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Wellbeing and Welfare

For urgent help, see Emergencies.

Wellbeing and Welfare team

The Wellbeing and Welfare team below are people in College to turn to for help and advice should you find yourself in trouble or in need of support. If you are unsure whom to ask, contact the Welfare Lead.

Matters discussed with members of the Wellbeing and Welfare team will be treated in line with this Student Health and Welfare: Guidance on Confidentiality. The email address welfare@​balliol.​ox.​ac.​uk is primarily managed by the Welfare Lead but may occasionally be monitored during normal office hours and in order to cover periods of annual leave by senior members of the Wellbeing and Welfare team (below), or by the Domestic Bursar as manager of the Welfare Lead. Please note that vacation support is on a different footing to the term-time services listed below.

As Welfare Lead, Hannah provides welfare support to all undergraduate and graduate students, and coordinates Balliol’s student wellbeing and welfare provision. She works full time during term time and is available by appointment. At Broad Street she is in Staircase XXII, Room 1; she also meets students at Jowett Walk, 4G2.

Chris is available during term time to advise, treat and support any College member who is unwell, injured or in other difficulty. She gives advice, treatment, and support on a range of health matters including minor ailments and minor injuries, and travel advice. She also helps with mental health and welfare concerns including sleep disturbance, anxiety and panic attacks, and low mood. Chris is available at the Broad Street site (Staircase XXII, Room 1A/B) and Jowett Walk (4G2), 0th week to 9th week, at the times below. All appointments must be arranged by email or telephone. Students too ill to leave their room should leave a note at the Lodge via a scout or friend and Chris will call to see them. If she is not available (she works part-time and may not be on duty), students should contact the College Doctor at 19 Beaumont Surgery, telephone 01865 240501: please use this link: 19 Beaumont Street Surgery.

  • Monday: 9.00am‑4.00pm at Jowett Walk 4.G.2/Broad Street option
  • Tuesday: 11.00–4.30pm at Jowett Walk 4.G2/Broad Street option
  • Wednesday: 9.30am‑1.30pm MS Teams
  • Thursday: 9.00am‑2.30pm at Broad Street Staircase XXII, 1A/B
  • Friday: closed
  • Saturday: 10.00am‑1.00pm (Welfare & Wellbeing) at Broad Street Staircase XXII, 1A/B
  • Sunday: closed

Steph provides a confidential space in which to listen to students’ emotional concerns and issues. She is a registered counselling psychologist with over ten years’ experience, working with people from diverse backgrounds with a range of mental health and emotional difficulties. On days when she is not working at Balliol, she works at the University Counselling Service. Steph is available at Balliol by appointment on Wednesdays, 9.00–5.00pm, from 0th–9th week.

Fiona is available during term time and vacations to support students with welfare matters and concerns relating to hardship and disability. She can be approached for help in accessing University welfare, disability, and support services, and with queries relating to arrangements for College accommodation and exam adjustments owing to disability or illness. She is also available to discuss any financial aid students might need due to unexpected hardship, concerns about unforeseen demands on funding or support for health and welfare concerns – see also Financial Support.

Junior Deans

The Junior Deans support the welfare and decanal systems of the College across the three accommodation sites, working together under the guidance of the Wellbeing and Welfare Lead and other College Officers. All Junior Deans receive welfare training at the University prior to starting their roles. Working together but in either undergraduate- or graduate-facing roles, they are available to offer a caring and listening ear or word of encouragement, and their primary welfare role is in signposting students to the appropriate professional support. They are on duty, on site, between 7.00pm and 8.00am and work with the Lodge to help with emergencies. They are:

Junior Deans — for undergraduates

Junior Deans — for graduates

Please check the Master’s Field/Holywell Manor Junior Dean rota to see who is on duty.

Women’s Officer

The Women’s Officer [to be confirmed] is available to talk to anyone who wholly or partially identifies as a woman, about problems or concerns, particularly those relating to issues such as gender representation, discrimination, harassment, safety, and sexual health.

Harassment Advisors

The Harassment Advisors can be contacted for confidential advice on matters relating to harassment:

For more information, see also the harassment page.

Personal Tutors and College Advisers

Personal Tutors (undergraduates) and College Adviser (graduates) are available to students for pastoral support. The names of individual Personal Tutors and College Advisers are in the College List (available from the beginning of term).

Peer supporter

Cherie Wong is a student volunteer who provides a Coffee & Chat service exclusively for Balliol’s student community. This includes a free drink in a local café, where students can chat to Cherie on a 1:1 basis about any issues. She will provide advice and signpost you to people and resources that can help. Cherie is peer-support trained — in case you need that extra bit of care. To book, just email Cherie at peer.​support@​balliol.​ox.​ac.​uk and say you want to have a chat.

Wellbeing and Welfare at Balliol

Balliol is a diverse community including students from many different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. It is committed to promoting equality and avoiding discrimination; to maintaining a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all members of the community are respected; and to ensuring students’ fitness to study while they are at Balliol, helping them to towards a successful university experience.

The Welfare and Wellbeing team above can advise students or direct them to appropriate sources of support about issues that may be affecting their wellbeing, including:

  • Health concerns, minor ailments, and injuries
  • Anxiety, stress, panic attacks, low mood, sleep disturbance, the effects of bereavement, or mental health concerns
  • Difficulties arising from drug or alcohol use, or from eating disorders
  • Issues relating to gender identity, those specific to being a woman or coming from a minority ethnic or LGBTQ+ group
  • Challenges from estrangement from parents, care experience or being a student parent
  • Dealing with the effects of sexual abuse, assault, or violence.

Vacation support

While some people and resources described on this page and elsewhere in this section (see the menu below) may continue to be available during the vacation, students remaining in Oxford in vacation periods should be aware that College staff will take leave or be otherwise unavailable outside of term. Vacation Support for Graduates provides information for the Graduate Centre. If a member of the Wellbeing and Welfare Team is not available, please email welfare@​balliol.​ox.​ac.​uk (the inbox is monitored, but there may be breaks in service over the summer). See also Emergencies.

The University’s Vacation Welfare Support page provides a number of emergency resources. The Oxford Vacation Guide provides information for those staying in Oxford during vacations.