Access policy

Services are available to all current students of Queen Mary, including those on electives and placements.  Offer holders are able to access our Welfare Advice and International Student Advice services for advice in relation to their future studies at Queen Mary.  

We will work with students whose needs can be met within the parameters, knowledge and expertise of our service.  For queries outside the remit of the Service, staff will provide information about alternative sources of help wherever possible. 

Students who are temporarily out of attendance for example on an interruption, or on a period of study abroad, or distance learners will be able to access our services. However when students are overseas we cannot offer Counselling, only a supportive phone call.

The Service provides limited services to students once they have completed their studies.  Staff will work with clients towards an agreed ending at or before course completion.  Where this is not possible, limited service provision is extended to ensure a smooth transition into external sources of support and to facilitate appropriate referrals. This will not normally extend beyond one or two sessions.   

Students who have graduated from one course and will join another Queen Mary course at the start of the next academic year can continue to access services in the usual way, if there is a continuing need to do so.

Students seeking advice about immigration options after their studies can continue to access the service during the four months after the end of their course (when their immigration permission usually expires).

Please check our contact page for our opening times and how to contact us.  

Our website has been prepared using accessible templates provided by Queen Mary. We strive to ensure that our written information complies with plain English standards and is accessible to all students.

We offer appointments in person at our Mile End campus, or online via Teams. We can also offer phone appointments. Welfare and immigration advice can be offered by email.

• We collect monitoring data for clients using our services in order to monitor our accessibility and address any need for us to engage in outreach work or proactive involvement with particular student groups.   
• We invite service users to complete an online feedback survey. This allows us to gain feedback on our service provision, monitor standards and reflect on areas for improvement or development 
• We have regular liaison with Queen Mary Students’ Union to facilitate feedback from the student body about our service provision and accessibility 
• Our Service has representation on many Queen Mary working groups which facilitates feedback from students and staff about our service provision and accessibility. 
• Regular meetings with academic schools and professional services allow us to respond to feedback, raise awareness about our service provision and consider demand for new services or developments   
• Staff regularly attend meetings, training and events through their professional organisations to monitor trends and demand for student services provision in the HE sector.

In certain circumstances, access to our services may be limited or refused.  See our  Withdrawal of Service Policy. 

• We consider local recruitment wherever possible in order to obtain a staff composition more representative of the area that Queen Mary is in.  
• We aim to utilise local and national publications to encourage under-represented groups to apply for vacant positions, where appropriate. 
• We are committed to our staff participating in any training provided by Queen Mary on equal opportunities. 

All specialist staff participate in regular supervision activities to monitor:  

• quality 
• good practice and compliance with professional ethical standards 
• ethics and conflict of interest 
• consistency of decisions relating to clinical work, advice work and advocacy   

You can read more about how each of our specialist staff teams work as well as professional standards on their separate webpages: 

• Welfare Advisers 
• International Student Advisers 
• Counsellors 
• Mental Health Advisers 
• Student Wellbeing Advisers  

The Head of Service, Deputy Heads of Service and Frontline Services Manager monitor and review frontline service provision on an ongoing basis.

• We strive to provide an environment that is accessible and acceptable to a diverse range of students by remaining aware of difference regarding ethnicity, culture, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability and gender.   
• We embrace the Queen Mary equality policies and strive to provide a confidential and non-judgemental environment that enables all clients to be treated with dignity and respect.   
• Our premises are fully wheelchair accessible.    
• We have a mobile loop system.   
• Our waiting areas and consulting rooms are arranged to take account of clients with mobility and sensory disabilities.  
• We are responsive to the needs of clients with physical or mental disabilities and will make reasonable adjustments necessary to provide an environment appropriate to individual needs 
• We offer appointments via Teams or by phone if students prefer not to attend in person.

Complaints are dealt with under our Complaints Policy. 

This policy is reviewed annually by the Head of the Advice and Counselling Service. 

Updated: March 2022 

Review Date: March 2023 

Staff member responsible for review:  Niall Morrissey