Welcome to our newsletter for staff to facilitate awareness and better support for their students. 

Wellbeing Canvas site
Staff and students can self-enrol onto the Student Wellbeing canvas site. Here, we compile all the wellbeing support available in one place so that students can easily find it. We have added a new page called "who you might meet for support". The aim is to show a face of teams that students might meet in their journey. If you would be happy to have a profile about you, please email Naomi Harris on healthandwellbeing@sussex.ac.uk.

Winter Break Information
Support available for students over the winter break. Please find here a list of all of the events available to students across the winter break. Alternatively, you can follow us on Instagram @universityofsussexwellbeing for more details.

Problematic Behaviours Working Group
As well as the usual work being done in drug/ alcohol awareness, sexual health etc., the group has decided to work on awareness of porn addiction and the consequences of this. If anyone has any expertise or resources that they would like to share, please be in contact.

Sexual Health and Contraception (SHAC) update
The Sexual Health and Contraception (SHAC) website has had a rebrand. The accessibility issues reported from the previous site have been fixed and it is more user friendly. Please do refer students to this resource where they can access information. Anyone can access a free training provided about the localsexual health services. Information can be found on this link.

Change Grow Live update
This is the local drug and alcohol recovery support service. They have a strategic aim to engage with more students, especially hard to reach students. If you are supporting a student with a referral, please can you make it clear on the referral that they are a student, especially if they are a student who is from a group that typically does not usually engage with this kind of support. This means that they can get to a specialist advisor more quickly.

Discover our New Wellbeing Library Area
We’re excited to introduce our new Library Wellbeing Area, located near the Quiet Entrance on the North side of the Library. This freshly refurbished space is perfect for taking a break from your studies or work.

The Wellbeing Area features a refreshed collection of books, including mental and physical health resources, fiction, and graphic novels. You’ll find comfortable sofas, chairs, and two pods with dimmable lighting, creating a calming atmosphere. Surrounded by plants and a lovely view, this space is a little sanctuary.

How to advise students
For general academic skills, please refer students to the skills hub. If they are unable to complete their work, attend an exam or were impaired (this can only be done retrospectively though), they can complete an exceptional circumstances claim. They can do this independently or with support but it is important to read the guidelines to ensure they do this correctly

Other than the minimum service days, the welcome desk in the student centre will be staffed as usual (Mon-Fri 8:30-5) but please be aware that there will be staff shortages across the University either side of the days as many people take annual leave.

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