We want all students to know that the Wellbeing and Mental Health team is here for you. No matter what level you’re studying at or what may be going on in your personal or academic life, you can come to us for support. Our dedicated team sits within Student Services and consists of Wellbeing Advisers, Mental Health Advisers and Counsellors. Whichever site or university centre you are studying at – the team is here for you.

What do we do?

Let’s start with Student Wellbeing Advisers – this team of advisers has a broad knowledge of university processes and the support options available to students.

You can book a 30-minute appointment with one of our advisers which may take place over telephone, video call or in person at some sites.

During this appointment you can talk about anything that may be affecting your wellbeing or studies; whether you are feeling lonely or homesick, struggling to cope, feeling stressed and anxious about deadlines or placements, or having problems at home – whatever it is, you can talk about it. The adviser will listen, give advice and support options, and will create a personalised action plan to support you in your next steps. The advice will vary and will be tailored to your needs. Actions that an adviser may suggest include:

• Practical strategies (something you can go away and try)
• Online support groups, courses and resources
• Wellbeing sessions
• Encouraging engagement with Study Skills or talking about extensions and deferrals
• Suggestions to engage with other teams such as Counselling, Disability and Inclusion, Volunteering and Mentoring or Chester Students’ Union
• Linking you to support outside of the University

To make an appointment with a Wellbeing Adviser, you can call or email our central Student Services team on studentservices@chester.ac.uk or 01244 511550.

Our Counsellors provide a short-term counselling service which students can refer themselves to. They can help with all sorts of concerns. Some of the common themes seen by our counsellors include:

• stress
• anxiety
• depressed mood
• low self-esteem
• interpersonal problems.

Counsellors provide a dedicated, safe space to work with you in achieving your counselling goals. Click here to find out more.

To refer yourself for counselling, please email student.counselling@chester.ac.uk.

Students who are suffering from emotional or psychological distress, may also be referred to our Mental Health Advisers who can provide guided self-help and support, links with local mental health services and education around managing mental health. This referral would usually come from a Wellbeing Adviser or Counsellor.

Additional support

As a complement to our one-to-one support, the Wellbeing and Mental Health team deliver regular group sessions throughout the academic year. Some examples of sessions that took place last academic year include:

• A four-part relaxation programme to promote calm and help with anxiety and stress.
• Online self-help sessions on topics including motivation and mood, sleep, social anxiety and unhelpful thinking.
• A male mental health group aimed at providing a safe space for men to talk about their mental health.
• Our recently launched peer support networks – our Student Parent Support Network and Student Menopause Support Networks are aimed at providing supportive spaces for students with similar challenges to connect.
• Calm and supportive in-person events for students experiencing social anxiety and shyness wishing to connect with others.
• Click here for the latest information on our current sessions and how you can join
• If you have any questions or have a great idea for a session, group or network, please get in touch by emailing studentservices@chester.ac.uk.

24/7 Support

Our teams work Monday-Friday during office hours and mostly offer scheduled appointments, however we understand that life’s problems, mental health issues and other concerns don’t always fit neatly into those boxes and that sometimes, you just need to talk to someone there and then. We know some students are parents, have placements, are working or have caring commitments and want to access support in the evenings or early mornings.

To support with these needs, we have a 24/7 Student Assistance Programme delivered by Health Assured which you can access 365 days of the year. You can call the dedicated helpline on 0800 028 3766 at any time to access emotional support and practical guidance.

Through this service you can also speak with legal advisors and you can access up to six telephone-based counselling sessions per issue, per term with a qualified therapist from a diverse team. You can read more about the Student Assistance Programme here.

Anxious about talking on the phone? You can access support via Live Chat on the Wisdom app.  

Free for all students, the Wisdom app provides a Live Chat feature so you can receive virtual support when a Counsellor is online and available.  

On the app you’ll also find lots of useful wellbeing and mental health features, including:  

• Wellbeing trackers  
• Mini health checks  
• Four-week structured health plans  
• Access to lots of useful videos and podcasts, including yoga workouts, recipe ideas and guided meditation.  

Download it from your app store (App Store, Play Store) and enter the code MHA 146072 to get started. 

Are you looking to make a difference? Want to make a positive impact in our society? If so, then the Volunteering and Mentoring team are here to help you!

Volunteering and Mentoring is a team within the Careers and Employability service who can help you to browse and apply for volunteering opportunities, log your volunteer hours, track your progress for the University of Chester Volunteering (UCV) awards and sign up to be, or be matched with, a Peer Mentor.

Who are we?

Our team forms part of the Student Success team within Careers and Employability and consists of:

• Jo (Volunteering and Mentoring Manager).
• Amy (Mentoring Admin Assistant).
• Louise (Volunteering Coordinator).
• Abbie (Volunteer Administrator).

We aim to provide students with access to volunteer opportunities in the community and the University, and support students throughout their volunteer journey.

Through our Peer Mentoring scheme, we aim to support new students as they join the University with a match to one of our Peer Mentors, helping them with the transition into Higher Education and increasing their sense of belonging at the University.

Why volunteer?

Volunteering is an amazing opportunity for all students. Volunteering can help you to meet new people, get involved in your community, improve your confidence, develop your skills, and help you to stand out from the crowd. Volunteering provides you with a brilliant opportunity to develop your employability whilst giving back to the local community through social action, such as one-off conservation trips, or more long-term opportunities such as being a Peer Mentor. Volunteering is also linked to a greater sense of wellbeing – doing good feels good!

Rifa volunteers with Chester Sports Association with the Disabled and shared their experience:

What type of support is available?

There is plenty of support available for those wishing to volunteer. Whether you’re volunteering in a student-led project, for the Students in Schools scheme, or as part of the Peer Mentoring initiative, the team are here to support students at any stage of their volunteer journey.

Students can access our services via our Volunteer Hub. Here you can set up your online volunteer profile, which you can use to browse for volunteer opportunities, log your volunteer hours, and apply for our UCV award scheme. You can also choose to receive regular emails with the latest opportunities, based on your preferences.

The team also delivers regular events throughout the year to showcase volunteer opportunities and celebrate our student volunteers. Students can visit our Volunteer and Skills Fair, held annually in October, to meet some of our local charities and discover opportunities. You can also get involved in our campaigns, including Give Back month in December and Student Volunteering Week in February.

We can also offer 30-minute Volunteer appointments to help you explore the available opportunities, talk through how to get involved, and provide information on our volunteer schemes.

Any student that volunteers on one of our projects will also receive further support from the team. We provide full training, resources, and ongoing support for Peer Mentors, Project Coordinators, Students in Schools participants and any other project volunteers.

Finally, student volunteers can receive recognition through our UCV (University of Chester Volunteer) awards. These awards are based on the number of hours you log and encourage you to reflect on your skills and experiences. These awards will be recognised on your HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Record) and you are provided with certificates and invites to our Celebration Event.

Who can access the service?

Students of all backgrounds and years of study can access the service – have a look at what our student volunteers had to say about their experiences:

What types of projects can students volunteer for?

Students can access a huge range of community volunteering opportunities through our Volunteer Hub, where we have over 100 charities registered and looking for volunteers.

We also provide opportunities to volunteer through our own projects:

• Student-Led Projects are volunteering projects run by students, for students.
• Students in Schools is an opportunity for students to offer one-to-one mentoring, tutoring, classroom support, and much more to primary and secondary school pupils in Cheshire and the Wirral.
• Peer Mentoring is where we match current students with similar new students to acclimatise them to the University.

There are a range of student-led projects that a student can sign up for including; dog walking, environmental conservation, creating cooking videos that share tips on healthy eating on a budget, and joining a virtual book club for primary schools.

Keep in touch

You can keep up to date with Volunteering and Mentoring news by:

• Following us on Instagram @uocvolunteering
• Setting up your online volunteer profile on our Volunteer Hub
• Email: volunteering@chester.ac.uk.
• Telephone: 01244 513066.
• Visit: Careers Building, Exton Park site (Chester).

We also send out regular newsletters to our Mentors and Mentees which you can access if you sign up to be a Peer Mentor or a Mentee. For information and about this scheme, please email peermentoring@chester.ac.uk.

We look forward to supporting you on your volunteer journey!

Thinking of starting your own business or pursuing a freelance career? The Venture Programme consists of a series of events, support and guidance to help you do just that. It can help you develop the skills, knowledge, confidence and connections to be your own boss.

Venture events will challenge your thinking, expose you to the business world and give you the opportunity to make something happen for yourself. Venture is here to inspire you and to support you to be enterprising. Take a look at some start-up stories from students and graduates who have been through the programme and successfully launched a business.

You may not have a business idea just yet and be looking to explore the different aspects of starting up- or you may already be running a business and wish to hone and develop some key skills – it doesn’t matter what stage of your business you’re at, you can still get involved.

What type of support can I access?

We offer a range of support, including one-to-one surgeries and online workshops in the following areas:

• Setting up
• Sales and Marketing
• Finance and Funding
• Enterprise Skills
• Business Planning
• Legal Matters
• Online Marketing

All sessions are delivered by entrepreneurs, industry experts and business consultants and coaches. Find out more here.

What business have started from the Venture Programme?

Whatever your business idea, you can use the Venture Programme. In the past 10 years, we’ve had businesses use the programme in a range of areas and sectors including:

• Photography
• Animal care
• Food manufacture
• Wheelchair design
• Photography
• Illustration
• PR
• Custom clothing

You can check out a selection of the businesses we’ve helped to support through the Venture Programme here.

How many sessions do I have to attend?

It’s completely up to you how many sessions you attend. Some students choose to attend all sessions because they feel need help with all of the topics listed above, but some only choose to attend certain sessions depending on how far along they are with their business.

You can drop in at any stage of the Venture Programme and create a bespoke package of the support you need.

How do I get involved?

• For events and sessions, you can book on CareerHub here.
• If you want to have a chat about the programme or your business idea, you can book an appointment here.
• If you have missed one of our sessions, you can view all of our recorded sessions here.

What else do I need to know?

• Venture is open to students and graduates of the University of Chester
• Venture is for any student, studying any course – it’s not just for Business students
• You can gain recognition for taking part in Venture events through The Chester Difference Award‘s Enterprise Pathway
• Your attendance at Venture sessions will be noted on your Higher Education Achievement Record

What’s The Venture Pitch?

At the end of the year, we hold a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch event. So, if you’ve attended 12 hours’ worth of Venture, have a valid business idea and want to pitch it, you can apply to do so. Ten selected businesses then have a chance to pitch to a panel of judges for their share of £5,000 of start-up funding and over £7,000 worth of business prizes including a website, business grants, iPads, office space, and business coaching to help you launch your business. Over the past ten years, we have awarded over £60,000 to student start-ups and freelancers.

Click here to check out highlights of this year’s event, including a full list of all the winners.