At St Edmund’s we are committed to the wellbeing and academic success of our students and aim to make sure that every member of the College is supported appropriately.
We are committed to supporting all applicants throughout the admissions process. If your education has been seriously disrupted or disadvantaged through ill health, disability, difficulties with schooling, or challenging personal or family circumstances, we encourage you to submit an Extenuating Circumstances Form (ECF) with your application. You can find more about this process here. This will enable us to take your personal situation into consideration when assessing your application. Please also make us aware of any accessibility arrangements that we could put in place to allow you to better demonstrate your full potential during the application process. If you would like a chat with our Admissions or Wellbeing Teams about the support we can offer at any point in the admissions cycle or once you have been made an offer, please do feel free to get in touch with us by emailing us at: admissions@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
Wellbeing Team
St Edmund’s has a dedicated wellbeing team, which consists of Nqobile Msomi, the Director of Wellbeing; Isaac Wilkinson, the Wellbeing Officer; Martine Vanwyck, the Mental Health Practitioner; and Taryn Rothwell, the College Nurse.
They are there to provide students with health and wellbeing support and guidance and you can make an appointment to speak to them if you wish.
Tutors
All students at St Edmund’s, both undergraduates and postgraduates, are assigned a Tutor who is responsible for their general wellbeing and pastoral care and is the first port of call for help and advice relating to the College and the University.
The role of the Tutor is to provide all-round support and guidance on any aspect of student life while you are studying for your degree. This might include your wellbeing, any financial worries you might have, or health concerns. They are also able to respond with enthusiasm and encouragement to an extra-curricular activity you might be planning and possibly help guide you towards additional funding opportunities.
Tutors are a student’s main point of contact with the College on many issues, and listed below are some of the ways in which they regularly provide help:
- Introducing and welcoming new students to Cambridge and College life
- Being a point of contact for all wellbeing and health-related matters and problems
- Providing advice on financial issues, ranging from budgeting, financial hardship, delayed loan payments to dealing with unexpected changes in your circumstances
- Navigating your way through the examinations and assessment processes, by ensuring that any special arrangements for examinations are put in place, and helping you to make any complaints or appeals that might be warranted
- Changing your course of study, or helping you to apply for temporary intermissions or disregarding of Terms
- Advice on study methods and support in the event of difficulties with courses or supervisors.
Porters
All of our Porters are friendly and approachable. They are also all trained in mental health first-aid and can provide assistance to students if required. The Porters’ Lodge is open 24 hours a day.
The Common Room (or ‘CR’)
Then CR has two dedicated Welfare Officers who represent the interests of students in official meetings and provide help and support to individual students.
Applicants with disabilities
We would hope that all applicants with strong academic potential consider St Edmund’s as their choice of college regardless of any disability they may have.
At St Edmund’s, we are committed to providing the appropriate support for students with any disabilities, specific learning difficulties (SpLD), long-term health conditions, mental health conditions and injuries.
If you are made an offer to study at St Edmund’s, we will ask you if you have any specific requirements for accommodation relating to a medical need or disability. We will work with you to ensure these needs can be met. The college can offer accessible rooms where these are required.
Access to all communal spaces and College facilities can be gained through either step-free access on the ground floor, or via elevators where those facilities are located on different floors.
The Accessibility & Disability Resource Centre (ADRC)
The ADRC offers information, guidance and support to prospective students, applicants and current students. It provides a confidential and accessible service that can be accessed via their website.
The objectives of the ADRC are to:
- Provide advice and guidance for prospective and current disabled students to enable them to access a wide range of services
- Develop and implement support programmes for disabled students to ensure equal opportunity, access and attainment
- Provide advice, guidance and training for University and College staff in meeting the institutions’ duties to disabled students within the context of disability equality legislation.
The ADRC also supports individuals with any impairment/disability, medical matter or injury, including those with:
- Specific learning difficulties (including dyslexia, dyspraxia)
- Physical/mobility impairments and injuries (including wheelchair users, Upper Limb Disorder – also known as RSI)
- Sensory impairments (including hearing impairment, visual impairment)
- Mental health difficulties (including depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder)
- Long standing illnesses/health conditions (including cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV, diabetes, epilepsy)
- Asperger syndrome and autism.
Care-experienced students and estranged students
The University provides support for care-experienced students. At St Edmund’s, we offer year-long (52-week) rental agreements in College accommodation, and many of our students live here year-round throughout their studies. The University also offers financial assistance to UK undergraduate students in the form of a Cambridge Bursary and students aged 25 or over, or who are estranged, receive up to £6,600 each year.
The University of Cambridge has signed up to the Care Leaver Covenant, which commits to the provision of support and opportunities for young people leaving the care system. For estranged students, the University has signed up to the Stand Alone Pledge.
If you have been in care or class yourself as estranged, please have a look at the University guidance and get in touch with us if you wish—we would be very happy to set up a video call to discuss your options.
Student Parents
Accommodation
St Edmund’s has a limited amount of family accommodation available on-site. This includes studio flats as well as two- and three-bedroomed flats. This accommodation is available on a first-come, first-served basis. To register your interest and find out more, please contact our accommodation team by emailing them at: acccomodation@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
Our student parents find the open space around the College a perfect place for their children to play. There is also a children’s playground a few minutes from the College.
Events
At St Edmund’s, the St Teddy’s Club offers regular family events for our student parents.
A number of events are scheduled during the year, including welcome events at the start of the Michaelmas term, family lunches in College, play afternoons and other activities. Further information can be found on the College Calendar and on the Tutorial notice board or by emailing: welfare@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk
The CR has a dedicated Families Officer who can be reached via email at: cr-families@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
Childcare information
There are some excellent and comprehensive pages on the University website about childcare and financial assistance for families.
Childcare Costs
The College-funded Central Childcare Bursary Scheme for EU and Overseas students can provide assistance with costs associated with registered childcare costs. Further details are available here.
The UK Access to Learning Fund (ALF) previously provided small awards to support childcare costs incurred by home students in financial hardship. To allow this funding stream to continue, a small fund has been established under the remit of the Childcare Office for home student parents. Further information about this fund can be found here.
University Student Parent newsletters
The University publishes a frequent newsletter with various useful pieces of information relevant to student parent, including events taking place across the University and items for sale. If you would like to subscribe, please contact the Childcare Information Service. Further information is available here.
Newcomers and Visiting Scholars
The Newcomers and Visiting Scholars (NVS) service welcomes all those who are new and attached formally to the University of Cambridge, whether they are here alone or with their family. NVS hosts weekly coffee mornings, talks and other events. Further information about this service can be found on the NVS’ website.
Keeping in touch
One of the most important things is for us to know who you are! Please email us at welfare@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk and we will add your little ones names to the St Teddy’s Club.