Welfare and Wellbeing

At Pembroke, welfare support is not something that a few people provide when students are experiencing a crisis, but rather, it is firmly engrained in our College culture and provided by all members of our community. Everyone who works at Pembroke is committed to creating an environment where students are able to flourish.

Students celebrate each other’s successes, lift each other up at difficult times, and support one another to get the most from Oxford – personally and academically.

 

Current students: please find welfare and wellbeing contacts and resources on the Pembroke Hub.

Adam is a Social Worker by background and within college he is responsible for providing support and advice to students in relation to their emotional and physical health. He provides advice to students and staff on access to appropriate services both within the college and University as well as universal services provided by the NHS and Social Care. He is able to liaise with these services on behalf of students and staff as required.

In collaboration with other members of the Welfare Team Adam is responsible for developing Welfare policy in the college. He welcomes the input of both staff and students in its development.

Adam is available in college on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. You can contact him by email to book a meeting or pop by to see him. Adam is based in The Salt Room on the first floor of the Almshouse and if the door is ajar he should be available so please feel free to knock!

Adam Griffiths

Welfare Lead

If you need support, there is always someone you can talk to and the conversation can be as formal or as informal as you like! Simply speaking through a problem can be helpful and, if additional support is required, we can help you to identify resources within the College or University (or further afield) that can help you to get back to a place where you are able to get the most from your time at Pembroke and Oxford.

Rebekah White

Welfare Adviser

@pembrokejcr "A shout out to our incredible librarians who have started to roll out a 'mystery book box' for all our isolating households!!! Laura you are honestly the best!! Thank you so much - Hattie xx"

Harriet Carter

JCR Publications Rep

We recognise that there is a diversity of needs across our student community, and we want the academic journey of every individual to be a successful and fulfilling experience. You may find the information below useful in exploring the support that is available.

The terms ‘welfare’ and ‘wellbeing’ are relevant to all students at all times! Positive welfare and wellbeing involve having good mental health and a sense of meaning, purpose, and contentment. Students tend to come to Pembroke with a set of goals that are tied into positive welfare and wellbeing. Although bringing different expectations and experiences to University, most students share some version of a common goal: to immerse themselves in their subject, to achieve their potential, and to enjoy themselves as much as possible along the way. The Welfare and Wellbeing team (and everyone who is a part of the Pembroke Community) work with students to help them realise these goals as well as other goals that they may have already set or that they set along the way!

We urge students to actively engage with College Welfare and Wellbeing support and have worked to create a culture where it is positive, encouraged and normal to ask for support when needed. One way that we work with students is by providing support if challenges arise during a student’s time at University. These challenges may be related to pre-existing health conditions (for example, mental health conditions, physical health conditions), learning (or other) disabilities, or personal circumstances. Or, they may be new challenges that emerge during a student’s time at University.

If a student has a pre-existing health condition, learning (or other) disability, or set of personal circumstances that may affect their capacity to flourish at Pembroke and University, we strongly encourage them to get in touch before arriving so that we can work with the student either to put appropriate support in place and thereby smooth the transition to University, or to point out College and University resources that may prove useful should they need extra support at any time. Another way that we work to support students in achieving their goals is by cultivating a culture that promotes positive wellbeing – for example, by running events that are aimed at helping students to feel good, achieve balance, and build connections. We hope that our proactive approach to welfare and wellbeing means that, should challenges arise, we are in a place to support students early and before these challenges exert too great an impact on a student’s health, happiness and capacity to flourish.

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