivering training to University of Plymouth staff around disability awareness Developed a series of ‘In 10’ presentations made up of ten slides on different disability related topics. These presentations were aimed at regular/routine team and faculty meetings where Disability Services could fit in to team meeting agendas.

Delivered ‘In 10’ presentations to 65 members of staff from the Library, PCMD and TIS. Their interest was in Mental Health, Dyslexia and Autism. We also delivered a presentation on Learning Support, Health and Wellbeing to 150 International Students.

Mental Health First Aid England training: We delivered four two-day MHFA and two one-day MHFA in Higher Education (HE) sessions to 79 University of Plymouth (UoP) staff and students.

Delivered Mental Health Awareness training for Staff dealing with students to 105 staff: working with the Mental Health Team the training gives delegates resources and information about the University’s support services and enables staff to signpost students appropriately.

17 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 PGCAP training Disability Services participate in general PGCAP training throughout the year. This year the format has been based on café style/dating tables where members of different student services stay in one place and speak for 5 minutes while participants circulate around the different tables. Following positive feedback last year, a combined more detailed 3 hour session was offered to the PGCAP Inclusive Practice elective module with Priska Shoenborn and Anne Bentley with additional input from Learning Development and the English Language Centre. Content on developing listening skills and applying knowledge to detailed case study scenarios was covered.

Engaging with applicants

Pre-admission: Disability Services sent 2,065 letters to inform new University of Plymouth students of our services and offer information about support for their specific needs. This represents a 7.83% increase on the last academic year.

The following conditions were declared on application:

SpLD 907

Mental Health 445

Other disabilities 672

Overseas students 41

Information Meetings: of the 2,065 students Disability Services contacted, we received 614 pro forma’s back, which gave us more detail about how a student’s disability affects them. After assessing their pro forma, Disability Services held 54 individual pre-entry information meetings.

Pre-induction programme: 23 students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prior to ‘Welcome Week’ took part in this programme.

Pre Induction Scheme for students with anxiety: 22 accepted the invitation to attend this event.

Induction Week: the Disability Services team met with 206 students.

18 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Student engagement: encouraging independence

The Plymouth Autism Society Group: ran every Wednesday between 5pm and 7pm during term time.

The ADHD support group: During term time on Mondays between 5pm and 7pm.

Disability Service’s Specialist Study Skills tutors: supported 107 students for 1:1 sessions offering a total of 619 hours of study skills support.

The SpLD specialist team also delivered the following sessions throughout the year:

 Sixteen study skills group sessions with 64 students attending throughout the year  Three exam revision sessions delivered in December 2017 and May 2018 with 5 -11 students attending each session.  Twenty seven ADHD group sessions with 5 -11 students attending each session throughout the academic year

Understanding your Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at University: we offered individual bespoke sessions for students with a diagnosis of ASD. The emphasis was mainly on accepting and understanding their diagnosis and self-awareness.

Technology for Learners: Disability Services has 200 individual off campus licences for Sonocent (a note taking software). We have 51 students and 43 staff using these licences. Additionally, the University’s computers in Open Access and across the University have 5,000 licences for Sonocent available.

This year we also obtained the Sonocent app, which students can access via the mobile and tablet (at no extra cost for the University). This app synchronizes with their work on their laptop.

Disability Services Equipment library: we assisted 125 students this year by loaning them laptops/tablets and software.

Student meetings and enquiries: Disability Services staff have seen 1,087 students and dealt with 836 queries by phone and email, totalling 1,773 individual students’ enquiries.

Collaborative working to support students

Student Support and Fitness for Study meetings: Disability Advisors attended 209 Student Support Meetings (Stage 2) and 39 High Risk Student Support meetings (Stage 3). Student Support Documents (SSD’s): we completed 1,005 SSD’s containing information for academic and faculty staff about individual students’ disability related needs.

MHFA: DS and the Wellbeing team work together to deliver these sessions.

19 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

Supporting student’s with mental health diagnoses: DS and the Mental Health team work together to deliver these sessions.

Admissions work for students with mental health diagnoses: DS and the Mental Health Team work together looking at new applicants.

Networking & reviewing our services South West Disability Advisors Network: DS have taken the lead in organising these meetings where universities from across the South West meet and share ideas and good practice.

Managing students with disabilities briefings: three sessions delivered by the DS Manager along with Claire Oldfield. We are attending a number of local team meetings over the next six months to discuss this further. Comments and suggestions from these sessions have contributed to a change in some of our processes.

Disability Services Staffing

The University of Plymouth has 3,384 students with a disclosed disability, which equates to 16.7% of the student population.

Karen Hocking Team Leader 1fte Sarah Anderson Disability Advisor 1fte Daniel Collings Disability Advisor 1fte Jo Bourton Disability Advisor 1fte Sally Agobiani Disability Advisor 0.4fte Nicola Ayer Disability Advisor 0.7fte Sadie Waterfield Disability Advisor 0.4fte Karen Walbank Disability Advisor 0.4fte Joanna Rowland Study Skills Advisor and Disability Advisor 0.6fte Kassandra Clemens Study Skills Advisor and Disability Advisor 0.75fte Rocio Martinez Administrator 0.98 fte

Student Caseload

Based on current staffing levels we currently have:

One Disability Advisor per 604 students with a disclosed disability.

20 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 What do we do?

Disability Services

Promote Success; support and retain students Work Manage collaboratively with external/internal Teaching & funds for Learning to reasonable promote good adjustments practice DISABILITY SERVICES works collaboratively with staff and students to: Manage risk & Reduce litigation provide guidance and complaints on reasonable against the adjustments University

Provide disability and mental health awareness training to staff

Disability Services provides advice and guidance on disability and specific learning difficulties, to current and prospective University of Plymouth students, and to staff. This includes advice on the support available at the University, how to access that support, and any issues around living and studying on campus. We can also provide

21 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 guidance around practicalities relating to particular courses like group work, presentations and field trips.

The Disability Services team have a ‘can do’ attitude and exceptionally good problem-solving skills to ensure that we retain students, enable them to successfully study at the University of Plymouth and reduce any litigation or complaints.

We are one of the leading universities in the UK in terms of recruitment and retention of students with disabilities. In 2017-18 University of Plymouth (UoP) had approximately 20,230 students, of which some 3, 384 (16.7%) had declared disabilities. These students attract government funding to the University via HEFCE funding (calculated according to the number of students who disclosed a disability). This year HEFCE (now replaced by the Office for Students) awarded UoP £829,000 to support students with disabilities.

Students with Disabilities Disclosure Numbers:

Enrolment type Students Students Students Students Students disclosing disclosing disclosing a disclosing disclosing a disability a disability disability to a disability a disability to UoP to UoP UoP to UoP to UoP

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

New entrants 1,129 1,158 1,067 1,201 1,268

Returners 1,849 1,947 2,011 2,052 2,116

Total 2,978 3,105 3,078 3,253 3,384

Pre-Admissions work

Disability Services contact all applicants who disclose a disability.

In 2017-18, 2,065 students declared a disability and were sent information on Disability Services, not all of these students started a programme with the University. Of the 614 proforma’s returned, we contacted 198 students for further information, a further 54 students were invited to an Information Meeting to discuss their specific needs.

Pre Induction Programme for Students with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) The pre-induction programme ran for the fifth time in August/September 2017. The programme offers personalised familiarisation for applicants with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) prior to ‘Induction Week’. Applicants are offered a few hours or a

22 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 full day of personal contact with their proposed non-medical helper at the University on a 1:1 basis. During August/September 2017, twenty-three applicants with ASCs took part, using an average per person of 3.6 hours of familiarisation. Six of the twenty-three applicants who participated in the project, completed an evaluation form. Three of the non-medical helpers who participated, completed an evaluation form – some worked with more than one student.

100% of the applicants and 100% of the non-medical helpers who took park found the overall experience very good or good and felt that it helped the participant’s transition to University.

One applicant said ‘I would recommend the pre-induction programme to other potential students, because it makes you feel much more confident in terms of coming from secondary school to University, and it makes you feel confident and answers any questions you have.’

One of the non-medical helpers who took part said ‘I feel that we all feel more comfortable in the environments we already know, and where we have positive experience. Also, the reassurance from people like myself and the friendly approach of staff from the Learning Gateway/Disability Services should make a new student feel more at ease and more optimistic about the University.’

Participants found the most helpful aspects of the programme: o Getting to know/working with your support worker o Help with applying for the Disabled Students’ Allowance o Familiarisation with the campus, accommodation, city centre and shops o Information regarding the personal tutoring system and enrolment

Each year we ask the applicants if they would have been interested in meeting other students taking part in the programme. Results were divided, with some applicants saying that they would like this, while others prefer a one to one approach. One individual said ‘it would have helped me feel more confident, as I would have felt like I already knew a fellow student’. We may consider a different format for the programme in the future. In the meantime, we will continue to provide all of the applicants invited on the Pre Induction Programme with a leaflet about the University of Plymouth Autism Social and Support Group. This group meets regularly during term time to provide mutual support to each other and take part in social activities.

100% of participants said that they would recommend the Pre Induction Programme to other potential students.

23 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Information Meetings

The Disability Services team assess completed and returned pro formas to decide which students with more complex disabilities will require an Information Meeting before starting at University of Plymouth.

Information Meetings are co-ordinated by the Disability Services team and attended by:

 the student (and/or a family member or friend)

 a Disability Advisor

 an academic from the student’s programme (admissions Tutor/Programme Leader)

 a team member from Residents Life if there are accommodation needs

 a team member from the Library (generally for students with a visual impairment)

 a team member from the Safety Office for students who need an individual evacuation plan

We arranged 54 of these meetings.

The aim of an Information Meeting

Meetings are scheduled following academic offers and are designed primarily to find out more about the prospective students requirements to ensure that programme staff and others are aware of possible reasonable adjustments.

An Information Meeting helps to ensure that students receive appropriate support when they arrive at University of Plymouth and feel more confident about starting and staying at University.

The meeting agenda

 The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSAs) – we inform students about what this is, how it can be accessed, and how it might help individual students, if eligible  The prospective student’s disability or medical condition is considered from a perspective of how symptoms and issues affect day-to-day activities in general and study in particular  Previous student support is considered, along with how useful the student has found this to be  Course delivery (information about lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, contact hours, timetabling, modules/credits etc.)  Course and tutorial support

24 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18  Examination and assessment methods  Extenuating circumstances  Access issues (likely venues of lectures etc.)  Fieldtrips/group work/presentations  Laboratory work  Placements/work experience  Library access  Health  Student Counselling  Accommodation

The meeting can also involve a brief look around the campus and specific accommodation.

Pre Induction Programme for applicants with social anxiety and other anxiety conditions

The DS pre induction day aims:

 To encourage confidence and ease in new environments  To improve retention  To aid transition  To reduce anxiety triggers  To increase awareness of University support services  To encourage DSA applications

Following the success of a pilot pre induction day in September 2016, it was agreed to extend the pre induction day with a choice of two different days from a wider geographical area. The day aimed to provide an informal, quiet familiarisation day on campus prior to the start of the academic year. Facilitated by DS with input from other student services teams, including Student Wellbeing, we included experiential activities such as specialised tours, exploring cafes and lecture theatres. We provided information on services, DSA, enrolment and learning apps. There was greater involvement with the student body with a Peer Assisted Learner (PAL’s) leader in attendance for each day and Student Ambassadors to lead the tours.

Forty-five applicants were invited from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. Twenty-two accepted the invitation with six attending on 5th September and nine attending on 11th September.

The evaluation results showed that participants found the experience good or very good.

25 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Participants found the most helpful aspects of the day were:

 Meeting with a Disability Advisor  Familiarisation around campus  Information about the medical centre and GPs  Getting information about LSW services and SHINE  Meeting other students with similar conditions

All said the day had helped with their transition to University and that they would recommend it to other potential students.

Comments included:

It provided information about the resources available for people in similar situations

It makes the first day less ‘scary’ and a small group is less intimidating than arriving with everyone else It helped with knowledge of campus and facilities and knowing where support is available Definitely, helps make the transition easier

for students with It made me very aware of the mental health issues. support available, which A great experience was very helpful. and opportunity.

Outcomes

 Fourteen of the fifteen students who attended are still at University; one student was interrupted due to exacerbation of their complex issues. This indicates that improved transition to University through a specialist pre induction experience can encourage retention.

26 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Development

Based on feedback and evaluation of the pilot event, amendments to the 2 days included:

 Closer liaison and administration support improved the preparation and smooth running of the days at such a busy time of year  Shorter day (later start and earlier finish)  Increased student participation from PALs and Ambassadors which was well received  Widened geographical area  Widened range of conditions to include some with needs that are more complex. This did not prove to be helpful, as some students needed far more individual time. This year invitations will be sent to students who declare social anxiety and anxiety disorders only  A separate parent/carer meeting in the morning, they were then encouraged to leave for the rest of the day. A separate evaluation is needed for this  Opportunity for a 1:1 meeting with a Disability Advisor during the day  Student support groups were encouraged and two follow up meetings were arranged, however these were not well attended (one participant)

Summary

There were some improvements made from the previous year’s course, with an increase in sessions and numbers. Feedback given at the time implied that the attendees had found it useful, and the retention figures confirm this. There are some further alterations to be made for future sessions, but it is felt a valuable use of time and resources to support these vulnerable students at a particularly anxiety- provoking time in their University lives.

Dyslexia/Disability Awareness week September 2017

At the start of every academic year, the entire Disability Team are available for students to ‘drop in’ and discuss their disability support needs. Last year we saw 206 students over the course of 5 days (compared to 246 the previous year in 9 days). These sessions are to ensure students are comfortable at a particularly challenging time for many of our students when many are away from their usual support network.

Nursing and midwifery training Disability Services have been involved in ongoing nurse induction talks alongside the Student Wellbeing services. These can be up to 30 minutes long and delivered at different venues. This year also saw our services represented at the Student Matters Conference for the Faculty of Health.

27 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 PALS In August and September 2017 Disability Services worked with the PALS team in training new PALs leaders. A new session to develop listening skills was created and various members of the DS team delivered this bespoke practical session to every new PALS group over the 3 week training period. This also enabled us to further share information about the support services available to students.

‘In 10’ Presentations for Staff

135 staff and 150 international students attended these presentations. These are a series of short presentations on various aspects of disability, e.g. ‘Understanding Autism’, ‘Disability and Reasonable Adjustments’. ‘Autism and Sensory Issues’, ‘ADHD’. The presentations each have 10 PowerPoint slides and are delivered in 15 minutes. The presentations are designed to be part of pre- arranged staff meetings, making it more time effective.

Disability Services Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructors

We have two staff within the DS team who are qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructors and have delivered (alongside colleagues in the Wellbeing Team) four two-day MHFA and two one-day MHFA in Higher Education (HE) sessions to 79 University of Plymouth (UoP) staff and students.

MHFA England is an independent community interest company (CIC) dedicated to increasing mental health literacy and training people to be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and to provide support on a first aid basis. Just as physical first aiders are not nurses or doctors, University staff trained in Mental Health First Aid skills will not be counsellors or clinicians. Their role will be that of a first responder, assisting students and staff in emotional distress, knowing where to signpost them on to, both in normal office hours and during ‘silent hours’ (weekend and evenings).

Feedback received from these training sessions:

“The course gives me hope that positive changes can be made in the University. Also the people that take the course will hopefully reduce the amount of stigma” “Extremely informative and delivered to the highest standards. I would recommend this course to anyone and everyone. Thank you” “Very good and informative. Should be rolled out to more/all mandatory training” “Very well delivered and varied course. I feel much more equipped for the unexpected”

28 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

“You guys make it possible for people to not Disability Duty Appointments only attend uni but to transform lives too!”

“I was uncertain who I should discuss this with A member of the Disability Team is first which is why I came to you. Thank you for available every day of the working week to pointing me towards the right people. I would meet with students. Last year we met with like to thank the whole of the DS for helping 1,087 students and dealt with 836 duty me in multiple ways throughout this” calls and emails, a total of 1,773 student’s.

“I forgot to you thank you again for meeting Why do students need an appointment with yesterday, it was very helpful” a Disability Advisor?  To discuss issues related to “I found the course extremely interesting. Most disclosure of a disability valuable, I think, was how to start using direct  To discuss whether they have a questions to students rather than being disability ambiguous. But it was also good to be  Liaison with faculty/support services reminded of the services that the University  Student support documents provides and to know that there is always  Exam Support someone available for the students to talk to.  Temporary injury Both Nicola and Issy were really engaging and  Equipment library knowledgeable”  Pregnancy support “Thank you for all you have done for Victoria this academic year and we are hoping that DA appointments have decreased slightly Victoria has a smooth transition into her this year from last academic year; however, second year” duty calls and emails have almost doubled “Thank you so much for your time – everyone so appreciated it and it has certainly started a huge debate about what we should be doing with several of our students to ensure they are supported properly – I am so reassured they will be coming to you “My shoulder is recovering well thank you. Thank you for your offer for more assistance for future exams. However, my recovery is at a stage now where I will be able to complete my remaining exams without any assistance. Thank you for all your help with regards to my previous exam. You and your team did a great job and made a difficult time for me simple and easy to achieve. Many thanks”. (*)This is a 73% increase from last 29 | P a g e year LSW Annual Report 2017/18

DA Appointments 2016-17 vs 2017-18 200

150

100

50

0 Spt Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mch Apr May Jun

2016-17 2017-18

Duties 2016-17 vs 2017-18

180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March Apr May June July

2016-17 2017-18

The Reasonable Adjustments Review Panel (RARP)

The RARP was established in December 2015. The purpose of the RARP is to ensure equitable, academically sound and financially viable judgements are made about the levels of additional support funding to be provided for students with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010.

The panel consider and make recommendations in cases where levels of support recommended by a needs assessment (as part of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) process) would either not be covered by, or would cost more than funding provided by the DSA, or may be above a level that the University may regard as reasonable. The panel met 15 times in the last academic year and assessed 50 students. During the 17/18 AY the RARP budget was £430,000 with an actual spend of £145,943, 34% of this year’s budget.

30 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Study Wellbeing and Review Policy (SWRP) Meetings Student Support Meetings (SSM) are organised by faculties to consider what additional assistance is appropriate for students who are judged to be ‘medium risk, or stage two under the SWRP: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/your-studies/academic-services/placements- and-workbased-learning/poppi/poppi-health/policies-procedures-and-guidelines

Disability Services attended 209 Stage 2 and 39 Stage 3 meetings (high risk) during the last academic year. Stage 3 meetings have more than doubled in number from the last academic year when we had 15 stage three meetings.

Student Support Documents

The Student Support Document (SSD) contains information for academics about individual students. It includes the student’s name, course information and details about their disclosed disability or condition as well as any recommended modified assessment provision (MAPs). It is an important means by which Disability Services communicates students’ needs to academic and faculty staff.

From August 2017 until the end of June SSD completed by Faculty 2017-18 2018 Disability Services have completed Arts & over 1,005 SSDs. These have to be with Humanities, 20.55% the exams office by mid-November for Sci & January exams, mid-February for May Engineering, 31.85% exams and early July for summer referrals. Business, Each SSD takes on average 45 minutes to 14.96% complete. PMCD, Health & This is a 22% increase from last year. 6.98% Human Sci, 25.66%

31 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 SSD completed by disability 2017-18 0.84% 1.32% disabiity not recorded on Unite 3.27% 2.42% 6.31% 2 or more impairments 13.47%

SpLD, ADHD

ASD

21.41% Lond standing illness/condition

MH

Physical impairment or mobility difficulties Hear Impairment 6.79% 39.32% VI 4.85% A disabilitiy not listed

SSD completed by disability 16-17 vs 17-18

50.00% 45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% % 17-18 25.00% 20.00% %16-17 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00%

32 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 University of Plymouth Autism Society

The group was renamed the University of Plymouth Autism Social Group (PAS).

Sarah and Dan ran the PAS group, which met weekly on Wednesday evenings from 5 -7pm during term time at Portland Mews.

On average, we had 5 - 6 students that attended on a regular basis (the highest number that attended was 11). We ran the group for 20 sessions during the 17/18 academic year. We visited the Immersive Vision Theatre for a special showing of ‘The Cosmic Perspective’, played Table Tennis, and went for a drink at the Caffeine Club.

For the past few years, the group focussed upon social activities. Although this has worked well, we are mindful that we could do more with the time that we have with the group. We are looking to develop the group and introduce a support element for the 18/19 academic year.

We are putting a programme together currently with topics that include the following:

 Independent Living  Communication  Anxiety and stress management  Friendships and relationships  Conflict and self-control  Self-esteem and confidence building  Organisation, time management, and problem solving

Feedback from the group this year includes:

“The support from DSA was crucial when deciding to attend University. It enabled me to meet regularly with a mentor to discuss and issues I was facing. I also found that the Asperger’s social group was very important throughout my time at University providing me with an environment to relax, make friends and to take a weekly break. I now will graduate with a 1st and work aboard which I would not have thought I would achieve before starting University. I recommend that you take a placement year, even if you have to apply to many different jobs as this can take you outside of your comfort zone and grow your confidence”.

33 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 And…. “I really got a lot from this, great to feel not the only ASD person at Uni and to share learn ways to cope etc.” “This was the best part of Plymouth University which I will be sad to "I’m so glad they made miss. Thank you Sarah, up this group. Saved Dan, and fellow students me when lonely at for making this happen. Plymouth, especially in Without this, I would first year" have no friends and would be lonely” "It's really lovely to be able to be myself around people without worrying that people will judge me because I have autism and sometimes act differently to others"

‘It was the best part "I wanted to be part of University; I was of something very lonely in first involving other year and made lots of people like myself" friends’.

‘I feel it was an enjoyable experience and I’d recommend it to fellow autistics’

34 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 ADHD Support Group The ADHD Support Group has continued this academic year, facilitated by Joanna “I felt it hugely beneficial to have regular Rowland and Sally Agobiani. The group weekly meetings - they provided a sense follows a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy of time, routine, allowed me to ‘ground’ a programme devised especially for adults with little in my environment increased my interaction with people, helped reduce my ADHD by psychiatrists Susan Young and isolation” Jessica Bramham. As in previous years, the group selected the modules they wanted to “Great to have such regular access to a work on, e.g. attention, memory, impulsivity, supportive and instructive team” anxiety, interpersonal relationships etc. with “Thank you both for the time and effort each module spanning about four you spent in organising and running the weeks. The second part of each session was group - it is very much appreciated” a time for the members to share successes “It was very helpful to have a topic to and concerns arising during the week and to discuss and the content was well benefit from other group members’ input. This prepared” year the group created their own Facebook page. They found being able to contact each other in-between sessions very helpful and it was something which they had control of rather than the facilitators. The weekly average attendance was around 7 – 9 individuals. They reported benefits both from being with others who experienced similar challenges and learning ways to mitigate the effect of those challenges. Understanding your Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at University

This year we offered individual bespoke sessions for students with a diagnosis of ASD. The emphasis was mainly on accepting and understanding their diagnosis and self- “The ability to talk to someone who ‘gets awareness. Our rational was that acceptance it” and understanding affects behaviour, which in “To have a voice” turn positively affects their experience of University. An example of this may be that a “Reassurance” student comes to accept that they are an “I feel less isolated” introverted personality type and that introverts “I could discuss thoughts, worries and are just as valuable to society as extroverts concerns” (maybe more so!). Knowing they are naturally introverted may lead to adaptions to life style “Ultimately, to have a better sense of self” so that, for example, time alone and time with “A single point of contact that provides others are well balanced. This in turn leads to continuity, steadfastness, independent improved mental being and self-concept. thought, supportive reflection, UNDERSTANDING (yes, that’s a really Several students took up the offer of these sessions. important one)”

35 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Specialist Study Skills Tutorials

Our specialist study skills tutors provide one-to-one support for University of Plymouth students with a disability. They work with the following student groups:

 DSA funded students preferring in-house to external support

 Students not funded under the new DSA regulations

 International students, including students on postgrad courses & health profession studies

 New students waiting for funding

 Resit students

 Emergency appointments – both funded and as yet un-funded students

 Weekly Drop-in session & emergency drop-ins

 30 minute review meetings

 Weekly inclusive Group Study Skills sessions

 Exam periods linked revision & exams preparation workshops

 Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) staff training & presentations

 On-going research projects

 Resource development, preparation for new research projects, link-up projects with other LSW services and academic departments

This academic year 107 students accessed our study skills & additional revision sessions. Our Study Skills Tutors also organised study skills group sessions where 64 students attended throughout the year (this is 14 students more than last year).

Review meetings & drop-ins: We currently do not have a system to log how many students have been seen for these sessions; however, the estimated number is between 50-75 students attending our SpLD drop-ins (estimated across the weeks we have offered the drop-in)

Disability Services Equipment Loan Library:. Last year this enabled 125 students with disabilities, international students with disabilities and students from a widening participation background to borrow from a library, which includes:

 66 Windows standard laptops  45 Tablets  Assistive software (Read &Write, Mindview, Sonocent and Dragon – Disability Services is working with TIS to obtained AppsAnywhere installed in our loan

36 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 computers. This system will allow our students to access the assistive software easily and Disability Services will not need to reimage the laptops every time the student returns the laptop to us)  43 digital voice recorders  4 Electronic Stethoscope  8 Livescribe pens and kit  Ergonomic equipment such as laptop stands, larger monitor and scanner mouse.

The library provides an improved student experience for international and all other students with specific short-term support needs. The library reduces risk of complaints against the University and supports retention and success.

Technology for Learners

UoP has site wide licences for all staff and students for the following software:

 Sonocent

 MindView

 Texthelp

 Sensus Access

The packages provide note taking, text to speech, and mind mapping. Staff and students can access this programme from the Library Services Website https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/your-studies/library This year we have negotiated a free premium app for Sonocent, which all UoP students and staff will be able to access on their smart phones and tablets.

Sensus Access is available from the Library website for all students. This programme allows you to convert a document onto an alternative format i.e. braille, plain text or PowerPoint presentation onto mp3, pdf to word ,audio, e-book or even braille.

37 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 South West Disability Advisors’ Network (SWDAN)

SWDAN was set up initially in February 2016; the group currently consists of Disability Advisors from the following universities:  University of Plymouth  Bath Spa University  University of Bristol  University of Exeter  University of Bath  Plymouth Marjon University  University of the West of England  Hartpury College

The group, which is led by Sarah Anderson and Joanne Bourton, have met three times during the past academic year, with members taking it in terms to host meetings. In November 2017, the group met at the University of Bristol to discuss and share practice around student mental health, discuss approaches to interim support and practice around reasonable adjustment to presentations, practical sessions and exams. In April 2018, the University of Plymouth hosted the meeting. Dawn Hastings – Student Counsellor, came and led a training session on eating disorders and Sally Agobiani led a session on the topic of ‘ADHD – Staff Awareness and Student Support’. The group also discussed supervision, fitness to study, and ‘duty’ sessions. The most recent meeting was held at the University of Bath in July 2018. A Wellbeing Advisor from the University of Bath talked about how the Wellbeing Service is structured, and what it is able to offer students. Professor Mark Brosnan also talked about the Summer School opportunities for students with autism, and the research conducted at the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) at the University of Bath. The group also discussed pre-arrival events for students with disabilities and exchanged practice of how their disability teams liaise with academics about the requirements of disabled students, pre entry. The group promotes face-to-face networking in the South West area between Disability Advisors and provides a degree of online support between meetings.

38 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

"We seem to have got in to a pattern of alternating around the universities which is useful but also alternating between the "Thank you to Sarah and Jo for starting south and the north!!! That is then fair for and keeping this group. The group has travelling distances. Sarah and Jo have been invaluable to us as a small team been doing an amazing job planning and where we have limited places to check organising this and full credit to them for that we are on the right track with things" getting this off the ground"

SWDAN

"Thank you for taking the time to lead on this. I feel it is extremely valuable as professional development for me to learn from experienced advisors" "I believe this current model is working "I find this one (SWDAN meetings) of the really well and would not wish to see most useful elements of my job as it is so anything changed, the group is particular to our specific role. We are all progressing naturally and moving on as from relatively small teams who have the topics of discussion change" been doing the job for a while. so therefore the sharing of new and best practice supports us all"

39 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Learning Development

Executive summary

2017-18 A new approach In 2017 Learning Development (LD) adopted a new approach to working with the schools and faculties of the university: each member of the team was aligned to specific schools or faculties, as follows: o Joe Allison: School of Health Professions, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Doctoral College o Christie Pritchard: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Institute of Education, Educational Development (PgCAP) o Jason Truscott: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Business, Care Leavers o Alicja Syska (0.5 FTE): Faculty of Arts and Humanities This enabled more developmental and integrated ways of working across the University, giving us a better understanding of the schools and programmes, facilitating more consistent communication with staff, and thereby, better insight in to students’ academic journeys. Workshops and Taught sessions 2017-18 Workshop comparison against previous years.

Year Workshops Participants Contact hours

2017-18 205 (+24%) 7882 (+27%) 392 (+20%)

2016-17 165 6201 328

2015-16 154 7650 365

2014-15 158 7640 271

2013-14 167 4500 310

2012-13 127 3800 220 This year workshops and taught sessions were distributed evenly across the team.

Team member / areas Workshops Participants Contact hours

JA (SHP, MaD, DoC) 47 1613 111

AS (ADA, HPA) 53 1221 107

CP (SNAM, IoE, ED) 54 2258 100

JT (FOB, Sci&Eng, CL) 51 2790 74 Total 205 7882 392

40 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 One to one support Comparisons on previous years with one-to-one work are difficult, as more has been done this year in the way of drop-ins, Skype tutorials, webinars and discussion forums. This was a planned process as these options are more flexible and efficient compared to bookable one-to-one tutorial slots, the total figure is therefore down on last year's 601 appointments. One-to-one support across the team.

Team member One to one students

JA 44

AS 80

CP 55

JT 70

Royal Literary Fellows 263 appointments with 215 students

Total 512

A significant amount of time has also been dedicated to distance learning modules, Jason Truscott 45 hours, and writing feedback on an M-level forum, Joe Allison 30 hours. Royal Literary Fellows We had two fellows for the first time this year and were therefore able to offer writing tutorials three days a week, compared to two in previous years. The combined number of RLF tutorial appointments was 263, with 215 students, compared to 188 with 132, and 157 with 126 in previous years. Priorities for 2018-19

Maintain the excellent service levels achieved this year, whilst minimising the impact of maternity leave. Continue to build relationships, and thereby our insight and understanding, in each of our areas of responsibility. Develop strategies for supporting students in key growth areas, such as postgraduate and HE apprenticeship students, who are generally studying off- campus. In light of plans for Babbage, ensure the Writing Café is considered as part of those discussions, and sustained into 2019-20.

41 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 As in previous years, there has been significant growth in all areas of the service, and simply meeting demand is proving a challenge, largely at the expense of any developmental work.

Overview of LD services

Learning Development (LD) seeks to be innovative and inclusive in its approach to working with students and staff from across the University, developing strategies to inspire and empower students for a critical, creative and transformative learning experience. We work with students on areas such as: writing and developing an academic voice; thinking and reflection; using and referencing literature critically and correctly; reading strategically and making useful notes; preparing for exams and presentations; managing time; coping with study stress. Full details on the range of Learning Development services are online at www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn. Our approaches include: Taught sessions / workshops Staff and students request bespoke collaborative workshops and seminars throughout the year. These can address any academic issue or topic and will be developed in partnership in order to integrate the materials and activities into the programme as much as possible. LD also offers consultation on resource development and approaches to teaching. The Writing Café The Writing Café continues to go from strength to strength. The Café itself is open daily on the 4th floor of Babbage. From 1pm to 4pm trained student Writing Mentors and Learning Development Advisors are available to discuss issues relating to writing with students and staff, and facilitate a range of writing activities and events. For more information contact: thewritingcafé@plymouth.ac.uk. LD and Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow Tutorials Students can book one-to-one writing tutorials with a Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellow. We maintain strong links with the Royal Literary Fund and our visiting fellows this year were Sarah Duncan and Morgen Witzel, enabling us to offer these tutorials for three days a week. Appointments can be made through the Learning Gateway. Tutorials are also offered by telephone or Skype for students on placement or studying at distance. For more details visit www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn Email support and online writing feedback The LD team can be contacted with questions or concerns about any academic issues or topics; students working off-campus can also request comments on short sections of their own writing at [email protected]

42 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Online study guides and DLE Study guides and further resources are available on our website. https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/services/learning-gateway/learning- development The Learning Development team Learning Development Team Joseph Allison LD Team Leader 1.0 fte Christie Pritchard (Sara Erskine LD Advisor 1.0 fte maternity cover to January 2017) Alicja Syska LD Advisor 0.5 fte Jason Truscott LD Advisor 1.0 fte

Royal Literary Fund Writing *The RLF Fellows are not Fellow members of University Staff

Writing Fellow 10/2016 – Sarah Duncan 05/2017 (term-time only) 0.2fte* Writing Fellow 10/2016 – Morgen Witzel 05/2017 (term-time only) 0.4fte*

LD and the school of Health Professions (SHP), faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (MaD), and Doctoral College (DoC) - Joe Allison

Overview The SHP has remained one of our busiest service areas over the past few years, which brought about its own unique challenges. Whilst the faculty of MaD, and the DoC haven’t drawn a huge amount on our service, they do however offer great opportunity. In this first year of overseeing these areas the priority was to at the very least sustain our service levels, but to also look for small-scale initiatives to implement as well, and all the while strengthening the relationship with the relevant programme teams. Workshops The number of workshops collaborated on with these programmes was similar to the previous year, as the table below outlines.

43 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Workshop comparison in SHP, MaD and DoC 2016-17 and 2017-18

School Workshop Workshop No. No. Contact Contact no. 16-17 no. 17-18 students students time 16- time 17- 16-17 17-18 17 18

Health 24 24 1112 1051 2730 2970 Profession s

Dentistry 7 6 222 212 600 600

Medicine 11 6 299 257 930 495

Doctoral 7 8 69 68 3150 2400 College

Biomedical 1 2 24 9 60 120 Science

Psycholog 0 1 0 16 0 90 y

Totals 50 47 1726 1613 125 hrs 111 hrs

There are a few points that need to be addressed going into to 2018-19:  Thus far, there have been very few collaborations with the school of Psychology, so stronger links need to be established there.  The collaborations with the Medicine programme are only in first-year or postgraduate modules, so there is a gap that needs to be addressed to see if we can be doing more in between these stages.  It looks as though we are covering about what is needed in the Health Profession programmes, although I have recently met with all the programme leads to reaffirm our offer – new collaborations are already being discussed as a result of this.  Attendance at the Doctoral College sessions have been declining over the past few years, so a new approach needs to be considered with these. One to one support No formal one to one support has been offered specifically to any of these programmes, other than the Royal Literary Fellow writing tutorials, and the Writing Café, which are available to all students. A new initiative was implemented at PAHC for SHP students, which was a fortnightly ‘pop-up’ Writing Café. This was very well received in the first semester, with over 50 students attending the 6, 3-hour sessions. However, no students attended in the second semester, discussions are planned with this school as to what we can do about this, as SHP students are amongst the highest users attending the Writing café on the main campus.

44 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Informally, 44 individual tutorials have been conducted, whether face to face, by telephone or online. Many of these have been with postgraduate students, and more recently with Nursing students whilst covering for maternity leave in that area. New initiatives A number of new initiatives have been implemented with these areas over the past year. As already mentioned a fortnightly ‘pop-up’ Writing Café was set up at PAHC. Whilst this was partly successful, due to so many Health Profession students attending the main campus Writing Café (at the same time as there was one at PAHC), it is uncertain if it is either a necessary nor sustainable approach, particularly in light of requests to reduce non-essential staffing costs. A bespoke two-day immersive writing workshop was developed for students starting the third year of Physiotherapy. Feedback indicates that this was well received by the students, but the structure of it needs honing, the collaboration is on-going. Finally, a fortnightly postgraduate writing group was implemented. The intention was to provide some protected time and space for postgraduate researchers to get on with their writing. No tuition or facilitation was provided, which seemed to surprise a number of people who turned up. There was a group of between 6 and 9 individuals who turned up regularly, but this number dwindled towards Easter. Having now submitted my thesis, I will see if it is something the Doctoral College want us to continue doing. Planning for 2018-19 There are a few key priorities in these areas looking into next year: Build stronger ties with the schools of MaD, and Psychology, make them at least aware of the opportunity for collaborations. Ensure Medicine and Dentistry students are aware of the writing support available in the Writing Café, possibly consider implementing a weekly drop-in for these students, will consult with the programmes on this. Review the writing workshops provided for the DoC.

LD in Humanities and Performing Arts (HPA), and Art, Design and Architecture (ADA) - Alicja Syska LD became successfully embedded across HPA and ADA in the academic year 2017/18, with a number of new programmes served. Over 1200 students were present at 53 workshops and 80 students attended one-to-one tutorials during my open hours. The table below summarises these sessions.

45 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Workshops in HPA and ADA 2017-18

School / Workshop no. No. students Contact time programme

HPA 35

ADA 11

PALS 6

PgCAP 1

Totals 53 1221 107 hrs

One to one support A weekly ‘Open Hours’ drop-in is available in the Learning Gateway for these students, on Fridays from 1000-1200. 80 students attended, in the 66 available hours. Stand Out In addition to these workshops and tutorials, students in History and Art History have acquired access to an employability scheme called Stand Out https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/hpa/stand-out. The scheme allows students to develop and evidence a range of skills valued by employers, such as effective communication of ideas, digital literacy, collaboration and team work, project management, and effective research. As part of Stand Out, participants undertake and reflect on a range of projects, which is designed to help them to increase awareness of their career capital. As one student reported:

’Stand Out has allowed me to build upon my practical skills and combine them with my academic interests to create a worthwhile project that I can be proud of. With Stand Out I feel as though I have the full support of the university for my future.’ (Jack, History)

Stand Out was also presented at the Vice Chancellor’s 16th Teaching and Learning Conference in the form of a poster that will serve in the future as publicity material for the scheme. In terms of other professional development, Alicja completed Supervisor Training in SI-PASS run by the European Centre for SI-PASS at Lund University, and also became an editor at the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, which currently allows her to actively contribute to the field of Learning Development. The academic year 2018-19 presents a range of new challenges as a few Humanities programmes are being redesigned (with CEP being rolled back) and a new Foundation degree established in HPA, which will require increased attention towards entry-level students. More collaborations with staff in ADA are also planned, as well as a more concerted effort to recruit students for Stand Out.

46 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 LD and the Institute of Education (IoE), School of Nursing and Midwifery (SNAM), and Educational Development (ED) – Christie Pritchard

LD workshops IoE, SNAM and ED 2017-18

Programme Workshops No. of students Contact time (hrs)

Institute of 16 633 25 Education

PgCAP & TDF 15 319 27

Nursing & 23 1306 47.5 Midwifery

Totals 54 2258 99.5

LD and IoE In previous years LD had a strong relationship with the Education Doctorate and the BA Education Studies programmes. This year, the team have built relationships with academics across the institute and sessions have been delivered on the BA Early Childhood studies, Early Years and Primary PGCE, MA Education and MA individual modules. As well as these teaching sessions, online Skype support has been provided for the Educational Doctorate students who are based off campus. 4 students were supported this way over 7 sessions. In addition to these teaching and Skype tutorials, this year LD and members of the BA Education Studies programme team have successfully published their collaborative research in Teaching in Higher Education. LD and ED LD input into the PGCAP is via a Critically Reflective Writing workshop, Writing Café sessions designed for the module and input into the Introduction to Student Services session. The Critically Reflective Writing Workshops are well attended, but further collaboration is needed with the core PGCAP team to ensure these are timed correctly in relation to assignment deadlines. The introduction to student services session is well received but could be unnecessary due to participants having contact with LD within the Critically Reflective Writing Workshop. LD and SNAM This year the focus of LD has been to ensure resource is divided as equally as possible across the programmes, cohorts and sites. Due to the increasing demand

47 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 and requests for input into the programmes oversight was needed across the entire programme, rather than at a modular level. There has also been considerable work done to build collaborative relationships outside of the School’s more dominant programmes (Child, Mental Health and Adult Nursing) and ensure input is also embedded in the Return to Practice Programme. This year the LD team implemented group Skype tutorials for the students studying in Truro to replace one-to-one feedback via LEARN. The sessions were trialled at various times throughout the week and outside of the core office hours although there doesn’t appear to be a way of identifying a regular slot which would be suitable for these sessions. The demands on the student’s timetable and their varying placement hours have made it difficult for them to sign up to some sessions, despite offering them in the evenings and across the week. However, the sessions that have taken place have been productive and are a more sustainable and transformative pedagogical approach.

Number of Skype Total Number of Total Duration of Sessions Tutorial Sessions Participants

24 51 34 hours

LD and the faculty of Business (FoB), Science & Engineering (Sci & Eng), and Care Leavers - Jason Truscott

Historically, both the FoB and Sci. & Eng., engage less with LD than other faculties. However, there has been good progress moving forward, and there are new opportunities for collaboration with staff in Sci. & Eng. since Jason has recently taken on the role of Editor for the in-house Plymouth Student Scientist Journal.

So that each faculty and school are aware of the services available OneDrive shared documents for each area have been developed, which both inform and allow student and staff access to the latest information. Access to this information is by a hyperlink from the main www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn webpage.

LD workshops FoB, Sci. & Eng. and Care Leavers 2017-18

Programme Workshops No. of students Contact time (hrs)

Faculty of Business 17

Faculty of Sci and Eng 19

Care leavers 5

Education 1

ED 1

Other (PALS) 8 Totals 51 2790 74

48 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Distribution is evenly balanced between the faculty of Business and Science and Engineering. Care Leavers are given bespoke session on academic topics they prefer.

In FoB and Sci. & Eng. there has been an increased emphasis on HE apprenticeships (FoB) and foundation level modules (Sci. & Eng.). Jason is playing a pivotal role in a number of modules involved in these areas. Working closely with Academic Partnerships in the development of an ‘apprenticeship module’ to support student academic practice, with the intention to create a modular or ‘podular’ element that can be applied to future degree apprenticeships without drawing significantly on existing resources. This model will build on the experiences of LD in the ‘Learning to Learn’ module for the BSc (Hons) Business Management course in our attempt to enhance the academic quality of our students.

One to one support - Open Hours and Tutorials

‘Open hours’ is run on Thursdays (Between 10-12 noon) term-time and allow students to ‘drop-in’ and discuss their academic literacy concerns. Jason also provides a limited tutorial service (particularly for those referred by the Student Wellbeing or Disability Services). Notably, Care Leavers have priority over tutorials. Primarily as experience has shown Care Leavers are less likely to pursue other avenues of Learning Development support.

70 students were seen in the 66 hours available

Jason has also become the editor for an undergraduate journal that specifically focuses on undergraduate research. This journal actually reaches all STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with some additional schools outside of his liaison role (e.g. Psychology). The journal is bi-annual and publishes around 15 articles per addition. Jason is also a reviewer for two other journals, and an active member and co-chair for LearnHigher, a Learning Development resource that was established by the Association of Learning Development in Higher Education.

49 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

Writing Café The number of students visiting the Writing Café during the academic year 2017/18 demonstrates the continued success of the service and its rising popularity year on year. 1143 student cards were scanned at the main Writing Café during the academic year with the highest usage coming from the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences. This shows an increase year on year as follows:

2017/2018 1143

2016/2017 920

2015/2016 864

2014/2015 660

The rise in popularity of the Writing Café is considerable and the School of Health Professions continues to remain the biggest user of the service, accounting for 67% of total visitors.

Number of Writing Cafe Visitors by School

400 367 350

300

250

200 146 150 89 97 100 53 58 32 37 43 39 41 50 20 21 27 23 27 17 6 0

50 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

Multi-site Writing Cafés Due to the increasing demand, changes in the Learning Development team working practices and feedback from students, the Writing Café began working across multiple sites this academic year. PAHC The School of Health Professions based at PAHC trialled a fortnightly Writing Café pop up session during the first semester. Approx. 500 students study at this site and student demand and academic backing for this service was high. However, it proved difficult to identify days and times that were suitable for students to attend and many students still visited the Writing Café at the main campus. Whilst the popularity was high during the first few weeks, it continued to drop throughout the semester. Ongoing discussions will identify whether it is feasible to continue to offer this service. WESC Exeter The recently opened Nursing School based at the WESC site in Exeter were keen to implement a Writing Café and were able to secure funding for this. Whilst plans were made between the Writing Café coordinator and members of the academic team to offer this service, we were unable to recruit mentors to run the service. Pop Up Writing Cafés The Writing Café continue to pop up to support students throughout the term in Truro’s Knowledge Spa. Evaluations from the students are extremely positive about this support, but highlight that increased frequency would be beneficial. In order to try to address this, and ensure parity across sites, online Skype tutorials have been made available throughout the term to address the difference in services the Learning Development provide. Writing Mentors The Writing Mentor team increased this year and 3 mentors are now present in the Cafe for each 1pm - 4pm weekday shift. This change was made in order to address the considerable impact that was placed on the Learning Development team trying to be present in the space for each session. Despite the increase the service still remains stretched. The team of 25 Writing Mentors were trained in early September in a day of group facilitation, developing academic writing and critical thinking. The training this year was centred on managing groups of students in an effort to try to reduce the demand for one-to-one discussions and return to the original ethos of a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment. Of the 25 Writing Mentors, 10 mentors will continue into the 2018/2019 academic year and so recruitment and training will need to take place over the summer.

51 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 The English Language Centre continues to provide 2x weekly sessions at the Writing Café, and this year our Writing Mentors are also available alongside members of the ELC team for international students to discuss their work with. The writing mentors have benefitted from seeing the wider work of language and communication development and it provides further opportunities for students who are unable to commit to a 3 hour shift per week. Research and Dissemination Ongoing ethnographic observations as part of a Doctorate in Education are informing the evaluation and development of the Writing Café. In addition to this the Writing Café has been the focus of a number of academic papers/presentations. Future Considerations Increased Demand As the success of the Writing Café continues, we need to consider the growth of the space and its remit. There is a considerable demand for accessing mentor support and despite our efforts, there is still confusion around what we do and do not offer. Many students are still ‘referred’ to us to check their grammar and sentences, which is a very simplistic view of developing academic writing and demonstrates further collaboration is needed within programmes and with academics to clarify the support available. As the demand continues, one approach could be to develop collaborative writing workshops for students as part of their modules. These could be hosted at the Writing Café in small groups and be facilitated by the Learning Developers assigned to the relevant Schools. We have also had requests for writing courses from students and writing retreats for newly appointed academics but have been unable to resource these. Increasingly academic staff members are requesting writing retreats and support with writing for publication at the Writing Café. The PGCAP Writing Cafés are demonstrating how valuable our input can be and so further resource could help us to facilitate writing retreats on a more regular basis. This also would help with publication rates of research, a key strategy for the university. Location The university campus masterplan has identified Babbage as a site for demolition/refurbishment. It is crucial that the Writing Café Co-coordinator is involved in these discussions and alternative arrangements are implemented. Negative Feedback We have received a small number of emails from students who were unhappy with the support available from the Writing Café and the NSS and SPQ feedback highlights that students from the School of Health and Human Sciences require further resourcing from the Writing Cafe. This often stems from a mismatch in expectations between what we offer and what academics are advising we support

52 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 students with therefore more work needs to be done to build collaborative practices in developing academic writing across the programmes. However, the majority of problems stem from how busy the space is, but we do not have the resources to extend the hours or make additional Writing Mentors available. Marketing We have had difficulties this year in producing publicity and marketing materials to advertise the space and try to clarify the work we do there. These issues are now being resolved as we work with the head of Marketing Services, Clare Martin to establish a strategic marketing plan. The Writing Café team have contributed to Open Days and Applicant Days throughout the academic year to highlight the uniqueness of the Writing Café to potential students and we have anecdotal evidence that some students are making the University of Plymouth their choice for studying due to the support we are providing. Other universities continue to visit the Writing Café and attend conference sessions due to the unique offer we provide at Plymouth. Around 5 universities this academic year have requested information to offer their own versions of the Writing Café and we continue to be seen as leading the way in academic writing support across the sector. Conclusion The Writing Café is stronger than ever with increasing demand and request for innovation. Due to the budget and resourcing stagnation, we have been unable to realise the potential of the Writing Café which is continuing to impact Faculty NSS and SPQ responses. The university sector is competitive and students are looking at the support offer when making their choice for where to study. There is a concern that as other universities are funding Writing Cafes based on our model (FEX for example is building an entirely new café extension which will house their support) and as our resourcing is so stretched, we could potentially lose students who may otherwise have made Plymouth a first choice. Finally, as the campus masterplan is implemented it is crucial that the closure/demolition of Babbage recognises that the Writing Café will need to be rehoused in a carefully considered way as much of the research and feedback demonstrates that the space itself is particularly important in its attraction to students.

LD Service Evaluation

Evaluation of LD services has been a challenge this year as each team member evaluated their area of responsibility slightly differently, we have therefore put in place a standardised evaluation process for next year that all team members will

53 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 use. However, for workshop evaluations there were a set of questions that were similar across several evaluation questionnaires, which received 268 responses.

 Asked if the LD workshop had helped them manage their academic work, 54% of participants responded that it had either been an important factor or the most significant factor.  76% of participants responded that the LD workshop had either been an important factor or the most important factor in helping them understand academic expectations.  When asked if the LD workshop had helped them remain on their course, 69% of participants responded that it had been either an important or the most significant factor.  51% of participants responded that the LD workshop had improved their overall experience of university.  Finally, when asked if the LD workshop had improved their studying confidence, 65% of participants responded positively.

Qualitative evaluation responses “we have very specific guidance for our essays from our lecturers. Learning Development focuses more on developing our writing skills irrespective of the topic we are writing about” I have had mixed feedback on essays and my confidence has been battered by this. This has generally been aroun different marking styles. I found it useful to understand the marking rubric so that I can provide the essay with what it requires” Christie appreciates both the view point of the tudents and the academics when delivereing these sessions. I feel she provides constructive feedback from both aspects an is able to communicate her points clearly in order to help us progress” “I feel like the Learning and Development team explained it more than our core academic team did. I feel like we were not supported by our core academic team, so it was good the L&D team did”

“I know I speak on behalf of myself and a number of other peers when I say how motivating and energising the information was. I will be using the strategies provided in the hope to enhance my writing abilities and importantly my critical analysis”. “I cannot believe that I have gone from the low 50’s to achieving a first in my assignments, thank you so much”. “Thank you so much! I found that really useful - I've asked a few people to look at my essay and everyone has just said "be more analytical' which hasn't really helped me. However, your comments have FINALLY made me realise what it is about my essay that's descriptive and why! Reading that has suddenly made it all make sense”.

54 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 University of Plymouth Chaplaincy Induction for new students As usual we put on a busy programme of events of all kinds to welcome new students with free cream teas, free meals and a walk on Mount Edgcumbe. Chaplaincy year in numbers 80 international students on walking tours of historic Plymouth 238 cream teas given away over eight afternoons to new students

658 free meals given away over four nights in induction week Students at the chaplaincy induction week meals 78 students came on the Mount Edgcumbe walk 313 attended University Carol service 160 free pancakes given to students on Shrove Tuesday 2 students studying NT Greek regularly 8 different student religious societies using the The chaplaincy regularly for their meetings We had students from all over the world at our events as is shown by the photo below. Some of 120 people attended our events such as the free meal for international conference on “Science: students were specifically done in collaboration Exploring God’s Creation” with the International Students Advice Service

Figure 1 We put this map up and asked students at the chaplaincy events to place a sticker showing where they came from

55 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 The Chaplaincy team There has been as usual a turnover of chaplains. In September we recruited a new Anglican chaplain but he quickly decided that the post was not suited to his skills and left before the end of October. We then recruited Professor David Huntley an old friend of the chaplaincy and a lay reader at the Minster Church of St Andrews as an interim Anglican chaplain. In the summer the Bishop of Plymouth appointed Rev Lawrence Braschi who was the curate of St Andrews to be half time Anglican chaplain starting on September 1st. Major Pam Smith joined us as our new Salvation Army Chaplain and Richard Pointon (who has been accepted for ministerial training in the Assemblies of God) as our new Pentecostal Chaplain. Mrs Ann Stevens having joined Sherwell Church will now become our URC chaplain having previously been an additional Anglican chaplain. Special Study Unit for Medical School This year again we led a Special Study Unit for 4th year medical students on death dying and bereavement. As part of the assessment of their progress each of the four students had to provide a display including a work of art and the photos below demonstrate something of the variety of projects.

56 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Diversity We continue to engage with as wide a faith community as possible. This year we have had the extra responsibilities of monitoring the usage of two new rooms made available in 20 Endsleigh Place. While this is not an ideal situation, the improvement in provision has proved very popular in particular with our Muslim students who also use it for Friday prayers. We visited the new prayer rooms over three hundred times. The Ahlul Bayt Society (Shia Muslim) used our space for various meetings. The Hindu students came to us for help and advice in their celebration of the festival of Holi. Hosted two lectures by a Buddhist monk A film celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baha’u’llah (the founder of the Baha’i faith). We were delighted to welcome a visit from Rev Alex Tsykin, the Jewish chaplain to students in the South West of England and South Wales the first time anyone can remember us having a rabbi on campus – we hope that this will lead to more collaboration in the future. Our prayer room in the chaplaincy continues to be used by people from various faiths and no faith including Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist students and staff. We have had two excellent Chaplaincy Assistants working alongside the team this year – Jamie Baxter and Hannah Forrest who have supplied some of the energy and youthfulness lacking in those team members whose grey heads hopefully provide wisdom and experience! Finally alongside the University carol service, which next year will have the theme of Christmas through the ages, we have also continued with our regular celebration of Shrove Tuesday (150 students served with pancakes) and more importantly Remembrance on Armistice Day where we gathered around the Portland Square Memorial. While we never forget the reason for the date and its link to the two World Wars we always make a point of remembering those who have served in all conflicts and it is particularly poignant that a number of our Iraqi students have attended us and commented on how important the service was to them. Next year with November 11th falling on a Sunday we shall mark the 2 minute silence on 9th November to try and involve as large a number of the University community as possible. Souper Tuesday has been very popular this year with home made soup and a roll being served every Tuesday in the Chaplaincy for just 50p.

57 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Peer Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS) This Report is dedicated to our friend, colleague and PALS champion, Mel Joyner

58 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

Felicity Allman@PUNC16Felicity

Charlotte’s lightning talk on professionalism and identity as a PALS leader @char_mason98 “Consider the different versions of you” @PlymouthPALS #peersatsoton17 2:54 PM - Dec 9, 2017

University of Plymouth student delegate Felicity tweets at SW Regional Student Conference on fellow UoP student Charlotte’s presentation

********************************************* In 2017-18 PALS has had the greatest-ever number of well-trained student PALS leaders, planning and scheduling regular, structured study sessions for less- experienced students (stage 1 and stage 2) in their academic programmes. These PALS leaders are building their confidence and capability, as well as offering thousands of their peers the chance to learn together through discussion-based practice activities. Data indicates that, not only PALS leaders and participating students, but also PALS alumni attribute some of their personal and professional development as well as subject learning to their engagement with PALS.

59 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Peer-led learning is a growing movement throughout the University and the sector. At this University 11 out of 14 Schools are now participating in PALS. There is an ever-increasing body of evidence on the Scheme’s impact and partnering with students is a key element in the University’s vision for excellence. “PALS at Plymouth … now has an institutional wide impact” Professor Simon Payne, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Reasons to be Cheerful

PALS involvement in Academic Programmes 2017-18, in numbers

2,818 students have had the opportunity to attend regular, planned and scheduled study sessions led by more-experienced students in their programme.

 Stage 1 u/gs: 2,118 (out of a total of 4,608 stage 1 students in all programmes)  Stage 2 u/gs: 700

PALS is in all faculties and …

… 11 out of 14 Schools

… 95 undergraduate programmes

… 236 PALS leaders

… 31 PALS Academic Coordinators and 421 PALS debriefs

… 1,497 PALS sessions

… 29 subject-specific PALS Impact Reports issued

Increasing inclusion of PALS at more than one stage in programmes

PALS Access Mentors

PALS takes a ‘students as partners’ approach to teaching and learning. This year has seen the co-creation and delivery (PALS, access students, Outreach and Academic Partnerships) of the PALS Access Mentors Scheme a 4-step mentor model designed to offer timely interventions via face-to-face and social media, which sits alongside and compliments the PALS scheme.

PALS Access Mentors straddles induction to provide mentoring before, during and after arrival, to stage 1 students from Access to Higher Education college programmes. In 2017-18 the University welcomed 401 access students. Twenty PALS mentors were trained and 107 of the 401 accepted an invitation to join a PALS

60 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Social Media group moderated by PALS Mentors. Subsequently 81 signed up for a pre-induction mentor-led workshop.

Access student feedback: “I wanted to offer my thanks for organising the PALs workshop, I think it went really well and I appreciate you all giving your time to help make the beginning of our journey that much more comfortable.”

Going beyond the University

International and regional engagement

Through membership of the International Academic Peer Learning Network (IAPL) Leadership Group and the SW Peer Mentoring Network, PALS at Plymouth contributes to international and regional agenda-setting as well as holding specific national and regional roles of responsibility.

In March 2018, University of Plymouth hosted a one-day SW Regional Peer Support Conference which was well attended by colleagues from 11 universities across a region extending from Southampton to Swansea to Falmouth.

Student conferences

PALS leaders from Marine Biology and Adult Nursing (Exeter) attended the 2017 PASS/PAL Leader Conference held at Cork Institute of Technology in November. They were accompanied by the PALS Academic Coordinator for Chemistry, Hayley Manners. On their return they shared their experiences through a dissemination workshop open to all PALS leaders.

The first SW Regional Peer Learning Student Conference was held at University of Southampton. Our delegates represented History, Mental Health Nursing, Marine Biology and Sociology programmes and one of our delegates delivered a lightning talk on PALS leader identity.

‘Attending the Southampton Conference in December made me realise that being a PAL at Plymouth is part of something bigger that is obviously present and respected in other Universities. My favourite part of going to the Conference was meeting other students involved in similar programmes’

‘PALS didn’t only provide me with the opportunities to advise peers and assist with the next stage in their life, but allowed me to attend a conference; an experience which I didn’t think I would have at such a young age. It is a brilliant scheme providing a network across different stages in a secure and safe environment’

61 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Students’ evaluation and feedback 2017-18

PALS Leader feedback

‘PALS has been the most rewarding opportunity that I have been involved in.’

‘My experience of being a PALS leader so far has been an immensely positive one. Some of the high points so far have been the appreciation students have shown, and their feedback that the sessions have been genuinely useful. I particularly remember one student saying “things just make so much more sense” after a session on depreciation. Another high point was during a game of Family Fortunes where I got to play the game show host for the last session of the year!’

‘Less nervous about public speaking and I’m able to organise and plan sessions with others I don’t usually interact with. I’ve learnt to simplify complicated science down to the bare bones to explain. I like helping reassure students and helping them to understand the complicated parts of the subject by stripping it back and building up from basics. The dynamic between the PALS Leaders with differences in planning and activity ideas helps my own knowledge in the subject and teamwork skills.’

‘Time as PALS leader helped develop confidence, communication and organisational skills as well as learning how to plan lessons. It was also great experience for my PGCE and looks fantastic on my C.V.’

‘By far the highlight of my degree so far has been working as a PALS leader.’

PALS Student feedback

‘Its perfect’

‘We get to choose what topics to discuss and meet new people’

‘Very interactive, lots of feedback, very useful information/worked examples’

‘Carousel activity worked really well – allowed us to ask more questions and get personalised feedback’

‘It has been useful to be able to talk to someone about coursework who has done it and understands the difficulties’

‘I really see them [as] useful. Good job. If you are an international student helps you a lot.’

‘PALS provides a better understanding of everything from a student point of view’

‘Gain more insight into course materials, helps to prepare and revise for exams and getting help with difficult topics and terminology’

62 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 PALS Leader Alumni evaluation and feedback 2017-18

Working with Plymouth Connect, we collected data from alumni. PALS Alumni feedback: 100 percent of respondents said PALS improved their confidence and skill in leadership

‘Confidence to apply and manage a 3-month research cruise working for British Antarctic Survey’

‘With regard to interpersonal skills and confidence, my experience with PALS has benefited me greatly. As a lab technician, I took on extra responsibilities and led practical sessions for undergrad students. I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing this without my previous experience as I am not a natural leader.’

‘Speaking confidence - My experience as a PALs leader has increased my confidence in public speaking. Giving hour long PALs sessions has given me the confidence to deliver a half hour speech at a local charities AGM on my subject area. The added confidence in public speaking has also benefitted me greatly whilst working as a stage 1 environmental science demonstrator during my postgraduate study and gives me great confidence in my ability to speak at scientific conferences in the future. Since leaving university I have also gone on to organise and supervise citizen science work parties for a local tree planting charity, working with members of the public to collect scientific data, PALs has given me the confidence to do this.’

New this year - PALS in (Hospital) Placement (PiP)

This year the School of Nursing and Midwifery has consulted with stakeholders and partners to initiate off-campus PALS. Sessions are being held in hospitals in order that students can attend during their placements. PALS leaders in the Adult Nursing programme based at Plymouth, Truro and Exeter campuses have received supplementary training to equip them for this. PiP will be evaluated by the School and watched with interest by all PALS programmes with a compulsory placement component, with a view to wider roll-out.

63 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 You’re in good company and plans for 2018-19

Programme Academic Co-ordinator lead/contact

Accounting and Finance Kevin Finnegan Sally Antrobus

Adult Nursing (Plymouth) Sharon Jones Nadine Abelson-Mitchell, Jennie Aronssen

Adult Nursing (Exeter) Sharon Jones Amanda Young

Adult Nursing (KS) Sharon Jones Caroline Jamison, Tristan Coombe

Animal Behaviour and Welfare Ben Brilot Ben Brilot

Art History Jody Patterson Peter Bokody

Biomedical Science Kathy Redfern Kathy Redfern

Chemistry Hayley Manners Hayley Manners

Child Health Nursing Sharon Jones Matt Carey

Civil and Coastal Engineering Boksun Kim Sung Hwan Jang

Computing, Electronics & Rob Ismini Vasileiou Ismini Vasileiou

Dietetics Bernhard Haas Jennifer Carroll

Earth Science Stephen Grimes Meriel Fitzpatrick

Environmental Science Linda Rodwell Linda Rodwell

History Harry Bennett Harry Bennett

Marine Biology Mairi Knight Stacey DeAmicis

Maths and Statistics Ismini Vasileiou Jason Hughes

Mechanical and Marine Eng Ming Dai Ming Dai

Mental Health Nursing Sharon Jones Sarah Howes

Midwifery Margaret Fisher Rachel Stanyer

Navigation and Maritime Sci Tom Crichton Alastair McCallien

Occupational Therapy Bernhard Haas Sam Whiting

Optometry Bernhard Haas Luisa Simo, Nicola Szostek

Physiotherapy Bernhard Haas Christie Robinson

Podiatry Bernhard Haas Miriam McMullan

Politics and Int Relations Jonathan Clark James Goulbourn

Psychology Ed Symes Ed Symes

Social Work Bernhard Haas Beth Moran

Sociology Jonathan Clark Jonathan Clark

64 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Claire Gray (Academic Partnerships) PALS Access Mentors Carolyn Gentle Julian True (Widening Participation)

Plans for the year ahead

Priority 2018-19 Action

Maintain a high On-going review and revision of PALS training to ensure that it quality scheme for continues to enact best practice. participating PALS programmes Build on debriefs to maintain high standards and enrich leader experience. Further embed sustainability in the scheme to help develop our leaders and students as responsible global citizens.

Academic Co- Increase the professional contextualisation of debriefs ordinators Share ownership of debrief planning and delivery with leaders design bespoke learning materials and tasks lead on the programme’s PALS publicity strategy

Leader Training Train approx. 230 leaders (in Sep 2017 – PALS team led 190 hours of training) Trained 20 PALS Access Mentors

Engage Support the development of infrastructure, processes, strategies internationally and and practices of the International Peer Learning (IAPL) Network regionally Leadership Group Regional Networks Coordinator Further develop the SW regional Peer Mentoring Network including introducing initiatives for student CPD.

Offer additional Annual PASS/PAL Leader Conference leader opportunities SW Peer Support Student Conference PALS Gala Dinner PALS employability workshops

1st Year Induction Programme and interdisciplinary activities during Induction Week Volunteer leaders as mixers at Welcome Parties on the Hoe

65 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 [Plymouth] University’s approach has strengthened the partnership between Learning, Support and Wellbeing and the student body. For example, the acclaimed Peer Assisted Learning Scheme is largely delivered by trained students who lead regular study sessions with those in the year below, facilitate discussion around course content and approaches to learning, and capture and reflect experiences and concerns from their students. This supports student engagement, develops communication skills, student teamwork and autonomy, and contributes to students’ Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). (Supporting Thriving Communities: the role of universities in reducing inequality, University Alliance Report, 2016: p15)

This report was prepared by Carolyn Gentle, PALS Coordinator, University of Plymouth, August 2018

66 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 STUDENT WELLBEING SERVICES 2017-18 The Student Wellbeing Services offer a multi-disciplinary approach to student wellbeing. Staff have specialist expertise in social work, occupational therapy, counselling, mental health, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and care leaver support. Student Wellbeing Services offer timely, targeted action to support students’ academic and personal development. Getting the right help at the right time - 4 tiers of service Immediate help for all students:  The Listening Post is a drop-in, term time service offering immediate support to students without the need for an appointment. Staffed by trained volunteers and supervised by qualified staff, volunteers are trained to recognise risk and escalate to other services as appropriate.  The Mental Health Drop-in – Monday to Friday, all-year round, one-hour drop in slot for students and staff to seek immediate advice and support from a Mental Health Worker.  Daily Duty Worker – to support and advise students in immediate need or crisis.  Anytime Advice and Mental Health Support Line – 24/7 advice, support and in-the-moment counselling offered by accredited and qualified professional external to the university. Brief Intervention for students with mild to moderate problems:  The Care Leaver and Wellbeing Service offers solution focused, short term interventions of between 1-3 sessions, focusing on improving mood, managing anxiety and general welfare support to all students and practical and personal support to care leaver students through the student life cycle, from application to graduation. Short-term counselling for students with complex emotional conditions:  The Student Counselling Service offers short term counselling of up to 6 sessions. Counsellors also signpost and refer students to a wide variety of community and in-house services. Mental Health Support for students with complex and/severe mental health conditions:  The Mental Health Support Service is for students with diagnosed mental health conditions or those in mental distress or crisis. The service provides transitional support to enable students to access appropriate medical and therapeutic intervention and offers expert consultation to faculty and academic staff.

67 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Triage – getting the student to the right service at the right time Since November 2016, we have been encouraging students to access our services via completion of an online referral form which enables the collection of information on mental health severity, risk factors and general information about a student’s problem. Online forms are read by Wellbeing Officers every morning and depending on the information contained in the online form, students are offered an appointment with either a mental health worker, counsellor or wellbeing officer. The appointment will be issued that day meaning that students will typically receive a response to their online form the next working day after submission. The appointment offer will also give details of sources of immediate help such as the Listening Post and Mental health Drop-in. This rapid response also means that where the forms indicate acute crisis or risk, the Duty Workers are able to offer welfare checks to assess risk and offer immediate support if this is required. This year 99 urgent welfare checks were required. As this is the first full academic year of triage, we cannot benchmark this data with other years but it is consistent with the increase in students presenting with more acute mental health symptoms and in mental health crisis. Headline Data for 2017-2018 (KEY: 2016-17 - 2017-18 in bold)

Counselling Mental Care Leaver Listening TOTAL Health and Post Support Wellbeing Service Staff ratio (fte) 4.87 fte 2 fte (3 fte 2.70 fte 0 fte 9.57 fte from (Paid staff) August 2018) Number 876 314 589 368 2271 of Students offered a service 1431 480 315 220 2446 **Percentage of 4.05% 1.45% 2.72% 1.70% 10.49% student population accessing 6.18% 2.07% 0.99% 0.95% 10.56% the service

Total number of HE students at University of Plymouth: 21,645 (HESA 2016/17) and 23,155 (HESA 2015/16). The main pathway to the Student Wellbeing Services is via an online referral form which is checked daily by Wellbeing Officers who triage students to the most appropriate service for their problem, based on the risk and complexity reported by students on their forms.

68 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Triage has been operating since November 2016 and our Wellbeing Officers joined the university in January 2017 and took on the operation of triage. During 2016-17, Wellbeing Officers established their service and embedded the triage function into their role. This meant that in 2017-18 we were able to begin with a set of newly established and piloted wellbeing and triage services. Lower numbers for counselling in 2017-18? There were significantly fewer students offered counselling this year, reflecting the success of the triage system in offering students multiple service pathways, depending on need. Prior to January 2017, counselling was the only service for emotional support. The establishment of the Care Leaver and Wellbeing (CLAW) Service meant that many students who would previously have seen a counsellor were offered appointments with Wellbeing Officers for shorter work, focused on developing solutions and coping strategies. This enabled counsellors to target their expertise towards students with more complex and enduring emotional problems and to support students on community counselling services’ waiting lists. Some of our counselling staff resource was also directed towards providing line management to the CLAW and Mental Health Support teams, creating and embedding service protocols and procedures and regular case oversight. The Mental Health Support team suffered from serious levels of sickness absence in 2017-18 which had a detrimental impact upon numbers of students seen. We are happy to report that this is no longer a factor going forwards. Increased numbers of students accessing in-the-moment listening support Number of visits to the Listening Post 2017-18 428 2016-17 263 2015-16 235 The Listening Post (LP), created in April 2014, has seen a significant increase in the number of students accessing its services and an increase in the level of distress and complexity of students’ presenting need. We are committed to supporting and training our LP Volunteers to support the student, assess risk and refer on to other professionals as appropriate. LP Volunteers receive mandatory, in-house supervision and regular training, including Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).

I feel so much better It was really helpful. A nice coming to talk to safe space to talk and get someone. I will be coming some help again as I feel I have truly

benefitted from this

69 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 How are we doing? Student feedback. All students using our services are asked to give anonymous feedback on a simply designed postcard and post the card in the ‘red post boxes’ situated near the doors of 3 and 4 Portland Mews, and in the Learning Gateway. Completion of the cards is voluntary and we have been rewarded with higher rates of completion than with other methods such as online feedback surveys. We are encouraged by the positive feedback provided by students especially as 94% of respondents found the service they received to be of benefit to continuing their studies. How was your overall experience of the service you received? Excellent Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Percentage 66% 27% 6% 0% 0.0009%

Was your appointment today of benefit to continuing your studies? YES NO OTHER Percentage 94% 5% 2%

I have been given enough explanation about the help available YES NO Percentage 99% 0.005%

Who accesses Student Wellbeing Services? Region UK EU-non UK International unknown

Whole 92.1% 2.8% 3.9% 1.2% service

Percentage of 90.3% 3.04% 6.6% Plymouth student population (HESA, 2016- 17)

70 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 KEY: 2016-17 - 2017-18 in bold.

Region UK EU-non UK International Unknown /refused Counselling 92% 3.9% 3.4% 0.3%

86% 4% 3.5% 6.5% Mental Health 77% 3.2% None recorded 19.4% Support 57% 2% 3% 38% Care Leaver and 93.6% 3.4% 2.5% 0.5% Wellbeing Service 89% 6% 3% 2% Listening 88% 3.1% 7.2% 1.4% Post (term time only) 88% 2% 3% 7% Percentage of 90% 3.04% 6.6% Plymouth University student population

With the exception of the Listening Post, international students are proportionally underrepresented in terms of service use.

This is consistent with research suggesting that international students experience higher levels of stigma and that language and cultural issues are barriers to accessing mental health and counselling services (Bentley et al, 2016; Yakunina et al, 2011). The absence of international students declaring their status to Mental Health Workers would seem to reinforce this thesis.

Anne Bentley’s 2016 research project funded by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) (Bentley et al, 2016; Bentley, 2018) ascertained that international students’ preferred approach to resolving feelings of low wellbeing was via social activities and interactions with other international students. Our experience hosting Global Buddies, a social group for international students, confirmed the value of these kinds of activities. I quote below from an article written by Anne Bentley, due to be published in the Universities and Colleges Counselling Journal in September 2018.

‘Unlike our service’s other wellbeing groups, Global Buddies regularly attracts upwards of twenty attendees per week and is a happy space that also provides a great deal of emotional support. Many students have fed back that the group is what has meant most to them at university and has helped them get through difficult times. It isn’t therapy but it has definitely been perceived by the group attendees as enhancing their wellbeing. I highlight below one of the group activities that, to me, exemplifies the spirit and meaning of this group.

71 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 The facilitator welcomed the students and asked them to say something about how they were feeling today in their first language. The rest of the group were asked to make a suggestion about what the person was saying. Cue twelve different languages in the room, much hilarity and surprising accuracy in translating languages unknown.’ (Bentley, 2018, UC journal)

Gender breakdown Gender Female Male Transgender Preferred not to say Whole SWS 68.2 30.3 0.3 0.6

KEY: 2016-17 - 2017-18 in bold Gender Female Male Transgender Prefer not to say/unknown Counselling 72% 27% 0.9% 0.8%

59.4% 34.7% 0.4% 5.6% Mental Health 73% 25% 2% Support 56% 40% 1% 3% Care Leaver 65.2% 33.8% 0.5% 0.5% and Wellbeing Service 58.3% 40.9% 0.4% 0.4% Listening 65.8% 32.5% 0.3% 1.4% Post (term time only) 52% 43% 0% 5% Percentage of 56.8% 43.1% Plymouth University student population

We remain concerned about the lower numbers of males accessing our services particularly counselling and mental health services given that:  three out of four suicides (76%) are men,  suicide is the main source of death for men under the age of 35 years  men are less likely to access psychological therapies than women (The Men’s Health Forum Key Data, 2017).

72 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 The Men’s Group In 2017-18 we ran a men’s group for 26 sessions. 14 students attended. The main theme of the group was the difficulty of expressing and dealing with emotions. Most students said that the group had helped them manage their mood and reduce their sense of isolation.

A fantastic place to meet Thank you for running this different types of people. service, I would probably Has broadened my be in a much worse place understanding of myself and at the moment without it. others

Level of study

Level of Undergrad Postgraduate Doctorate Foundation study Whole SWS 88.5 5.4 1.6 3.6

KEY: 2016-17 - 2017-18 in bold Level of Undergrad Postgrad Doctorate Foundation Did not study state Counselling 85.2% 6.7% 0.9% 0.9% 1.4%

81.2% 8% 3.2% 7.5% Mental 86.7% 4.4% 1.1% 6.1% 1.7% Health Support 82.1% 6.5% 4.8% 6.6% Care Leaver 89.2% 6.2% 1.5% 2.7% 0.4% and Wellbeing 92.2% 4.3% 2.6% 0.9% Service Listening 88% 7.2% 4.4% 0.4% Post (term time only) 84% 2.6% 5.7% 7.6%

It is concerning that such low numbers of postgraduate students are accessing our services especially given recent research identifying concerning data about the high levels of mental ill health and low wellbeing in postgraduate students (Evans et al, 2018; Levecquea et al, 2017).

73 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Successful Catalyst Funding Bid Student Wellbeing Services were therefore proud to be part of a successful HEFC Catalyst funding bid which awarded Plymouth £138,798 to develop a suite of online materials to train postgraduate students to provide peer support through informal workshops on mental health and wellbeing. The focus of the workshops will be on the early identification and prevention of mental health problems through the development of coping skills, with specific workshops for part-time, self-funded, and international students. Student Wellbeing Services has committed 400 hours to the project to oversee the co-ordination and delivery of the workshops throughout the year and provide support and quality assurance of delivery.

Use by Faculty

Faculty & Arts Humanities Business Health & Human Sciences PUPSMD Science & Environment PCMD Unknown SWS 22.3 16.8 24 6.1 23.9 0.1 6.6

KEY: 2016-17 - 2017-18 in bold

Faculty Arts and Humanities Business and Health Human Sciences PUPSMD and Science Environment PCMD Unknown Counselling 21.5% 11.5% 32.5% 9.1% 22.5% 3.2%

21.7% 16.9% 23.7% 4.5% 23.6% 0.9% 8.7% Mental 22.7% 20.4% 18.2% 6.1% 23.2% 8.3% Health Support 24.2% 19.9% 16.3% 1.7% 27.5% 0.6% 9.8% Care Leaver 22% 16.9% 28.7% 6.5% 24.8% 1.1% and Wellbeing 23.9% 15.7% 21.7% 7.4% 27.4% 0% 3.9% Service Listening 22.5% 20% 17.5% 2.8% 27.5% 0.6% 9.2% Post (term time only) 22% 23.6% 16.3% 2.6% 23.6% 0% 9.5%

74 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18

Individual Service Summaries Thank you! If it wasn't for this service, I would Counselling not be in a state to continue with my The counselling service offered 3961 appointments, degree. 645 of which were offered by our Saturday Service counsellors. This year has seen an increasing number of students presenting with high-risk mental health issues and complex emotional problems, summarised below:  23% stated they were on medication supporting mental health  39% reported having suicidal thoughts  22% reported having self-harmed over past year  9% were currently self-harming  50% reported using drink, drugs or food as a way of coping with difficulties Increasingly our in-house counsellors are supporting students who are at risk of self-harm Just to say thank you for and suicide. Many local community counselling getting me back on the services have waiting lists of nine months or over board to ride those and our staff have developed particular expertise in waves again! working with students with complex mental health issues. Working in tandem with our in-house Mental Health Workers, students with complex

issues receive expert input that increases personal resilience, reduces risk and helps them to achieve academically. With academic success at the heart of our mission, Anne Bentley (2018) published her research in the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal showing counselling’s potential to benefit students’ academic experience. Waiting times in 2017-18 The majority of students were seen for an Initial therapeutic consultation (TC) within two working weeks. At the TC the students are assessed, offered immediate coping strategies and depending on severity, put on a waiting list for the next available ongoing counselling slot. At peak times of the year (November to March) students waited up to three months for an appointment for ongoing counselling which given the severity of need, was concerning. As a result of project work by the Mental Health Taskforce, the University Executive Group agreed to employ an additional 1 FTE counsellor with the aim of bringing the waiting list down to one month. The new counsellor will start in August 2018.

75 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Strategy to support reduced waiting times in 2018-19 To meet the waiting list target of one month (or less) in 2018-19, we will make significant changes to our working practices. From October 2018, our social group for international students, Global Buddies, will be delivered by our Wellbeing Officers. The Women’s Group will be delivered by students who have previously attended the group, with consultative support from Alex Way. The Anxiety lectures, formerly delivered face to face, will be available as an online podcast and the rolling programme of six-week mindfulness courses will be replaced with a weekly one hour mindfulness drop-in. We hope that the Men’s Group can be delivered by students with support from Philipp Grote. This relocation of proactive group work outside of the counselling team, plus the additional 1 FTE, will bring additional counselling hours to the team, enabling them to target their clinical expertise to students in most need. Mental Health Young adults (aged 16-24) are more likely to experience mental illness than previous I wanted to thank you for generations with students being particularly at being so supportive and risk (Thornley, 2017). Universities UK helpful – you're definitely recommend that universities take a strategic, the most supportive person institution-wide approach to student mental I have seen, and the person health and in line with this, we are working with I feel most comfortable the university Mental Health Task Force to talking to about all of this. support staff to respond to students in mental distress and to support students into appropriate treatment.

Students can access mental health support in two ways, either by referring themselves, She really helped me to using the online referral form or by attending validate my feelings and the daily Mental Health Drop-In. she was the exact type of support that I needed - Despite staff long-term sickness, 977 thank you. appointments were offered and a further 374 students accessed the drop-in which, like the Listening Post, is showing year-on-year increasing usage.

Visits to Mental 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 Health Drop-in 374 353 53

76 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Mental Health work involves  Assessing students  In acute situations, involving police, security and paramedics  Referring to GPs or other community mental health professionals  Escorting students who are unable to keep themselves safe to A&E  Linking in with faculty and academic staff through the Study and Wellbeing Review Policy.  Tracking and following up referrals to support students’ transition into community mental health services  Referring to in-house support services such as counselling or Disability Services Mental Health Incidents/Risk Management MH Incidents 2017-18 2016-17

No. students supported to 16 10 engage in emergency support via taxi, or ambulance

No. of students for whom we 17 Data not recorded have either received 3rd party in 2016-17 reports of attendance at A&E due to Deliberate Self Harm /Overdose or they have self- reported

MH incidents reported April to 28 Data not recorded end June ‘18 in 2016-17

Total 61 10

A mental health incident is defined as a high risk situation which required an immediate response from the Mental Health Team Part way through this academic year we developed a new system to efficiently record mental health incidents that would not be otherwise recorded. The increase in students accessing emergency services corroborates with data indicating that students engaging with our services are experiencing higher risk mental health issues than in previous years. To enhance service delivery and risk management, the Mental Health Workers will manage the Student Wellbeing Services Duty provision in 2018-19.

77 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Service Development In November 2017, in the face of increased demand, Anne Bentley reviewed and repositioned the Mental Health Worker role as it seemed to duplicate services provided by the mentors who are funded by the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). Recognising that the university is neither a treatment facility nor a therapeutic community, university mental health services now offer risk-based assessment, crisis intervention, support to connect students to in-house and external services. An increasingly important part of their role involves attending formal meetings with faculty and academic staff as part of the Study and Wellbeing Review Policy. This is welcome as it enables joined-up working between faculties, Disability Services and Student Wellbeing Services to support students via the sharing of essential information and constructive support planning. MH attendance at Stage 2 and 2017-18 2016-17 Stage 3 meetings (as per the Study and Wellbeing Review Policy). Stage 2 & 3 55 (244% 16 increase)

This increase reflects the success of our Mental Health Workers in embedding their roles within the wider institution. They have a strong working partnership with Disability Services and Faculty Registrars complemented by newly established links with local services such as The Zone, Derriford Hospital Psychiatric Liaison Service and Plymouth MIND. Innovation - A Wellbeing café staffed by students, project managed by the Mental Health Support team opening in September 2018. Following a successful pitch to the Mental Health Taskforce, Student Wellbeing Services secured 1 year’s funding from the University Executive Group (UEG) to open a Wellbeing Café. Part of the funding was for a research assistant to enable us to research the impact of the café upon those using it. Richardson et al, (2017) found that students who feel lonely are at greater risk of developing mental health problems. A wellbeing café offers students companionship that could mitigate feelings of loneliness and reduce the risk of emerging mental health problems. The café will be staffed by students who will be trained and paid to offer proactive social support to students to erode isolation and create a welcoming community and will open in the Wellbeing Centre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12-30 to 3-30pm from September 2018. The café will be a non-clinical, social environment providing a model of alternative, community support. It will offer free refreshments, friendly faces, activities and a nurturing safe space. We hope that the café will offer a supportive form of non-stigmatising early intervention and prevention.

78 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Care Leaver and Wellbeing Service (CLAW) This service integrates targeted support for care leaver students alongside general wellbeing support Been taught some very for all students. useful coping strategies – The wellbeing service offers brief, solution-focused a lot quicker than getting support of between 1-3 sessions, designed to equip a Doctor’s appointment students with coping strategies and practical guidance designed to address students with mild to moderate symptoms of mental health difficulty.

79% of students receiving a service from Really good at Wellbeing Officers required only one appointment. calming me down 37% of students were in their first year short term and giving predominantly presenting with issues such as some great homesickness, isolation and difficulties adjusting to independent living. suggestions for long term solutions

Top 3 Presenting Needs (Primary) Percentage of students

Anxiety 34%

Low mood/Depression 23%

Academic 10%

Many Students who attend wellbeing appointments are experiencing social or academic isolation. Wellbeing Support are aware of the impact of isolation upon mental health and the team’s primary aim is to encourage students to connect with others through engagement in activities such as Mood Boost, volunteering, clubs and societies and the Peer Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS). Care Leaver Service There has been a year-on-year increase in the number of care leavers enrolling at Plymouth. This is heartening given the national underrepresentation of care leavers in higher education. Just 6% of young people with experience of the care system will attend university, compared to almost 50% of the general population (SFR, 2015). 2017-18 - 183 care leavers 2016-17 - 152 care leavers 2015-16 - 125 care leavers

79 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Stemming from a range of diverse backgrounds, Care Leaver students typically present with a range of unique needs and challenges. The Care my support has been Leaver service follows the ‘student life cycle tailored to my approach’ and support care leaver students from requirements and application to graduation and beyond. The team make pre-entry contact with applicants to build a helped me in achieving relationship prior to enrolment. Each Care Leaver a successful year at Uni student is allocated a named worker to ensure a continuity of support throughout their student journey.

They have helped me when my mental health was declining. They helped me to get in touch

with people to assist me with my studies and chased people up when I was at a loss what to do. They have been there for me to rant to and feel better for it as there was no judgement

Practical care and emotional support The Care Leaver team administer a bursary to offer a package of financial support to undergraduate care leaver students for each year of their study. They also offer a £500 Wilko voucher to newly arriving care leaver students to enable them to buy basics such as bedding and cookware. Alongside this they offer advice, mentoring, emotional support and encouragement tailored to each individual student’s presenting needs. Care Leaver’s Service Statistics 17/18 • Of the 183 care leaver students studying at university of Plymouth, 103 engaged with the care leavers’ service and receive the Care Leavers Bursary • There are 14 Unite scholars who are care leaver students who receive free accommodation throughout their degree.

80 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Year of Study

0%

8% 8% Foundation 19% 1st year 2nd year

41% 3rd year Post/MA/PHD 24% Unknown

Impact 100% of care leaver students say that the service has made a difference to their time at university - of these 24% said it had been a major source of help (survey results) 96% feel they have received the right level of support from the Care Leavers Service. How we help – data from a survey issued to care leaver students engaged with our services

Retention – the service helped them stay 100%

Achievement – the service helped them do better in 86% academic work

Student Experience – the service improved their overall 93% experience of being at university

Employability – the service helped them develop skills 82% useful for obtaining employment

Self Esteem – the service helped me feel better about myself 82%

Future – the service helped me feel more positive about the 96% future

81 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Proactive interventions and support for all students – groups and sessions available to all MoodBoost I have gained so Mood Boost is a 4 week course designed to offer practical strategies to enhance mood and increase much from this wellbeing. Each week builds on the previous week, course ultimately equipping students with a comprehensive set of cognitive and practical tools to address their problems and increase their resilience. Brilliant session that In 2017-18, 49 students attended. really made me see what to do and how to think differently

(Student example of a Mood Boost strategy put into practice)

82 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Look After Your Mate (LAYM) Developed by Student Minds, Marina McEwan, Wellbeing Officer, is a qualified LAYM trainer delivering workshops to students advising them of: the signs and symptoms of mental ill – health in others; services to signpost mates to; sensitive and effective ways to signpost and how to maintain personal boundaries when supporting others. The CLAW team are currently in discussion with the Nursing Faculty based in Truro with a view to delivering this workshop as a part of the curriculum. SHINE (Self-Help INspiring E) Resources SHINE offers students access to high quality self-help resources without the need for direct service contact. The Wellbeing Team have updated SHINE over the past year and the team are currently scheduling Facebook and Twitter posts to cover the next few months with attention on specific events such as Transitions and induction. Currently SHINE has 614 Facebook followers and 537 Twitter followers. The team aim to post relevant posts and analyse engagement to increase online traffic and thus visibility in 2018-19. Relaxation for staff and students A weekly, one hour session, run from the sports centre. We had 149 attendees over 20 sessions, most attending more than one session. Women’s Group A place for female students to meet in a safe, welcoming, encouraging and supportive setting. The group was open at the beginning of each term for new members but was then closed after the first two weeks. 20 sessions were offered in 2017-18 and 18 students attended.

Women's group provides It's a safe space for me to share the challenges of not a safe space on campus and allows me to be only being a young women but a young women with social, which is the only mental health problems. place I have found

83 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 The Power of Peer – Growing new generation of Wellbeing Champions. Student Wellbeing Services has launched its Student Volunteer Wellbeing Champion role designed to harness the power of peer interactions to promote mental health awareness, increased knowledge of the support services available and to create a compassionate, non-stigmatising university culture. Our staff trained 7 Wellbeing Champions in listening skills, awareness of services, self-care strategies and basic mental health awareness. 2 of the 7 students have graduated this year, leaving 5 current Wellbeing Champions and with 2 new applicants awaiting training. Our Wellbeing Champions have helped us to update and maintain our SHINE platform and have promoted our services at wellbeing events on campus. We look forward to growing and supporting our cohort of Wellbeing Champions in the new academic year. Training for staff Mental Health Awareness for Staff Dealing with Students A 3 hour training for staff designed to equip staff to spot signs of mental distress in students and signpost students to the most appropriate service. This is co- delivered with a member of the Student Most valuable, I think, was how to Wellbeing Services and a member of start using direct questions to Disability Services. students rather than being In 2017-18 over 100 staff members ambiguous. But it was also good to received this training. be reminded of the services that the University provides and to know that there is always someone available for the students to talk to.

It has given me confidence as to how I should handle matters when confronted by students with mental health support

84 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Strategic Projects Student Wellbeing services have been proudly at the forefront of research, innovation and organisational development highlights of which included: The Mental Health Task Force – headed by Gordon Stewart. Anne Bentley chaired the Central Services sub-group which made recommendations as to how university support services could enhance early intervention, sharing of information and more timely access to services. As a result of this group’s recommendations, the University Executive Group gave the Student Wellbeing services funding for an additional 1FTE counsellor and funding to pilot a Wellbeing café. Practice Safe Sesh – Anne Bentley and Lowri Jones (USU President) drew upon existing good practice to design a survey to ascertain drug taking incidence and practice within the student community. Following ethical approval, students were sent an online survey which received 345 responses. This work has been read with interest by members of the UEG and results will inform the development of a university-wide, stand-alone drugs policy. Can sports be as effective as short term counselling for students with mild to moderate mental health conditions? In partnership with David Rose, UPSU sports manager, our Wellbeing team will offer 12 students the option of wellbeing sessions or a free three-month gym membership plus mentoring from trained sports centre staff. Those who choose the sports option will be mentored by sports centre staff to participate in sporting activity and will complete the same outcome measurement forms as for counselling. At the end of the project we will compare outcomes. This research has received ethical approval and we will conduct qualitative research with the students and staff involved to ascertain qualitative data about their participation in the project. HEFC Catalyst project to enhance postgraduate wellbeing – a partnership with Psychology to train students to offer peer support in the role of trainer and to create a suite of training materials designed to support postgraduate students to deliver training in mental health, resilience and wellbeing to their peers. References Bentley, A, Virgo, M, Hastings, D. (2016) Reaching out to enhance the wellbeing of international students: are university counselling and wellbeing services accessible and inclusive? In: Research into the international student experience in the UK 2015- 2016. UK Council for International Student Affairs. London, p. 46-69. [Available from]: https://institutions.ukcisa.org.uk/Info-for-universities-colleges--schools/Policy- research--statistics/UKCISA-grants-scheme/2015-16-scheme/ Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L.T., Vanderford, N. L. (2018) Evidence of a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature biotechnology, Vol.36 (3), p. 282-284. Levecque, K., Anseel, F., De Beuckelaer, A., Van der Heyden, J., Gisle, L. (2017) Organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Research Policy, Vol. 46, 868-879

85 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Men’s Health Forum (2017) Key Data: Mental Health [online] [Available at] https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/key-data-mental-health Richardson, Thomas, Elliott, Peter, Roberts, Ron and Jansen, Megan (2017) Relationship between loneliness and mental health in students Journal of Public Mental Health, 16, (2), pp. 48-54. doi:10.1108/JPMH-03-2016-0013. Department for Education (2015) Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2015. SFR 34/2015: 1 October 2015 Thorley C (2017) Not By Degrees: Improving student mental health in the UK's Universities, IPPR. http://www.ippr.org/research/publications/not-by-degrees Yakunina, E.S., Weigold, I. & McCarthy, A.S. (2011) Group counselling with international students: Practical, ethical and cultural considerations. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 25(1), p. 67-78.

Wellbeing Champions Alice and Liv promoting our services at the Wellbeing Festival

86 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Learning Support and Wellbeing Publications, conference presentations, funding obtained, events attended and other professional outputs by team members: 2017-2018

Publications 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Bentley, A (2018) A tale of two capitals: a Bourdieusian perspective on counselling in higher education, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, DOI: 10.1080/03069885.2018.1481196 Bentley, A (2018) ‘I was just like, Wow!’: Students’ perceptions of how counselling benefitted their academic experience. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, June 2018, Vol.18 (2), pp.215-219. doi-org.plymouth.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/capr.12149 Bentley, A (2018) ‘It’s like a counselling service is our last choice. It’s our worst choice; sorry!’. University & College Counselling. Vol. 6 (3) p.24-28. Bentley, A (2018) Interview with a university counsellor in British Council Creating Confidence Guide. [Available at]: https://study- uk.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/j035_01_counsellor_interview_a4_final_web.pdf Posters 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Syska, A. (2018) ‘Stand Out: A Creative Approach to Employability for Humanities Students’. Conference Poster, Vice-Chancellor's Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Plymouth, 14th June 2018 Truscott, J.B. & Hunter, L. (2018) ‘The role of Learning Development in teaching academic literacy to both distance learners and apprenticeship degree students transitioning to higher education’, Conference Poster, Vice-Chancellors Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Plymouth, 14th June 2018 Truscott, J.B. & Gresty, K. (2018) ‘Encouraging STEM undergraduate students to make a leap into publishing research: The Plymouth Student Scientist e-journal’, Conference Poster, Vice-Chancellors Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Plymouth, 14th June 2018 Truscott, J.B., Edwards-Jones, A., & Gresty, K. (2018) 'Celebrating its 10-year anniversary: The Plymouth Student Scientist (e-journal)', Conference Poster, PedRIO Conference (7th), University of Plymouth, 20th April 2018 Conference presentations 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Allison, J. (2018) ‘Critical thinking and the ‘framing’ of teaching-learning interactions’. Conference Paper, Association of Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) Annual Conference, University of Leicester, 29th March 2018 Allison, J. (2018) ‘Research informing the ‘teaching’ of critical thinking’. Conference Paper, Vice-Chancellors Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Plymouth, 14th June 2018 Bentley, A. (2018) ‘Does the material matter? Do we inhabit place or does place inhabit us? Perspectives from a walk round campus’. Plymouth Postgraduate Research Conference. This paper won the Plymouth Institute of Education Prize for the Best Doctoral Paper presented at the Conference. Bentley, A. (2018) ‘It’s not hard to find friends. It’s hard to find British friends.’ An inquiry into the social integration of international students at University of Plymouth. PEDRIO conference, This was a revised, re-theorised and updated version of her SHRE presentation in 2017. Bentley, A. (2017) Reaching out to enhance the wellbeing of international students. Are university counselling and wellbeing services accessible and inclusive? Enhancing the international student experience seminar, organised by Universities UK.

87 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Bentley, A. (2017) ‘It’s not hard to find friends. It’s hard to find British friends.’ An inquiry into the social integration of international students at University of Plymouth.’ Society for research into Higher Education (SHRE) Newer Researchers Conference. Hastings, D. (2018) 'Eating Disorders' Presentation at SW Disability Advisor's Network Meeting. Hilsdon, John, (2017) ‘Feedback and the Loop’ University of London, 14th November, 2017 Hilsdon, John, (2018) ‘From Presentation to Publication’ ALDinHE, 2018 University of Leicester, Monday 26th March, 2018. Hilsdon, John, (2018) ‘Learning Development: pedagogy, principles and progress’, Keynote ALDinHE: University of Leicester, Wednesday 28th March, 2018 Karen Hocking, (2018) ATEC Conference, http://www.ateconference.com/blog/, London, 3rd May 2018: Karen Hocking, (2017) ATEC Webinar, 21st November 2017 McEwan, M. (2018) Presentation 'Resilience and Leadership Skills'. UPSU Build Your Future Event. University of Plymouth. 17th February 2018 Pritchard, C. Gibson, S., O’Sullivan, C., Grace, A. (upcoming, 2018) ‘Exploring transitions into the undergraduate University world using a student-centred framework’, Teaching in Higher Education Pritchard, C. Gibson, S., O’Sullivan, S. (2018) ‘Becoming Student: A compassionate methodology and a challenging learning culture’. Conference Paper, Pedagogic Research Institute and Observatory (PedRIO) 7th Annual Conference, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, 20th April 2018 Pritchard, C. (2018) ‘Locating Learning Development in Higher Education: Can you ever have enough Learning Developers?’. Conference Paper, Association of Learning Development in Higher Education Conference, University of Leicester, Leicester, 26-28th March 2018 Pritchard, C. (2017) ‘Mentoring at the Writing Café’, Interactive Poster at Sustainability in Higher Education Conference, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, 11th January 2018 Pritchard, C. (2017) ‘Power and Positioning in Learning Spaces, Conference Paper, Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, 25th June 2018 Southcott, I. Bradford, A. Plymouth University HE Advisers Conference South West: Keynote Speech,. 2nd May 2018 Way, A. McEwan, M. (2018) 'Boost Your Mental Health and Wellbeing' Presentation. University of Plymouth, Medicine and Dentistry Faculty Away Day. Boringdon Hall Plymouth. 16th June 2018 Attendance at conferences 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Agobiani, S (2018) Dyspraixa Foundation Dyspraxia/DCD; Theory into Practice Bristol 16th March 2018 Anderson, S (2017). Enhancing Student Mental Health and Wellbeing. Reading. 25th January 2018 Bourton, J (2018) ‘Students Matter’ Conference. University of Plymouth, 17th April 2018 Bourton, J (2017) MHFA 10th Anniversary Conference event. Birmingham. 15th November 2018 Clemens, K (2018) ADSHE Annual Conference. Birmingham, Aston University. 22nd June 2018 Collings, D.(2018) Enhancing Student Mental Health and Wellbeing, Reading. 25th January 2018 Gavagan, K. (2018)Online Counselling and Therapy in Action Conference. Online OCTIA. Chesire. 17th March 2018. Hastings, D. (2018) Gender and Me. University of Plymouth. 4th July 2018 Hastings, D. (2018) Working with Suicide in Universities & Colleges. BACP Universities & Colleges Division. London. 11th June 2018

88 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Hastings, D. (2017)PEDRIO conference. University of Plymouth. 20th April 2017 McEwan, M (2018) 'Young Minds in Crisis Conference 2017' Plymouth 30th September 2017 Rowland, J (2018) DYSPRAXIA FOUNDATION; Dyspraxia/DCD: Theory into Practice. Bristol 16th March 2018 Southcott, I (2018) Student suicide: Prevention and Response Conference, Universities UK, London, 24th April 2018 Southcott, I. (2018) PEDRIO conference. University of Plymouth. 20th April 2018 Truscott, J.B. (2018) Third Annual Sustainability in Higher education conference, University of Plymouth, 11th January 2018. Way, A (2018) ‘Students Matter’ Conference. University of Plymouth, 17th April 2018 Training events attended internal 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Anderson, S (2017) Introduction to Autism and the SPELL framework for HE Professionals. 24 August 2017 Anderson, S (2017) Office 365: Using your Plymouth University site 19th December 2017 Anderson, S (2018) Eating Disorders – Food for Thought. 1st March 2018 Anderson, S (2018) ADHD – Staff Awareness and Student Support. 1st March 2018 Bourton, J (2017) Office 365 training. University of Plymouth. 14th December 2017 Bourton, J (2018) Eating Disorders – Food for Thought. 1st March 2018 Bourton, J (2018) Quick Start to Moodle. 2nd February 2018 Bourton, J (2018) ADHD – Staff Awareness and Student Support. 1st March 2018 Bradshaw, Atarah (2018) MH awareness for staff dealing with students 27th April 2018 Bradshaw, Atarah (2018) Designing an effective research poster, 3rd July 2018 Bradshaw, Atarah (2018) Welcome to the University of Plymouth training event 15th May 2018 Bradshaw, Atarah (2018) Office 365 training 16th March 2018 Clemens, K. (2017) MindView for Assistive Purposes Assessment & Training. 8th August Clemens, K. (2017) ADSHE South West Regional Group Meeting. UoP campus. 18th November 2017 Clemens, K (2017) Office 365: Setting up your Plymouth University site 8th December 2017 Clemens, K (2017) Office 365: Using your Plymouth University site 15th December 2018 Clemens, K (2018) Panopto 1:1 training. Several occasions. 4th May 2018 Clemens, K (2018) PowerPoint 1:1 training. 20th July 2018 Collings, D (2018) Office 365: Using your Plymouth University site 19th December 2018 Collings, D (2018) Introduction to Content Capture. 19th January 2018 Dixon C (2018) Introduction to OneDrive for Business 7th March 2018 Dixon C (2018) GDPR 30th May 2018 Dixon C (2018) A Quick Start to Moodle 15th March 2018 Dixon C (2018) Working with Skype for Business 29th March 2018 Dixon C Unit e Admissions Refresher Jan 2018 Dixon C Unit e Advanced Enrolments 8th February 2018 Dixon C Unite e Basic Enrolments 16th Jan 2018 Fagin, S (2018) Working with permissions in Office 365 sties 16th May 2018 Fagin, S (2018) Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Assessor Training 07th March 2018 Fagin, S (2017) Office 365: Setting up your Plymouth University site 24th November 2017 Fagin, S (2017) Safety Coordination Advisor Support Session 11th August 2017 Gavagan, K (2017) Office 365 Training. UoP Truro Campus. (2 hours) 29th November 2017

89 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Hastings, D (2018) Recruitment & Selection for Chairs 26th April 2018 Hastings, D (2017) Recruitment & Selection for Panel members. E learning 3rd August 2017 Hastings, D. (2018) Let's Talk About Performance PDR 22nd March 2018 Hastings, D (2018) Office 365: Using your Uni Site. 25th January 2018 Hastings, D (2017) OneDrive 30th November 2017 Kingston, C. (2017) Office 365 training. University of Plymouth. 14th December 2017 Kingston, C. (2018) Social Media training. 22nd February 2018 Kingston, C. (2018) GDPR Overview. 16th May 2018 Martinez, R (2018) MHFA 2-Day training, 13th – 14th December 2017 McEwan, M. (2018) Designing an effective research poster. University of Plymouth 3rd July 2018 McEwan, M. (2018) Podcasting. University of Plymouth 11th January 2018 McEwan, M. (2017) Office 365 training. University of Plymouth. 14th December 2017 Rowland, J (2017) Solution Focussed Training 6th September 2017 Rowland, J (2017) ADSHE South West Regional Group Meeting. UoP campus. 18th November 2017 Rowland, J (2017) Office 365: using your Plymouth University site, 1st February 2018 Sheppard, G. (2018) Copyright in a Multimedia and Digital Educational Environment, 12th April 2018 Sheppard, G. (2018) Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Assessor Training, 7th March 2018 Sheppard, G. (2018) Recruitment and Selection for Chairs, 26th April 2018 Sheppard, G. (2018) Recruitment and Selection for Chairs E Learning 19th April Sheppard, G. (2017) Office 365: using your Plymouth University site, 15th November 2017 Southcott, Issy (2018) Unit e, 8th March 2018 Southcott, Issy (2018) MH awareness for staff dealing with students, 9th November 2018

Southcott, Issy (2018) Designing an effective research poster, 3rd July 2018 Southcott, Issy (2018) Welcome to the University of Plymouth training event, 9th January 2018 Truscott, J.B. (2018) GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) awareness course, University of Plymouth, 22nd May 2018. Truscott, J.B. (2018) Recruitment and selection training, University of Plymouth, 25th April 2018 Truscott, J.B. (2018) Diversity in the workplace, University of Plymouth, 25th April 2018. Truscott, J.B. (2017) Office 365 Using a Plymouth University site. University of Plymouth, 5th Dec 2017. Way, A (2017) Solution Focussed Training 6th September 2017 Way A (2018) Office 365 – Using Your Plymouth Uni Site. 22 Feb 2018 Way A (2018) Lets Talk about Performance PDR. 22 March 2018 Way A (2018) Recruitment and Selection for Chairs. 24 July 2018 Training events attended external 2016 – 17 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Agobiani, S.. Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum module. National Autistic Society, Online. Completed 18th April 2018. Bradshaw, Atarah (2018) Understanding child protection23rd July 2018 Bradshaw, Atarah (2018) Transgender awareness training 26th June 2018 Clemens, K (2017) ADSHE CPD Day South, London. 23rd September 2017 Clemens, K (2018) ADSHE Regional Group meeting, University of Bath. 28th April 2018

90 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Clemens, K (2018) ADSHE Advanced Professional Peer Supervision Training Course. Birmingham, Aston University. 21st June 2018 Collings, D. (2018) Introducing Inclusive Practice. NADP. Bristol, UWE. 28th March 2018 Collings, D.(2018) DSA Workshop. Bristol, UWE. 11th June 2018 Gavagan, K (2017) Introduction to Solution Focused Therapy. Plymouth 5th and 6th September 2017 Hastings, D. (2017) Understanding Child Protection. Plymouth Local Safeguarding Board. 27th September 2017 Hastings, D. (2017) Introduction to Solution Focused Therapy. Plymouth. 5th and 6th September 2017 Hastings, D. (2017) Adult Safeguarding. E-Learning completed 10th August 2017 McEwan, M (2018) Understanding Child Protection. Livewell Southwest Plymouth. 18th April 2018 Southcott, I. (2018) Understanding child protection, Livewell Southwest, Plymouth. 18th April 2018 Southcott, I. (201) Adult Safeguarding. E-Learning, SCIE completed 21st December 2017 Syska, A (2018) Supervisor Training in SI-PASS, The European Centre for SI-PASS, Lund University, March 2018 Way A (2017) Planned Dream Intervention. Justin Havens. Buckfast Abbey. 29 Sept 2017 Way A (2017) MHFA for HE. London. 18 October 2017 Training events offered 2017 – 18 1st Aug 2017 – July 31st 2018

Agobiani, S. (2017) Dyslexia: A Specific Learning Difficulty [PowerPoint Presentation] for Academic tutors at PCMD John Bull Building 3rd November 2017 Agobiani, S. (2017) Mental Health Support at HE for academic tutors at PCMD, John Bull Building 3rd November 2017 Agobiani, S. (2017) Presentation to Livewell Southwest Board on autism and the services, Windsor House, 16th November 2017 Agobiani, S. (2018) Working with Autistic Colleagues Computing Department 1st February 2018 Anderson, S. (2017) Non-Medical Helper Development Afternoon. 13th September 2017. Anderson, S. (2017) New Invigilator Training Session. 13th December 2017) Anderson, S. (2017) Disability Confident Event with Pluss. 22nd September 2017. Anderson, S. (2017) PALS Listening Skills Workshop. 29th August & 11th September 2017 Anderson S. (2018) Working with Autistic Colleagues, Computing Department. 1st February 2018 Bourton, J (2017) Mental Health First Aid 2 day training. 13-14th December 2017 Bourton, J (2018) Mental Health First Aid 2 day training. 27-28th March 2018 Bourton, J (2018) Mental Health First Aid in HE 1 day training. 13th May 2018 Bourton, J (2018) Mental Health First Aid in HE 1 day training. 16th May 2018 Bourton, J (2018) PGCAP Inclusivity training. 27th June 2018 Clemens, K. (2017) Effective organisation for the transition to Year 4. Peninsula Dental School, Knowledge Spa, Truro 18th September 2017 Clemens, K. (2017-18) Dyslexia-friendly Group study skills sessions. UoP. Clemens, K. (2017) Preparing for MCQ effectively Group 1. Peninsula Dental School, University of Plymouth campus. 25th October 2018 Clemens, K. (2017) Revision & Exam Workshops – example of SpLD-friendly sessions. ADSHE South West Regional Meeting. UoP. 18th November 2017 Clemens, K. (2018) Mental Health 10 in 10. Biomed. UoP. 22nd February 2018 Clemens, K. (2018) Dyslexia-friendly Revision & Exam Preparation workshops. Nov/Dec 2017 & April/May 2018 Collings, D. (2017) PALS Listening Skills Workshop. 29th August & 11th September 2017

91 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Collings, D. (2017) Presentation about Disability Services at Halls Assistant Training. 7th September 2017 Collings, D. (2018) Halls Assistant Workshop. 7th March 2018 Gavagan, K. (2017) Mindfulness Awareness Taster Session. Knowledge Spa, Truro. 23rd November 2017 Gavagan, K. (2018) Mindfulness Awareness Taster Session, Knowledge Spa, Truro 18th January 2018 Gavagan, K. (2018) Mindfulness Workshop, Knowledge Spa, Truro. 15th March and 12th Aprill 2018. Hastings, D. (2017) Supporting positive MH. Truro Knowledge Spa Dental students. 12th October 2017 Hastings, D. 92017) PACH MH Awareness (staff information session). 13th December 2017 Hastings, D. (2018) Looking after Yourself in Practice: Your Wellbeing & Choice of Lifestyle. Final year Dental Students. John Bull Building. 21st February. 2018 McEwan, M. (2018) Look After Your Mate Student Minds Workshop. Truro Nursing Students Rowland, J (2017-18) Dyslexia-friendly Group study skills sessions. UoP. Rowland, J 2017) 3rd Year International Students Presentation 3th August 2017 Rowland, J (2017) Dyslexia: A Specific Learning Difficulty [PowerPoint Presentation] for Academic tutors at PCMD John Bull Building 13th November 2017 Rowland, J (2017) Mental Health Support at HE for academic tutors at PCMD, John Bull Building 13th November 2017 Rowland, J (2017) Dyslexia: A Specific Learning Difficulty [PowerPoint Presentation] for Academic tutors at PCMD John Bull Building 15th January 2018 Rowland, J (2017) Mental Health Support at HE for academic tutors at PCMD, John Bull Building 15th January 2018 Southcott, I. (2018) Mental Health Awareness Training for Staff Dealing with Students. 5th June 2018 Southcott, I. (2017) PAHC MH Awareness (staff) 13th December 2017 Southcott, I (2018) . Looking after Yourself in Practice: Your Wellbeing & Choice of Lifestyle. Final year Dental Students. John Bull Building. 21st February. Way A (2017) Advanced Listening Skills Training for Listening Post (volunteers) 12 Sept 17 Way A (2018) Mental Health First Aid 2 day training. 27 and 28 March 18 Way A (2018) Associates Training. 14 April 18 Way A (2018) One day MHFA in HE Training. 19 June 18 Way A (2018) Listening Post 3 Day training for new Volunteers. 21 June, 4 July, 5 July 18 Way A (2018) Mental Health First Aid 2 Day Training 10 and 11 July 18 Way A (2018) Wellbeing Workshop for Medicine and Dentistry at Borringdon Hall. 17 July Membership, participation and representation of professional bodies Agobiani S Member of Autism Spectrum Conditions Board Agobiani S Member of British Psychological Society Agobiani S Member of National Autistic Society Agobiani S Member of PATOSS Agobiani S member of ADSHE Agobiani S Associate Member of British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) Agobiani, S NADP Agobiani, S. student member BACP and National Counselling Society Allison Joe, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Anderson, S., NADP Ayer, N,. NADP Baker, L. Member of the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Bentley, A. Accredited & Registered Member of the BACP Bentley, A. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

92 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Bentley, A. Executive member of the BACP Heads of University Counselling Services (HUCS). Bourton, J. NADP Clemens, K., ADSHE Clemens, K, ADSHE Executive & Regional Coordinator Clemens, K, NADP Clemens, K., Fellow of The Higher Education Academy Collings, D. NADP Fagin, S, CIPD Gavagan, K. Accredited & Registered Member, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy Gavagan, K. Member of the Association for Counselling and Therapy Online (ACTO) Grote, P. Accredited & Registered Member, National Counselling Society Grote, P. Student Member, BACP Hastings, D. Accredited & Registered Member, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy Hilsdon., J. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Hilsdon., J. Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Hocking, K., NADP Hollis, R. Member of the College of Occupational Therapist (COT) McEwan, M. Member of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) McEwan, M. Member of Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) Pritchard, C. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Pritchard, C. Member of the Association of Learning Developers in Higher Education Pritchard, C. Steering Group member of the Association of Learning Developers in Higher Education Ramage, R Accredited (Senior) and Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Rowland, J., ADSHE Rowland, J., PATOSS Teaching Practising Certificate (TPA) & Assessment Practising Certificate (APA) Rowland, J. NADP Rowland, J., Associate Member of British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) Southcott, I, Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapist (RCOT) Southcott,I, Member of Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Syska, A. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Syska, A. Member of the Association of Learning Developers in Higher Education Syska, A. Editor at the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education Truscott, J.B. Editor for The Plymouth Student Scientist eJournal Truscott, J.B. Reviewer for Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education Truscott, J.B. Reviewer for Journal of Interactive Learning Environments Truscott, J.B. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Truscott, J.B. Member of the Association of Learning Developers in Higher Education Truscott, J.B. Co-chair of LearnHigher Truscott, J.B. Associate Member for the Association of Learning Technologists Truscott, J.B. Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Walbank, K. NADP Waterfield, S. Member of PATOSS Waterfield, S. member of ADSHE Waterfield, S. Associate Member of British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) Way, A. Accredited and Registered Member (BACP) Way, A. Accredited Practitioner and Registered Member of EMDR UK and Ireland. Way, A. Committee Member of EMDR South West. Way, A. Friend of PODS, (Positive Outcomes for Dissociative Survivors)

93 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18 Learning Support and Wellbeing Structure Chart updated 25.09.2018

University Medical Centre Dir of Student Services Liaison

Head of Learning Support and Wellbeing John Hilsdon (1fte) RLF Writing Fellow Morgen Witzel – September 2017 + 18 Katherine Roberts – September 2018 Admin PA support for Wellbeing Centre from the admin pool

Co-ordinating PALS Coordinator Learning Gateway – Disability Services Learning Student Wellbeing Chaplain Administration and Coordinator Development Services Carolyn Gentle Reception support team Karen Hocking (1fte) Coordinator Coordinator David V Evans (0.8fte) Administrator Joseph Allison Anne Bentley (1fte) (1fte) (1fte) Suzanne Fagin (1fte)

Disability Advisors Learning Counsellors Student Chaplaincy PALS Advisor Assistant Administrator Development Assistant Beau Sarah Anderson (1fte) Advisors LeBredonchel Nicola Ayer (0.7fte) Lucy Fretwell (1fte) Rosalind Ramage James Baxter (0.09 (1.0 fte) Sally Agobiani (0.4fte) Gillian Sheppard (1fte) Alicja Syska (0.7fte) fte) Jo Bourton (1fte) Charli Kingston (0.8fte) (0.5fte) Alexandra Way Hannah Forest Sadie Waterfield (0.4) Claire Dixon (0.2fte) Christie (0.8fte) ( 0.09 fte) Karen Walbank (0.4) Monday Pritchard (1fte) Philipp Grote (0.3fte) Fixed term Daniel Collings (1fte) Clare Dawe TTO 24 Jason Truscott Kate Gavagan (5 hrs for 30 weeks) hours over 32 weeks (1fte) (0.4fte) Truro Study Skills Advisors based in 3PM (0.52fte) Dawn Hastings (1fte) Grade 6 Julie Platt TTO 20 hours Angie Smith (0.6fte) Kassandra Clemens KEY over 32 weeks based in Laurence Lemee- (0.7fte) Permanent post 3PM (0.39fte) Stokes (1fte) Joanna Rowland Temporary contract Temporary via Student Gateway (0.6fte) Student Wellbeing Vacant post Officer Sessional Counsellors from August 2014 Administrator Listening Post Volunteers 2014-15 Grade 4 Louise Baker (0.7) Rocio Martinez (1fte) Nadine Johns (0.8 fte) Hannah Denham (0.8 Listening Post Volunteers fte)TTO (maternity leave) Rosie Jenkins / Jenny Trante / Shirley Copper / Jim Copper / Venetia Lynch / Sheran Murray / Mel Dixon / Harry Yuen Marina McEwan Karine Yuen / Nina Hicks / Anna Kyminski / Sue Richards / Paul Lowden / Margie Johnston / Wendy Jury (0.47fte)TTO Andrea Abbott / Jennifer Gegg / Hazel Baker / Linda Winter / Pauline Raw Mental Health Support Workers Associate Counsellors

Saturday Associates Ayuko Higginson Charlotte Harrison / Elizabeth Hughes / Kathy Christie / Lisa Cross / Mirella Paganuzzi / Rachel Wood / Simon Coombs (1fte)

Issy Nisbet (1fte) Weekday Associates Atarah Jane (1fte) Clare Philipps / Lorna Williamson / Sophie Forder / Lesley Hiscox / Philipp Grote / Louise Baker

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95 | P a g e LSW Annual Report 2017/18