Health Wellbeing and Support for Study (HWSS)

A member of staff will invite you to a Stage 1 meeting if they are worried about your:

• Health
• Wellbeing
• Behaviour, which is impacting your studies
• Ability to engage fully with university life
• Safety or experience, or the safety or experience of others. 

You should be told that the meeting is part of the Stage 1 HWSS procedure. The meeting will usually be between you and one member of staff, who you feel comfortable with.

You can ask an SU Advisor for advice about how to prepare for the meeting. An Advisor can also accompany you to the meeting if you prefer.

You can request for the meeting to be in person, online or by phone.

The purpose of the meeting is to:

• explore what suitable help and support can be put in place
• empower you to take responsibility and actively manage your health, wellbeing and university life

A written record of your conversation should be made on a copy of the Support for Study Action Plan, which you should have shared ownership of. This will be shared with your Academic Department and uploaded to your SAMIS record. The University Student Casework Team will be notified you have had a Stage 1 HWSS meeting. 

You should be prepared to talk about any concerns you have and what support or reasonable adjustments might help. The staff member might recommend specialist support to you, like the University Disability Team or Therapeutic Services.

At the end of the conversation, you should agree a date together to review your Support for Study Plan and how you would like to be contacted before the next meeting. 

If any of the above concerns you, you can ask an SU Advisor for information in confidence. We won't notify the University you have sought support from us for a HWSS Stage 1 meeting, unless you ask us to.

You will have agreed a Support for Study Plan and will receive a copy of this. You should be clear about the expectations for you to continue to communicate with the member of staff you met and when you are due to meet again. 

If you and the member of staff feel the concerns raised in your meeting are significant or have been going on for a long time, despite support, you might be invited to engage with Stage 2 of the HWSS procedure

You and the member of staff will meet up to review how you have been since the first meeting and if the actions you both agreed have been completed. You might also expect to;

• Discuss and explore any new or remaining concerns either of you have
• Discuss any new or ongoing support you might need
• Agree together what, if any, further action is needed
• If you both agree that the original concern is past and no further action may be necessary then the Stage 1 will be closed and the Student Casework Team are informed
• If one or both of you agree that the what was causing the original concerns has got worse, you will work together to agree new goals/actions with clear timescales for improvement
• If one or both of you feel that the concerns have got much worse this might mean that you are moved to a stage 2 of the process

The outcomes of the review meeting will be either be:

• The Support for Study Plan will end
• The Support for Study Plan will continue, with another review date 
• You are referred to Stage 2 or 3 of the HWSS procedure

A HWSS Stage 2 meeting (sometimes called a HWSS Stage 2 Panel) will be organised if:

• You have had a Stage 1 Support for Study Plan that hasn't resolved the concern
• New concerns have been highlighted through Stage 1
• The Student Support and Safeguarding Team have more serious concerns about your health, wellbeing, safety or beaviour that is impacting your studies or the experience of others

The Case Management Team from the University Student Support and Safeguarding Department should meet with you before the HWSS Stage 2 meeting to complete a Case Management report.

You will be given at least 7 calendar days’ notice of your Stage 2 Support for Study meeting and told what the purpose of the meeting is. You will also be told who is going to be on the Panel (usually staff from your academic department and the Deputy Director of Student Policy and Safeguarding) and what support you can get before, during and after the meeting. You can bring a friend, family member or other support person, including an SU Advisor to the HWSS Panel.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to be made to the HWSS Stage 2 meeting (e.g. you have a disability) please email hwss@bath.ac.uk in advance of the meeting.

An SU Advisor can offer independent, impartial advice throughout Stage 2, including how to prepare for the Stage 2 meeting, attending this with you and supporting you with the outcome.

The Case Management Team will share their findings from the Case Management Report. You will also have the opportunity to explain how you feel about the situation. An SU Advisor can help you to prepare a statement and information you might like to discuss in advance. You should feel you have the opportunity to talk through all the issues that are raised.

During the meeting you will agree a Support for Study Plan together to record the goals and the actions that you and others will take in order to support you.

It is the responsibility of the Panel to make sure you understand all the outcomes if there is no improvement in your situation. 

At the end of the meeting, you should be asked to agree a date for a review meeting and whether any contact is expected before the next meeting. You will be notified of the decision of the meeting within 7 calendar days of the Stage 2 meeting. Possible outcomes may be:

• No further action
• You agree an action plan to support you to address the concerns
• You agree new or additional reasonable adjustments to support you
• If you and/or the member of staff feel that the Support for Study Plan is not sufficient to support you, you may be referred to Stage 3 of the HWSS procedure.

You will have agreed an updated Support for Study Plan and will receive a copy of this. You should be clear about the expectations for you to continue to communicate with the member of staff you met and when you are due to meet again. 

An SU Advisor can give independent, impartial advice on how to appeal a decision made from a Stage 2 or 3 meeting. You need to submit your appeal using the Student Appeals Form no later than 10 working days after receiving your outcome

An SU Advisor can continue to support you to engage with future review meetings. 

A HWSS Stage 2 meeting should cover:

• How you have been since the first meeting and if the agreed actions from that meeting have been completed
• Discussion with you about any continuing or new concerns
• Discussion about any new or ongoing relevant mitigating evidence (such as, for example, a medical report)
• Discussion with you about any further/ongoing support or adjustments that may help or be needed
• Agreement with you about a further action plan and if it is needed

At the end of a Stage 2 review meeting, one of the following decisions will be made. Either the concerns:

• Have been resolved and no further action is needed. The SSP will end
• Are still present or have increased, therefore another review meeting is needed
• Are persistent or critical, therefore you may be referred to a HWSS Stage 3 meeting.

A HWSS Stage 3 meeting (sometimes called a HWSS Stage 3 Panel) will be organised if:

• You have had a Stage 2 Support for Study Plan that hasn't resolved the concern
• New concerns have been highlighted through Stage 2
• The Deputy Director of Student Policy and Safefuarding believes there is evidence that the concerns raised are persistent and/or critical. This evidence will strongly suggest that your health, wellbeing or your behaviour are having a serious impact on your studies, university life and safety, combined with the impact your behaviour may be having on the safety, wellbeing or experience of others.

Before the HWSS Stage 3 meeting, the Case Management Team will usually meet with you to complete a Support for Study report.  

It is possible that the concerns are so great that the University decides it is safer to put some precautions in place straight away. Precautions could include an temporary suspension from the University or University accommodation, as shown in the Precautionary Measures Policy, until the Stage 3 meeting can take place. 

You will be given at least 7 calendar days’ notice of the Stage 3 meeting and told what the purpose of the meeting is. You will also be told who will be on the panel; usually this is a member of staff from Student Support and Safeguarding (to advise the panel), your Director of Studies/Head of Department, a member of Senate and a senior member of the University who will Chair the meeting (e.g. the Pro Vice-Chancellor, the Director of Education and Student Services, or the Director of Student Support and Safeguarding). You can ask to bring a friend, family member or other support person, including an SU advisor to the HWSS Panel. 

If you need any reasonable adjustments to be made to the HWSS Stage 3 meeting (e.g. you have a disability) please email hwss@bath.ac.uk in advance of the meeting.

An SU Advisor can offer independent, impartial advice throughout Stage 3, including how to prepare for the Stage 3 meeting, attending this with you and supporting you with the outcome.

At the panel meeting you will be able to talk through all of the issues that have been raised. This might include a history of events and past experiences along with things that have helped you in the past. You will look at support options that might help to reduce the concerns and you might be signposted to other services that can help too.

The Case Management Team will advise the Panel and you will be able to explain how you feel about the situation.

The Panel will make sure that you understand all the possible outcomes if your situation does not improve, and any review will be agreed with you.

If there is a possibility that you might be suspended, the Panel will make sure that you understand what steps need to happen for you to return to study.

At the end of a Stage 3 review meeting, one of the following decisions will be made:

• A new action plan 

• An agreed period where your progress will be closely monitored

• You are referred to a different stage of the HWSS procedure  

• New or additional reasonable adjustments or an individual programme of study to support you 

• You are be suspended from your studies for a period of time, or excluded from certain things 

• Other actions which the Panel feel are proportionate and appropriate 

If the Panel feel there is any chance that the decision might be a suspension of studies, they will tell you what needs to happen before you can return, and what support is available to help you with this. You will be notified of the decision within 7 calendar days of the Stage 3 meeting.

You will have agreed an updated Action Plan and Support to Study Plan and will receive a copy of this. You should be clear about the expectations for you to continue to communicate with the member of staff you met and when you are due to meet again.

If the decision is a suspension of studies, the Stage 3 Panel will tell you what needs to happen before you can return, and what support is available to help you with this.

An SU Advisor can give independent, impartial advice on how to appeal a decision made from a Stage 3 meeting. You need to submit your appeal using the Student Appeals Form no later than 10 working days after receiving your outcome.

An SU Advisor can continue to support you to engage with future review meetings. 

A HWSS Stage 3 review meeting should include a:

• Review of how you have been since the first meeting and if the agreed actions from that meeting have been completed
• Discussion with you about any further concerns
• Discussion about any new or ongoing relevant mitigating evidence (such as, for example, a medical report)
• Discussion with you about any further/ongoing support or adjustments that may be necessary
• Agreement with you about a further action plan if that is needed

There are three possible outcomes to the review

• If the concern has been reduced or resolved you might be moved to a different stage of the process
• If the concerns are still there or have increased the Action Plan will continue with another review planned OR
• If the concerns are persistent or critical, another HWSS Stage 3 meeting may be held.

Before you return to study, another Stage 3 review meeting will be held. The purpose of the meeting is to decide if the concerns are reduced enough for you to be fit to return to your studies. An SU Advisor can offer independent advice and support to prepare for this and join you in the meeting as your support person.

The meeting will clarify specific expectations and requirements for you to return to  your studies. You will only be able to return if the panel are confident you can meet these. If the panel agree you are fit to return to your studies, the Student Support Casework Team will be informed of any ongoing support you need.