Policy number:
Effective date:
Review date:
Procedure relating to the Mental Health Policy
This procedure is designed to be read and used in conjunction with the University of Bradford
Mental Health Policy. It provides guidance
primarily
for staff
, but students might also find it
useful
.
1.
Telling the University
/
Applications
and Admissions
I
t is not compulsory
for students
to
tell the University
about an
impairment or
existing
mental
health difficulty
when
they
apply
,
but
studen
ts
should be encouraged to
share
information
at the
point of application
so that the
University
is able to make arrangements for any adjustments that
might be necessary
.
The University of Bradford should not
and will not
discriminate against people on the
basis that
they have shared information about existing or past mental health difficulties on their application
forms. In selecting students, an offer of a place will be made on academic qualifications and the
potential of the student to successfully compl
ete the programme.
Sharing information about
the impact of
an impairment
or mental health difficulty
will allow for a
realistic assessment and
help
the School / Department to make reasonable adjustments which
may assist the student in gaining the
ir
qualif
ication.
By sharing information
the
student can also
be
offered appropriate support during their time at university
e.g. from
a
Mental Health
Adviser
and / or the Counselling Service.
In a minority of cases, and for some courses that have professional body
accreditation, the
presence of past or existing mental health difficulties may require further investigation wi
th
regard to ‘fitness to practic
e’. It is the responsibility of the School / Department to ensure that,
on admission
,
all
students are aware of
the
University of Bradford
F
itness
t
o
P
ractic
e
procedures and that, if a fitness to
practi
c
e
issue exists, their qualification may not be
recognised by the relevant regulatory body for registration purposes.
Students also need to be
made aware that
a fitne
ss to practic
e issue may also prevent the
m
from undertaking
compulsory learning in the practice setting
(placements)
, which would preclude the award of the
registered qualification. Please see the university’s procedure relating to Fitness to Practice:
www.bradford.ac.uk/legal
and
governance/media/LegalandGovernance/Allfiles/Documents/Breaches/Fitness_to_Practi
ce_Dec
_2010.pdf
2.
What to do if
you are worried about a student’s mental health
or well
being
If a student’s well
being or behaviour causes concern in the Teaching & Learning environment
initial support should be provided through the tutorial and support sy
stems that exist within the
2
student’s School / Department. Pastoral care provided by the School / Department enables
minor problems to be addressed and is the most appropriate way of resolving practical or
academic problems.
For students experiencing more
severe emotional and psychological difficulties it may be more
appropriate for the student to be referred to a Mental Health
Adviser
(through the Disability
Service) or the Counselling Service. The student would need to give their permission for a
referra
l to take place.
(see section on Sharing Information)
On
very
rare occasions, a student’s behaviour, as a result of their mental health difficulties, may
become disruptive, stressful or dangerous to staff and other students. When dealing with such
behavio
ur staff should balance the needs of the student
experiencing
mental health difficulties
with the need to operate a fair and consistent code of conduct
for
all students. The fact that a
student has mental health difficulties in no way lessens the duty of c
are
that
the
U
niversity owes
to other students, and as a result it may still be appropriate to refer to the University disciplinary
procedures.
Concerns expressed about students on courses
that have professional body accreditation
may
require further inve
stigation in regard to ‘fitness to practice’. For further details please see the
university’s procedure relating to Fitness to Practice.
–
www.bradford.ac.uk/legal
and
governance/media/LegalandGovernance/Allfiles/Documents/Breaches/Fitness_to_Pract
ice_Dec
_2010.pdf
.
3.
What to do if a student has a mental health crisis
on Campus
The vast majority of students with mental health difficulties are unlikely to present any disruption
or threat to anyone. In a minority of cases a crisis situation may arise
whereby a student’s
emotions have reached a point outside of their control and are being expressed in a manner
which suggests they might pose a danger to themselves or others.

The level descriptors below may help you decide what action you need to take. However,
if you have any doubts or are not sure how serious the situation is, please contact the
Disability Service (Mental Health Advisers), the Counselling Service and / or th
e Student
Safety & Welfare Co
ordinator for advice:
Level One
–
the student’s behaviour suggests
there is an imminent danger of them doing some harm to themselves or others. In this
situation staff should contact University Security and inform them there i
s a mental health
crisis. Security will then immediately contact the
police who will detain the individual and
take them to a place of safety i.e. the police station until they can be assessed.
The
Mental Health
Adviser
should be informed as soon as possib
le.

Level Two
–
the student’s behaviour suggests that if the situation is not dealt with in the
next couple of hours, there is a danger they will do harm to themselves or others. Staff
finding themselves in this situation in office hours should contact a M
ental Health
Adviser
or if not available, the Counselling Service who will organise for an assessment of the
situation to take place.
3
If the crisis occurs outside office hours, including weekends,
staff should contact
University Security who will contact
the
police
.
Once the crisis has been dealt with, staff
should pass the details on to a Mental Health
Adviser
.
If possible staff should get consent from the student before they share information. If the
student does not consent but it is deemed to be in the
interest of the public or the student
to share information the staff member should record the reasons for overriding the
student’s confidentiality.
Level Three
–
the student’s behaviour is deteriorating at such a rate that if some
intervention is not car
ried out, they will potentially end up harming themselves or others
within the next few days. In this situation staff should seek permission from the student to
inform a Mental Health
Adviser
of their circumstances. If they refuse this permission, and
the
member of staff is sufficiently concerned that the student may be a danger to
themselves or others, then the staff member should contact a Mental Health
Adviser
or if
not available the Counselling Service who will arrange for an assessment of the
circumsta
nces
as soon as possible
.
If possible staff should get consent from the student before they share information. If the
student does not consent but it is deemed to be in the interest of the public or the student
to share information the staff member should
record the reasons for overriding the
student’s
confidentiality (
see below).
4.
Sharing Information
and informing colleagues
Information concerning
any
individual’s
mental health difficulty
should be treated sensitively and
should only be passed
on
with the student’s consent. If, w
hen and who informs staff about the
mental health difficulty
should be agreed with the student.
Keeping it confidential
The Legal Position
Within disability equality law, if one person
in an organisation
is made aware of
another
person’s impairment or disability, the
‘
organisation
’
is deemed to know
. At that point the
organisation has
a legal duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that person is not
disadvantaged.
If
a
student
share
s information about their imp
airment or mental health issues
with
a member of
staff but
does not want the
information to be
passed on,
the
member of staff should explain the
consequences of this
to the student. The consequences may be that
no reasonable
adjustments
will be made
which
could result in the student being disadvantaged.
If the student
still wishes the information to remain confidential they should be asked to complete a ‘Non
Disclosure
of
Information Regarding
a
Disability’
form’:
www.bradford.ac.uk/disability/media/DisabilitiesOffice/Documents/form.pdf
.
Information about a student’s mental health difficulty should only be shared
without
the
student’s consent if it can be justified either in the public interest or as duty of care owed to the
individual
or
to other students and staff.
For example if a member of staff is concerned that by
not sharing this information the student could prese
nt a risk of harm to themselves or other
people.
4
Unless the student is in crisis and as a general rule, if staff are concerned about a student’s
safety, they should contact the Mental Health Adviser, without breaching confidentiality
for
advice and guida
nce about appropriate action
.
5.
Making Reasonable Adjustments
5.1
Teaching and Learning Environment
The University has a duty to make reasonable adjustments in the teaching environment to
ensure that students with mental health difficulties are not disad
vantaged. The
nature of the
adjustments will depend on the impact of the student’s mental health difficulty but
might include:

Consideration of the impact some mental health difficulties might have on the student’s
ability to attend lectures / seminars at
certain times of the day, or the impact their
medication may have in this area.

The effect the mental health difficulties may have on the student
’
s ability to concentrate
for long periods of time.

The importance to some students of routines / familiar surr
oundings and the impact of
short notice change to timetables / venues.

The confidence to present to large groups of fellow students in seminars.
5.2
Assessment and Examinations
The University recognises mental health difficulties may affect the student’s
ability to undertake
the examination or assessment for the course in its standard format. A number of adjustments
can be considered reasonable.
The type of reasonable adjustments which can be made for
examinations can include:

Extra time.

Taking examinatio
ns in a separate room in isolation from other candidates.

Supervised breaks / time
–
out in examinations.
To ensure that reasonable adjustments can be put in place, students will need:

Medical evidence of their mental health difficulties.

An assessment of
their examination needs to be carried out through the Disability
Service.
When the students needs have been identified, the Disability Service will liaise with the
Examinations Office to put
any recommended
adjustments in place. (Please note: The Disabilit
y
Service
can only request that adjustments / alteration to adjustments are put in place if the
student informs them of their requirements before the deadline set by the
Exams Office
. The
Disability Service will e
mail
all
eligible
students
with
details of
the deadline well in advance
).
5
For non
examination assessment the flexibility of deadline dates is likely to be the most
important way of enabling the student to
present their work for assessment without the standard
of work being affected by their mental
health difficulties. The student should discuss extensions
to deadlines with their School / Department (supported by a Mental Health
Adviser
if needed).
For students who have suffered circumstances which were unavoidable and unexpected they
may make a cl
aim of extenuating circumstances. Students should ask their School / Department
how to apply for extenuating circumstances.
5.3
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)
Some students with Mental Health Difficulties are eligible for funding called the DSA. DSA i
s
administered
through Student Finance England and can be used to pay for adjustments and
support in the form of equipment or ‘people’ support
(Non
Medical Helper NMH)
.
For example:
A
Study Coach
can provide specialist study support to help develop students
’
academic and
personal skills. Although
generally
funded through DSA,
NMH
support
may, on a limited basis,
be available for students not eligible for DSA, for example International Students.
6.
Managing
Mental
Health Difficulty Related Absence
In some instances it will be in the student’s best interests to have some time away from study to
receive appropriate care and treatment. This should be requested by the student to their School
/ Departmen
t in writing along with medical evidence. The length of time the student may take
should be discussed with the student and their School / Department based on individual
circumstances.
It is then the School / Department’s responsibility to inform the Hub of
any
changes to the student’s status.
Students should be encouraged to seek advice before they decide to take time off from their
studies. Sources of advice may include:

Personal Academic Tutor (PAT)
–
will be able to explain any implication for assessment
and progression on the course. They may also be able to advise on transfers to other
programmes or to part time study.

Counselling Service / Mental Health
Adviser
–
will be able to suggest ways in which the
student might manage their mental health difficu
lties which may enable them to continue
with their studies
and where appropriate the student may be able to access counselling
support during this time.

The Hub
–
will be able to provide information on the possible financial implications of
various options
.
6.1
Hospitalisation
A minority of students with mental health difficulties may require a period of hospital in
patient
treatment. For guidance on the procedure if a student is hospitalised please refer to:
Procedure
for supporting students in the event
of serious illness / hospitalisation.
6
If the student does not wish their School / Department to know the nature of their stay in
hospital, the Student Safety & Welfare Co
ordinator will not disclose details, however at an
appropriate point, the student ma
y have to produce medical evidence to support their absence
from their course.
6.2
Returning to Study
Where possible a return date should be agreed before the student takes time off from their
studies
. It is then the School / Department’s responsibility
to inform the Hub.
The student should
contact their School / Department well ahead of their proposed return to discuss any support
they may need. The Mental Health
Adviser
should also be contacted to help during the
preparation for returning to study.
The
student’s School / Department may need medical evidence to confirm that the student is
well enough to return to studies.
7.
Support and Pastoral Care
The University strives to offer the best possible support and pastoral care to all of their students.
B
oth students and staff may find the details below useful:
University Support

Mental Health
Adviser
(Disability Service):
www.bradford.ac.uk/disability/students/mentalhealth/
.
Or contact a Mental Health
Adviser
via the Disability Service on
(01274) 23
3739
.

Counselling Service:
www.bradford.ac.uk/counselling/
. Or contact the s
ervice on (01274)
235750.

Student’s Union:
www.ubuonline.co.uk/
. Or contact UBU on (01274) 233300.

Student’s Union Advice Centre:
www.ubuonline.co.uk/content/30585/advice_
and_safety/advice_centre/
or contact the
Advice Centre on
(01274)
233300.

The Hub:
www.bradford.ac.uk/thehub/
. Money
Adviser
: (01274) 236504, International
Student Welfare Adviser: (01274) 233080, Accommoda
tion: (01274) 234963.

Chaplains and Faith
Adviser
s:
www.bradford.ac.uk/hub/faith
matters/
.

Bradford Student Health Service:
www.bradfords
tudenthealth.co.uk/
. Or contact the
Health Centre on (01274) 234979.
External Support

Mind in Bradford
–
provides support and advice for those
experiencing
mental health
difficulties:
www.mindinbradford.org
.uk/
. Mind also has a national website offering advice
:
www.mind.org.uk/
.
7
Staff who have been involved in supporting students with mental health difficulties or in crisis
may experience feelings and emotions that are
difficult to deal with. The Counsell
ing Service
can provide support (see contact details above).