To consider relevant professional advice and guidance where appropriate; To comply with legal duties and responsibilities; To safeguard the needs of staff and students affected by inappropriate behaviours; To consider the impact of any breaks in study holistically and provide appropriate, advice, information and guidance to those concerned. This policy is complementary to, but does not replace the Student Conduct and Disciplinary rules, the Safeguarding policy or the Fitness to Practice policy. Support for Students during the process Students with physical or mental health difficulties will be encouraged to avail themselves of support from the University Student Support Services including the Counselling Service and the Disability Support Service. Where possible these services will be accessed before the Support to study meeting is called. Students may invite a friend, family member or an adviser from the Student Union to accompany them to the Support to study meeting and / or the Fitness to Study Panel. The University welcomes relevant Healthcare or Social care professionals who wish to accompany students to Fitness to Study meetings. Any other representative (such as a Legal Adviser) would not usually be allowed without express advance permission. Students are required to inform the panel of anyone who will be accompanying them. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, members of staff may not accompany students or act as the representative during the Fitness to Study process. Students with disabilities may be student’s accompanied by a Support Worker if required. Confidentiality When the Fitness to Study Policy is invoked the University will take account of the rights of the student under the Equalities Act and the Data Protection Act. Staff will act with regard for the expectation of an appropriate level of student confidentiality. Any personal information that is disclosed will be handled and stored as sensitive data. If the student chooses not to provide their consent this decision should be respected in most instances. In this scenario, the implications of nondisclosure in terms of additional support should be made clear. However, there exist rare occasions when the consent is withheld, or it is impracticable to try student’s to obtain it, when confidentiality may be broken. These include:
To consider relevant professional advice and guidance where appropriate; To comply with legal duties and responsibilities; To safeguard the needs of staff and students affected by inappropriate behaviours; To consider the impact of any breaks in study holistically and provide appropriate, advice, information and guidance to those concerned. This policy is complementary to, but does not replace the Student Conduct and Disciplinary rules, the Safeguarding policy or the Fitness to Practice policy. Support for Students during the process Students with physical or mental health difficulties will be encouraged to avail themselves of support from the University Student Support Services including the Counselling Service and the Disability Support Service. Where possible these services will be accessed before the Support to study meeting is called. Students may invite a friend, family member or an adviser from the Student Union to accompany them to the Support to study meeting and / or the Fitness to Study Panel. The University welcomes relevant Healthcare or Social care professionals who wish to accompany students to Fitness to Study meetings. Any other representative (such as a Legal Adviser) would not usually be allowed without express advance permission. Students are required to inform the panel of anyone who will be accompanying them. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, members of staff may not accompany students or act as the student’s representative during the Fitness to Study process. Students with disabilities may be accompanied by a Support Worker if required. Confidentiality When the Fitness to Study Policy is invoked the University will take account of the rights of the student under the Equalities Act and the Data Protection Act. Staff will act with regard for the expectation of an appropriate level of student confidentiality. Any personal information that is disclosed will be handled and stored as sensitive data. If the student chooses not to provide their consent this decision should be respected in most instances. In this scenario, the implications of nondisclosure in terms of additional support should be made clear. However, there exist rare occasions when the student’s consent is withheld, or it is impracticable to try to obtain it, when confidentiality may be broken. These include:
Fitness-to-Study-Policy-Revised-28-April-2017.docx