You may see the terms student referral and staff report used throughout this website, and you may also hear staff at the University refer to them. It is important to understand the difference between the two.
Student referral
Student referrals can be made about any urgent mental health concerns or any forms of violence and abuse.
A student referral can be made:
- by a student about themselves
- by a student about another student
- by a member of staff about a student
- By an external party such as a family member, friend or a member of the public about a student
A student referral is used only to help the student access support. It does not start a conduct or complaint process. The Specialist Practitioners in the Student Support Intervention Team (SSIT) will offer support and give you time and space to make an informed decision about any next steps.
In situations where a referral indicates that a student needs urgent mental health support, there are some circumstances that may require SSIT to take immediate action, where possible this would be with the students prior knowledge, but this may not always be possible or appropriate. The action may include engaging emergency or statutory services, university security or a students trusted contact.
Flow diagrams explaining the student referral process are available here.
A student referral will only become a formal report of complaint or conduct if the student chooses to take that step. If you would like to take that step, please see how to do so here.
Staff report
Staff reports can be made about bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct.
A staff report can be made by:
- a member of staff about themselves
- a member of staff about another staff member
- or a student reporting a member of staff
- By an external party such as a family member, friend or a member of the public about a staff member
These reports do not automatically trigger the formal complaints process, but they are triaged to Human Resources (HR) for review, HR may investigate in line with staff procedures depending on the information provided, and formal processes can be discussed with the HR colleague if you leave your contact details.
If you would like to understand how anonymous reporting works, please see our privacy notice.