Trusted Contact

As part of the University’s approach to supporting the safety and wellbeing of our students, we ask all students to provide details of at least one trusted contact at the start of each academic year as part of the registration process.

It is important that the details of the trusted contact(s) are kept up to date, and they can be amended or changed at any time on E-vision.

This information is required in the unlikely event that a situation arises where it is considered a students’ health, wellbeing or welfare is at risk.

A trusted contact is someone who a student chooses to nominate, who can be contacted by the university if there are serious concerns about their health or wellbeing.

This could be a parent or guardian, but it can also be another trusted person who is over the age of 18, such as a family member or responsible friend.

When choosing a trusted contact, we ask students to think carefully about who to nominate and discuss this role with them before sharing their contact details with the university.

The trusted contact must be willing and readily able to act on the students’ behalf in the event of an emergency or serious incident where it is considered that their health or wellbeing may be at risk.

A mobile phone number should be provided so the trusted contact can be reached quickly in an emergency, and they should be able to speak English or have access to an interpreter.

We recognise that all our students are independent individuals and any information about them is held securely and not inappropriately shared.

The university will only use information about a trusted contact in rare and serious situations when there is significant reason to believe there may be a risk to a students’ wellbeing.

This may include (but is not limited to) if a student:

has been admitted to hospital in an emergency situation
is experiencing significant physical or mental illness
is exhibiting behaviour that may pose a serious risk to themselves or others
is not engaging with their studies and there is a significant wellbeing concern

It may also be necessary for the university to pass trusted contact details to the emergency services.

Any decision to use a trusted contact will be made by experienced staff in Student Support, taking into consideration the presenting information and the nature and seriousness of the concern.

It is only in rare and infrequent situations that the university will use a trusted contact and, where it is possible, we will always try to involve the student in the decision about their wellbeing.

Our aim is ensure any action taken is in the best interests of the student, to prevent them coming to harm, and to reduce the risk of this happening.

If you have serious concern about a student’s wellbeing, please contact the University’s security team on 0800 389 8455. If it is not urgent you can report a concern to Support and Report, using our online form or email supportandreport@beds.ac.uk. In an emergency, always call 999.