Support and guidance

Moving into university halls should be an exciting and enjoyable experience, but we understand that you might have some worries as well – don’t worry, your Residence Life team is here to help!

Here are some tips to help you manage the transition to life at uni and get to know your new flatmates:

• Say hello! A friendly greeting goes a long way.
• Spend time in your communal kitchen. We know, it can be super nerve-wracking to start with, but the more time you spend with your flatmates, the easier you will find your interactions.
• Get to know your flatmates – what are they studying, where are they from, and do they have any hobbies or interests? Knowing some basic information about each other will help you to get chatting.
• Make your room feel like home. A few simple photos or your favourite blanket or cushions can go a long way to reducing those feelings of loneliness.
• Attend your initial flatmate meeting with your Resident Adviser. This is essential as it provides you with the opportunity to agree your own specific flat rules, alongside the overarching halls of residence terms and conditions, to support positive communal living relationships.
• Arrange a games night with your flatmates. You will find lots of ideas for fun activities in your flat Welcome Box.
• Try out something new. Starting at university is a great time to step out of your comfort zone! A good place to start is the clubs and societies on offer at the Students’ Union.
• Arrange some evenings where you will eat together with your flatmates. You could take it in turns to cook or make it a team effort. Why not try to make each other dishes from your home-town or country as a way of getting to know each other’s backgrounds? And as a bonus, cooking as a group usually works out cheaper – win win!
• Going for a walk to explore our beautiful surroundings? Invite a couple of your flatmates and use the time to get to know the campus and each other.
• Need to relax after a full-on Freshers? A movie night is the perfect way to take it easy while still offering a way to bond with your flatmates.
• Don’t forget to have some ‘me time’. The start of university is a busy time, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed if you don’t schedule in some well-earned down time as well.

If you’re moving away from home for the first time, you may have some worries about what you will do if you feel unwell or experience more serious health concerns. We have lots of support and guidance for you to help you to know what to do.

Long term health conditions:

If you have a long-term health condition, it’s important that you register with Disability Support & Inclusion. The team will help you to access the support you need in relation to your studies and in halls of residence, if applicable.

Accessing healthcare:

• Register with Keele Health Centre: As part of the enrolment process, you will receive guidance on how to register with the GP on campus. This is important so that you can access NHS provision in the local area.
• Campus pharmacy: For minor illnesses, health advice and prescriptions, you can visit Well Pharmacy on campus. There are also a number of other pharmacies in the local area. Take a look at NHS guidance for prescription ordering and delivery. Please note that the University is unable to deliver prescriptions, and if you require this service you should arrange this directly with your GP or pharmacy.
• NHS 111: Medical help for a non-life-threatening situation like a broken bone, or if you aren’t sure who to contact about your medical issue. The service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Calls to 111 are free.

In an emergency:

The NHS advises that the following symptoms are classed as a medical emergency:

• loss of consciousness
• an acute confused state
• fits that are not stopping
• chest pain
• breathing difficulties
• severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
• severe allergic reactions
• severe burns or scalds
• heart attack
• stroke

In these cases, you should call 999 to request an ambulance. You should also contact Security after you have called the ambulance. This is important as it allows for security to guide the ambulance to the correct location, and also attend to the emergency as a first aider.

When it’s not an emergency:

There may be some occasions where you are concerned for your health, but it doesn’t require a 999 call. In these cases, you should contact the NHS 111 service to seek the appropriate medical guidance.

Calling an ambulance when it’s not an emergency can mean that resources are diverted from other callers who are experiencing a medical emergency.

Keep a first aid kit:

As an adult living independently, you should make sure that you have the appropriate equipment and medication to enable you to look after yourself in the case of minor injuries or illnesses. A first aid kit should include:

• Plasters
• Antiseptic wipes or spray
• Painkillers such as paracetemol or ibuprofen
• Anti-allergy medication
• Cold and flu relief

Looking after your health

Sleep: A student lifestyle of studying and socialising can make it easy to slip into poor sleep patterns of staying up late every night and sleeping in past those 9am lectures! But it’s important to try and maintain a good sleep routine of getting around 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night and trying to get up at a reasonable time (most definitely in the morning!) each day, even if you’ve not got lectures.

Healthy eating: Make sure that the majority of your meals are well-balanced and nutritious with plenty of fruit and vegetables, protein and fibre, and then when you do treat yourself to a takeaway or a meal out you will enjoy it even more! Planning your meals in advance and batch cooking with your flatmates can be a good way of keeping your food healthy.

Keeping active: You don’t need to train for a marathon or lift heavy weights to be physically healthy but incorporating aspects of activity in your day-to-day life is beneficial for both your physical and mental wellbeing. Make the most of the beautiful outdoor space to go for walks or runs or take part in a fitness class at the sports centre.

Alcohol: If you drink alcohol, make sure you know and stick to the recommended weekly limits. Regularly exceeding the recommended limits can have a long-term impact on your physical health and can also affect your mental wellbeing. Remember, you can still have fun on a night out even if you don't drink!

Colds, flu, Covid and sickness bugs

If you're unwell with a contagious virus or other illness while living in halls, try your best to avoid spreading this round your flat and block so that other people don't become ill. 

• Use your communal kitchen at less busy times.
• Clean down surfaces in the communal kitchen or bathroom after use.
• Dispose of any tissues or other similar items carefully in a bin so that these won't be picked up by others.
• Consider putting a note on your door asking your domestic not to clean your en-suite if this is scheduled while you are unwell.
• Stay away from lectures and social events until you feel better.
• For further guidance on Covid, please see the University guidance.

Feeling homesick is really common when you’re living away from friends and family for the first time. Here are some tips that might help:

• Let yourself be homesick for a bit! This is perhaps the most important message of all, so we've whacked it right at the top of the list. Feeling homesick isn't a weakness, nor is it something to beat yourself up about. Missing home is something that affects most students – you'll only make the situation worse if you think of it as something to feel guilty about. Let yourself be homesick for a bit. A good cry is good for the soul! But put a time limit on your wallowing. Give yourself 24 hours, and then pick up a phone and ask your new mates if they fancy a coffee or a cup of tea.
• Go out and keep yourself busy. It might be tempting to treat your room as your own little safe haven, but spending lots of time inside will only make the homesickness that much worse. Isolating yourself will make your feelings more intense, as you'll spend even more time thinking about what you miss from home. Try to keep yourself busy by organising day trips, studying at the library rather than in your room, getting a part-time job or even trying out some extracurricular activities.
• Bring home comforts to university. Whether it's your favourite teddy bear or a rag of a blanket that your nan gave you when you were seven, we all have objects that cheer us up when we're not feeling our best. Whatever your comfort things are, make sure you bring them to university with you. And don't be worried about getting stick for having cuddly toys in your uni bedroom – chances are, your flatmates have theirs hidden away somewhere too.
• Keep in touch with home (but not too much!). Whether it's a phone call, a WhatsApp group chat or a letter in the post, keeping in touch with your friends and family helps to close that gap and make you feel more involved with things back home. However, keeping in touch too much can actually make you feel the distance more. The trick is to not let it get to the stage where you're communicating with people back home more than you are with people at uni.
• Explore your new surroundings. One of the main reasons we feel homesick is often to do with being in unfamiliar surroundings, so it's a great idea to set aside some time to explore the campus so you'll feel more at home. Go for walks, do some sightseeing, do voluntary work within the local community or just get to grips with what's available on campus. You're only around for a few years, so now's the time to make the most of it.
• Don't compare yourself to other people. One of the biggest myths about university is that every day is a wild party, where you'll enjoy minimal responsibilities and get drunk most nights of the week. It's easy to look at everyone else's Instagram and Snapchat stories and think you're not having as good of a time as they are, or that you're doing something wrong. But don't forget that social media just shows a superficial snapshot of what people's lives are actually like. Try not to compare your uni experience to others, and don't expect every single day to be the best one of your life.
• Plan one nice thing for yourself a day. Staying positive can be a lot easier said than done. But making a concerted effort to carry a positive attitude around with you will help you to combat homesickness in a major way. Plan things into your day that you enjoy doing and can look forward to, whether it's socialising with friends or a nice hot bath and an episode of Bake Off.
• Ask for help. The jump from school to university can be tough to get your head around at first, and there's no shame in asking for help. If you're having any issues with your course (or anything else for that matter) don't suffer in silence. If you're feeling homesick, worrying about your studies or your finances will only make things worse, so take steps to sort any issues out or get support as soon as they arise. Email Student Services on student.services@keele.ac.uk for some support, or book a drop in appointment to speak to someone face-to-face (virtually or in person).

When living communally in halls of residence, it’s really important that you respect each other’s personal belongings, including food and cooking equipment.

You will have a flatmate meeting at the start of the academic year which will be led by a Resident Adviser. This meeting will include completion of your flatmate agreement which will help you to agree on your own rules for living together. But regardless of what you agree, for example you might decide to all chip in and make milk a communal item, it’s not ok to help yourself to items that a flatmate has bought for themself.

Here are some tips to help make communal kitchens better for everyone:

• Discuss if any items will be communal, and if so, make a plan for how these items will be bought.
• Label your food. Often, incidents of food ‘theft’ are actually genuine mistakes, so being able to identify whose food is who’s can be helpful.
• On your flatmate agreement, make a note of where everyone will keep their food, for example which cupboard or fridge shelf. This way everyone is clear exactly what belongs to who.
• Keep a box in your room for any extra special treats that you can store at room temperature.
• Depending on the type of halls or flat you live in, your kitchen may be lockable. Check if your kitchen locks, and which of your keys you need to use.

Tried all of these suggestions and still experiencing issues? Please get in touch with the Residence Life team, and we will be able to talk through what you have already tried and any other options for resolution.

When it comes to food and personal possessions, please please don’t take or even borrow other people’s items - think about how you would feel if you came to the kitchen to cook your evening meal and realised some items were missing. It’s frustrating and can lead to tensions within your flat, which no-one wants. If you are struggling financially, please reach out for support instead – we have a university hardship fund available to apply for through the Student Services money team.

Depending on the sharing ratios in your block, it's not always possible to divide fridge and freezer space as simply as one shelf per person. Instead, you should follow food hygiene guidance for storing items in the fridge. Shelves can easily be shared as long as you label your items and only use what you know you have bought. Here is some guidance for where you should store different types of food:

Upper shelves:

This is the warmest part of the fridge, so you should store foods that are least at risk of going off - such as deli meats and leftovers.

Lower/middle shelves:

These should be used for dairy or non-dairy equivalents such as milks, cheeses, yogurt and butter.

Bottom shelf:

This is the coldest part of your fridge, and where items such raw meat and fish should be kept. Items like this should be well packaged, to further minimise the risk of cross-contamination.

Drawers:

Vegetables, salads and fruit should be stored in their original packaging in the salad drawer where they will be enclosed.

Door shelves:

This is the warmest area of the fridge and most susceptible to temperature fluctuations. Store foods that have natural preservatives here, such as condiments, jams and juice.

Most importantly, make sure that your food items are well packaged or wrapped. This will avoid the risk of cross-contamination, such as a vegetarian flatmate's non-meat items being touched by meat.

Learning to live alongside other people, who may have different backgrounds, interests and opinions to you, is an important life skill to develop, and the Residence Life team is here to help you do this.

Issues:

I don’t get on with my flatmates:

• It’s an unfortunate fact of life that you may not always get along with the people you live with – this could be the case in a future professional house share as well as at university. Therefore, it’s important to develop the tools you need to be able to handle these difficult situations.
• Try to find common ground – even if you don’t have enough similarities to become good friends, you can usually still find some topics of conversation.
• Compromise when needed. Some flatmates find it helpful to arrange for specific times when the kitchen will be used for socialising, for example.
• Respect each other’s differences. You may have different viewpoints, but it’s important not to turn these into arguments and instead to accept that people will have different lifestyles and personalities.

My flatmates are too noisy:

• When living in a communal environment, some levels of noise are to be expected at certain times of the day.
• You should discuss acceptable noise levels in your flatmate agreement meeting at the start of the academic year.
• If a flatmate is causing excessive noise, in the first instance you should discuss this with them directly, to explain the issues the noise is causing you.
• If you are being affected by noise disturbances at night, you should report this to Security, who will attend to the source of the noise and take appropriate action. Noise complaints will then get referred to the discipline team for potential further action.
• You can also report daytime noise disturbances to security. However, given that some noise is to be expected in the daytime, they will only attend to excessive noise issues.
• You can also contact your Residence Life team who will be able to support with a flat mediation meeting to address noise concerns.

My flatmates don’t clean up the kitchen:

• You should discuss how you will keep the kitchen clean and tidy in your flatmate agreement meeting at the start of the academic year.
• Some flats find it helpful to organise a cleaning rota – this could be taking responsibility for different areas of the kitchen, or designated days for each flatmate.
• If a flatmate is regularly leaving behind a mess, in the first instance you should discuss this directly with them, explaining the issues this is causing.
• If the issues don’t get resolved, you can contact your Residence Life team who will be able to support with a flat mediation meeting to address cleaning concerns.

My flatmates are always having friends over:

• While living in halls of residence, it is permitted to have daytime visitors over to your flat – both your bedroom and communal areas. Many students find it an enjoyable part of halls life to invite friends from other halls or off campus to join them for cooking or general socialising.
• However, if you find that this is intrusive or that it happens too frequently, preventing you from using the kitchen yourself you should discuss the issue with the person who is disturbing you and let them know how it is affecting your use of the kitchen.
• To be a considerate flatmate yourself, it can be helpful to pop a note on your communal whiteboard to inform others of when you will be having friends over or ask others in your group chat if you have one. Remember to follow the rules on guests if a friend is staying overnight.
• You can also contact your Residence Life team who will help to facilitate agreements for use of the kitchen and flat.

I’m struggling with communal living:

• The first step is to speak to your flatmates about the difficulties you are experiencing. They may not realise that their behaviour is having an impact on you.
• Remember, there is more to university life than the people you live with. Try to get to know other students through your course and societies, which will give you options for socialising outside of your flat group.
• If you have taken steps to try to resolve the situation but you are still unhappy, speak to the Residence Life team as we will advise on options available to support you.

For a lot of people, coming to university is their first true experience of living independently. All of a sudden, you’re expected to be doing all sorts of ‘adulting’ that you may not have done before and it can be quite daunting or overwhelming.  

Never fear, the Res Life team are here to help you settle into your new independent lifestyle. Below are some examples of new responsibilities that we know new students can sometimes struggle with.

Cooking

You don’t have to be a culinary Master Chef to survive university – there are loads of easy, healthy and cheap recipes for you to try including many student friendly cooking websites for some tasty inspiration. Why not have a look at The Student Food Project, Tesco Student Recipes or StudentCooking.tv. Below are some top tips for eating well at university:

Cleaning 

Not everyone will enjoy embracing their inner Mrs Hinch, however, keeping your living space clean is a really important part of adulting and living communally. We would always recommend you create a cleaning rota with your flat, this way it’s not always the same people left to clear up and everyone takes responsibility. Whilst living in our halls of accommodation, you do have the added bonus of having someone who will clean your communal areas such as the kitchen and bathrooms. However, there are still certain areas that you will be responsible for and as a rule of thumb we would recommend the below schedule: 

Laundry 

As tempting as it is to dig something out of your laundry basket when you’ve got nothing else to wear, it’s actually just way better to get your clothes washed. In each hall you have a laundrette, so don’t worry, you haven’t got far to go. Below are some top laundry tips:

We know that if students are having a tough time, they’re likely to talk to a friend or family member about it. Whilst there is a wide range of support available for all students at the university there are some handy tips that could help you support a flatmate or friend if they share with you that they’re struggling.

1. The first thing to do is to listen to what they have to say – often, just talking through an issue with a friend can do the world of good. You don’t need to understand everything that they’re saying, or know what the best thing to say is – you can nod, or repeat back to them what they’ve said just to show that they are being heard.
2. It can be helpful to let them know that their feelings are valid. You can let them know that what they’re going through sounds really tough, or let them know that it’s OK for them to feel like that. This will help them to feel that they’re being understood and their feelings accepted.
3. It can be reassuring for someone who may be struggling to be told that they are not alone. Often, mental health struggles can make a person feel quite isolated or lonely. Reassure your friend that you’re glad they spoke to you about how they’re feeling, and that reaching out to talk is a really positive step.
4. Ask your friend what they would like from you. Sometimes, just having a cup of tea and a talk can be exactly what they need. Other times, they might want you to help them find out what support is available to them. In this case, you could offer to help them find out what support is available on or off campus, or if you could help them to get an appointment with their GP.
5. After the conversation, check in on your friend, perhaps a few days later to see how they’re doing. If they don’t want to talk about it, then that’s OK, respect their boundaries.

It’s important for you to remember that you don’t need to have all of the answers or to be an expert in mental health and know exactly what to say. Just by listening reassures your friend that they are being heard and that they are not alone. It’s important that after a difficult conversation you take time to also look after yourself, whether this is practising some self-care, or speaking to someone for a bit of support.

What if my flatmate doesn’t come to me first?

If your flatmate hasn’t come to talk to you about their mental health, but you have concerns that you would like to address, you could initiate a conversation with them to see if they would like to talk about how they’re feeling. Try to choose somewhere quiet where it’s unlikely you’ll be interrupted and make sure you have enough time to chat so that you don’t need to leave halfway through the conversation. If they don’t want to talk about it, then you need to respect that boundary. However, if they do, you can apply the above 5 steps.

What if I’m struggling with my own mental health?

If you yourself are struggling with your own mental wellbeing, it’s important to set yourself boundaries so that you don’t find yourself in a difficult situation. You might want to say “I’m taking time for myself right now”, or “I’m not in the best place at the moment, can we chat later?”. Remember, it isn’t all on you, there is support available for you and your friend at the university. You might feel guilty, or find it hard to say no because you want to help them. But saying no will not make you a ‘bad friend’. By letting them know you are not in the right place to help them, you are looking after your own mental health and also making sure you friend can have the best support available for them. Remember, your mental health is just as important.

I’m still concerned and would like to speak to someone

If you are worried about a friend’s mental health and would like to speak to someone, get in touch with the Res Life Team in Student Services to find out how we could help on student.services@keele.ac.uk

Credit: YoungMinds & Student Minds

Whatever the reasons why, it is easy to think that moving room will solve any issues you are facing. However, there are lots of things you should consider when making this decision – not least how long it might take to secure a room move. Read on for some considerations and then find out more about how the process works.

Trading Flatmates

Whilst you may feel like you are leaving a toxic environment behind, the new environment may be now better. Consider if there is a way to resolve any existing tensions? Review the sections called “Getting Along with Flatmates” and “Problems with Flatmates”.

Waiting Times

There can be extremely long waiting times for room moves. The University only has a limited number of rooms available and can only make offers when rooms are available in the first place.

Even when a room does become available, it will be offered to the first person on the waiting list.

Knowing Of An Empty Room

You may have friends who live in other flats where there are seemingly empty rooms. On some occasions, it may be possible to allow an individual to move to one of these rooms. However, an empty room is not always what it seems...

Sometimes, rooms that appear empty are actually occupied by individuals who are either very introvert or who do not spend much time there. Additionally, they can also be rooms that are already allocated to other students who, for whatever reason, have chosen not to move in at that time, for example, an international student whose course does not start till February but wanted to secure a room now.

Finally, there are always a handful of room available on campus for emergency use, such as those who have been the victim of crime.

How You Will Move

The University will not be able to provide support to help you move room. With this in mind, you will need to consider how you will move and if you will need any help from friends or family.

Type of Room You May Be Offered

Whilst you will have an opportunity to select what type of room you would prefer (and location), the University won't always be able to make that sort of room offer to you. If you are offered a room and you do not feel it is for you, you can decline and continue to wait for an alternative. However, you may have another long wait. If you decline three room offers, you will be removed from the waiting list and will have to reapply.

Do note, if the cost of the room is more than the cost of your current room, you will be charged for the difference. If it is less and you have already paid, you will be entitled to a refund but this may take several weeks to process.

New Living Arrangements

Many students report to us that moving to a new room can come with issues relating to settling in.

Common reported issues are:

• Lack of cupboard space in the kitchen
• Lack of fridge space in the kitchen
• Friendship cliques already formed
• Differing opinions on living arragements
• Existing flatmates not wanting to compromise on how they have lived previously

These issues are not insurmountable and the Residents Advisers and Residence Life Team will support you to resolve these where possible.

Your Old Room

If you move to a new room, your old room will then become vacant and will be offered out to other students. This means that, whatever issues you were facing, may now be faced by another person. Please let the Residence Life Team know if the issue would affect others so that we can try to put something in place to protect you and any future occupants of that room.

Still Considering a Room Move?

If you’ve thought about all these considerations and would still like to consider a room move – you will need apply for one on your accommodation portal on the KLE.

Need a More Urgent Room Move?

If the reason you are looking for a room move is urgent, please contact the Residence Life Team. Support for a priority room move may be given in specific cases but is not guaranteed.

What you can do:

• Contact security in the event of a noise or antisocial behaviour complaint.
• Speak to your Resident Adviser for peer support and guidance.
• Make an appointment to speak to a Residence Life Manager for more in-depth support.
• Report your concerns formally if the behaviour of your flatmate is in breach of student discipline regulations.
• Most importantly, don't suffer in silence, there is lots of support available to you, but for us to be able to help you need to take the first step to access it.

What we can do for you:

• Arrange for a Resident Adviser to visit your flat to offer guidance based on communal living experiences.
• Provide general wellbeing support and a listening ear.
• Facilitate a mediation meeting between you and your flatmate/s, hosted by a Resident Adviser or Residence Life Manager.
• Support you through the discipline reporting process if the behaviour you are experiencing breaches student discipline regulations.

What we can’t do:

• Take forward an anonymous complaint through discipline procedures. This is because as a student you have the right to know if someone has made a complaint about you, so that you can respond to the allegations.
• Take action against another student without evidence.

We understand that as a parent of a student living away from home at university, you may have worries about how they are settling in or managing with independent living. However, students who are over 18 years of age are adults and the University has a legal requirement in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation to respect their privacy. We therefore can't share any information about our students to a third party, including parents/guardians, without that student’s express permission. Please note there may be exceptions for under 18 students, and students classed as adults at risk in line with the University’s safeguarding policy.

Therefore, if you contact the University to make us aware of a concern about a student who lives in our halls of residence, although we won't be able to confirm any specific actions with you, we will investigate the concerns which may involve one of the following depending on the level of concern raised.

What we will do:

• Check our records for any ongoing support or contact with the student.
• Contact the student by email, phone and / or Microsoft Teams to offer support and guidance.
• Arrange for a Resident Adviser to visit the student to offer peer support.
• Conduct an emergency welfare check at the student's accommodation.
• Advise the student on the range of support available, including academic guidance, residence life support, counselling and mental health and disability support, and help them to access this.

What we will not do:

• Confirm if your son and daughter is a student at Keele.
• Guarantee that they will make contact with you.
• Provide any information about academic progress.
• Discuss the support that they are receiving.

We understand that it can be a worry if you think your child is struggling. If you are in contact with them, it’s important to encourage them to access the support that is available to them; we want to be able to help students, but we can only do this if a student is willing to accept the support on offer.

We would contact a student’s next of kin without their permission in the case of certain emergency situations, for example:

• If this was advised by a medical professional.
• On the advice of the police if a student was reported missing.

You can also find further information about ways you can support your student during their studies.