Session Outline

Introducing the UKAT Mental Health and Wellbeing toolkit for personal tutors.

Elisabeth Herbert (U C L); Nienke Alberts (Bristol university)

Over the past decade, higher education has witnessed a significant rise in student mental health challenges, both in prevalence and complexity. These developments coincide with increasing pressures on academic staff, including escalating workloads, financial uncertainty, and institutional restructuring. Research highlights that student mental health and wellbeing (MHW) directly impacts staff wellbeing, particularly for those roles such as Personal and Senior Tutors (Hughes & Bowers-Brown, 2021; Brewster et al., 2022; Augustus et al., 2023; Alberts, 2025). The dual responsibility of supporting academic progress and pastoral care places tutors at the intersection of student success and staff resilience, underscoring the need for evidence-informed strategies to sustain both.

In response, we established the Mental Health and Wellbeing Special Interest Group (SIG) and developed a practical toolkit designed to strengthen the capacity of Personal Academic Tutors (PATs). The resource draws on current research and theory in personal tutoring, including the importance of relational pedagogy and the role of trust and belonging in student engagement (Lochtie et al., 2025; McIntosh & Grey, 2017). It integrates approaches from coaching theory (Whitmore, 2017), collaborative learning and wellbeing frameworks to provide tutors with actionable strategies for supporting students and themselves. Evidence suggests that structured, reflective dialogue and coaching-informed practices enhance tutors’ confidence and clarity, enabling them to navigate complex pastoral issues while promoting student autonomy and resilience.

The toolkit offers guidance on creating psychologically safe spaces, applying active listening and questioning techniques, and using models such as GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) to facilitate goal-oriented conversations. These practices not only support the pastoral dimension of tutoring but contribute to academic success and graduate outcomes by fostering student agency and self-efficacy. Furthermore, the resource addresses tutor wellbeing by encouraging reflective practice and peer support, aligning with research that links staff development and wellbeing to improved student outcomes (Gammage & Gannon, 2021).

This lightning talk will showcase the rationale behind the SIG, the development of the toolkit, and its potential to enhance advising and tutoring practice across the sector. By embedding evidence-informed approaches, we aim to equip PATs with the skills and confidence to manage the increasing complexity of student needs while safeguarding their own wellbeing. Ultimately, this initiative contributes to UKAT’s core themes: fostering belonging and mattering, supporting mental health, and enabling student success through sustainable, research-driven tutoring practices

Barriers and Boundaries: Navigating Academic Advising and Pastoral Support for Neurodivergent Students in Higher Education

Janine Dixon (University of Manchester); Neil Morrison (University of Manchester)

Academic advising and pastoral care are designed to support student development, reflection and wellbeing, yet in practice their boundaries with teaching are often ambiguous for students (Butcher and Lane, 2024). While staff may view their roles in different contexts as distinct and granular, students often experience them as fluid and overlapping, creating uncertainty and missed opportunities for support. This issue is particularly significant for neurodivergent students, who represent an estimated 15-20% (Pigato, 2024; Doyle, 2020). Barriers that affect many learners often have intensified consequences for neurodivergent students, thereby exposing systemic weaknesses in advising and support structures (Butcher and Lane, 2024; McDowall and Kiseleva, 2024). Evidence suggests that belonging is critical to student wellbeing, and that advising relationships can underpin psychological security. Therefore, misaligned boundaries and processes can undermine inclusion (Rubinstein, 2025; Accardo et al., 2025).

Unclear role distinctions and advising processes can leave students uncertain about when and how to seek help, particularly in contexts where support information is delayed or inconsistently communicated (McDowall and Kiseleva, 2024; Butcher and Lane, 2024). These challenges are compounded by further delays or inconsistencies in the creation and dissemination of student disability support plans (McDowall and Kiseleva, 2024), whereas students are told and rightly expect that their support plans have been seen and their needs understood by all staff they will encounter. Rigid routines and impractical meeting times can reduce confidence and impede engagement, while literal interpretations of institutional or advisor communication may inadvertently deter students from making contact when they would benefit from it (Pigato, 2024).

Academics encounter parallel constraints, including limited or delayed access to student disability support plans, which restricts timely and tailored advising. There is persistent tension between maintaining consistency in the application of the advising models, meeting institutional expectations, and following frameworks (Accardo et al., 2025), while affording flexibility to meet individual needs. Ambiguity in role expectations across advising and teaching further complicates practice, while ethical dilemmas arise over whether matching students to advisors based on specific needs enhances equity or risks profiling (Butcher and Lane, 2024).

Pragmatic opportunities include streamlining communication and support pathways to ensure the timely sharing of essential information (McDowall and Kiseleva, 2024). Establishing mentoring or peer support schemes can add continuity and relational depth to advising interactions (Accardo et al., 2025), while privileging relationship building over transactional meetings helps foster belonging and mattering (Cook Sather et al., 2014). Finally, embedding reflective practice and inter institutional sharing of solutions can sustain inclusive approaches at scale (Pigato, 2024).

The lightning talk will draw on the reflective practice and professional experience of academics within two departments within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester. Janine Dixon is a Senior Lecturer and Final-year Year Manager in the Department of Materials Fashion Business Technology. Neil Morrison is a Senior Lecturer and Student Support and Wellbeing Tutor within the Department of Mathematics. Both departments follow the university’s Academic Advising Model, but with variations to the format of their approach. Attendees will be encouraged to consider how boundaries and barriers shape student experience and staff practice at their institutions, and how can institutions balance consistency with flexibility, and which strategies most effectively reduce barriers for both students and staff?

Supporting Students at Risk – A Proactive Approach to Academic Advising and Wellbeing

Jingyi Mao (University of Leicester)

In summer 2025, the University of Leicester School of Business piloted a targeted initiative designed to identify and support students at risk of non-progression due to multiple failed or incomplete assessments. Led jointly by the Director of Education and the Senior Tutor for Economics, the project involved direct outreach to undergraduate students who had four or more modules with outstanding assessments, either from first-attempt failures or mitigating circumstances.

The primary objectives of this initiative were fourfold: to conduct wellbeing checks; ensure students understood their academic progression status; discuss study and resit plans; and promote engagement with the University’s summer school provision as an opportunity for academic recovery and confidence building. Recognising the sensitive and often complex nature of these conversations, the Senior Tutor personally conducted all initial calls. This approach not only ensured consistency and care but also provided valuable insights into the student experience, informing future guidance and training for personal tutors.

Across two year groups, 44 students were contacted (23 in Year 1 and 21 in Year 2), with an overall response rate of approximately 68%. The conversations revealed distinct patterns of need. Year 1 students primarily required academic clarification, particularly around interpreting board outcomes, understanding which assessment components needed resitting, and navigating university systems such as My Student Record. In contrast, Year 2 students often presented with a combination of academic, personal, and financial challenges.

The responses underscored the interconnectedness of wellbeing, belonging, and academic success. For many students, direct personal contact from the department was perceived as an expression of care and belonging at a critical time of uncertainty. The intervention enabled timely referrals to specialist services such as the Welfare, ULSB Support Team, and the Centre for Academic Achievement. Students were also encouraged to engage with module leaders, attend office hours, and make use of summer schools (revision support) to strengthen both skills and confidence.

This proactive model of academic advising highlights how personalised, compassionate engagement can foster student belonging, support wellbeing, and improve progression outcomes. It also demonstrates how personal tutoring can evolve to address complex institutional challenges, balancing academic integrity with empathy and student care.

The proposed session will share practical insights, data, and case examples from this pilot, including strategies for scaling the approach across departments. Attendees will have opportunities to discuss implementation challenges and collaboratively explore how similar interventions could be embedded within their own institutions. Through discussion and shared reflection, the session aims to empower colleagues to develop proactive, student-centred approaches that integrate wellbeing and academic support to improve student success and retention.

Learning Outcomes

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