Students at the Deaf Workshop Wellbeing Week session
Students at the Deaf Workshop Wellbeing Week session

UWL’s Wellbeing team host practical workshops to support new and returning students

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This week the Wellbeing team hosted a series of workshops for students covering a variety of topics to help them thrive at UWL and get the most out of their time here.

The workshops were run by members of the Wellbeing team (disability and mental health, counselling and faith) – in collaboration with other teams, such as Student Money, Students' Union and Study Support.

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All workshops were in person apart from ‘Alcohol & Drugs: Support for those whose family or friends are affected by its use’ which was online and provided a safe and confidential space for anyone to share or ask questions.

A workshop called ‘The Disabled Student Allowance: What you need to know’ covered who could be eligible; the support offered; the application process and how the Disability and Mental Health team support with this.

A workshop on ‘Boundaries and communication’ discussed healthy versus unhealthy relationships, communication skills, boundary setting and strategies for looking after yourself.

Other workshop topics included sleep hygiene, celebrating neurodiversity, wellbeing life hacks, mindfulness, budgetin, and getting involved in university life.

Disability advisor Robbie Stanton ran a workshop on ‘Deaf awareness and introduction to BSL’.

We are getting a lot more students with a hearing impairment and it is important that they feel included and supported. In my session I suggested how to communicate with deaf people and basic BSL. This included how to sign your name and finger spell,”

said Robbie.

Criminology student Phoenix, who attended the workshop, said:

It is important to me that I learn BSL so that I can communicate with others when I have moments where I am unable to speak. I came to a deaf awareness workshop earlier this year and it was great to have a recap of what I learned. I hope there will be many more of these workshops.”

Advertising, Branding and Communication student Bethonie said:

The workshop was really useful, not only in teaching basic BSL but also in highlighting some of the obvious and less obvious challenges that Deaf and Hard of hearing people face every day. I hope more people take these opportunities in the future so university life can be accessible for all."

The Wellbeing team plan to run Wellbeing Week again during the next semester, plus other workshops at ad hoc dates throughout the year.

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