Wellbeing and Resilience team
Our Wellbeing and Resilience team provides free, confidential, specialist support to MK College students across both campuses. When students need someone to talk to or practical advice to improve their mental health, our dedicated Wellbeing and Resilience team is here.
Led by Vicky Golder, who has been at the College for over 20 years, the team includes trained counsellor Caroline Godden, designated teacher Camilla Milner and wellbeing advisers Alex Theobald, Ieuan Moulder, Anya Hunt, Jade Lee and Rachel Salmon. Here, Vicky outlines more about what they do and different ways they support students.
Q: What does the Wellbeing and Resilience team do?
A: Our team’s purpose is to support and look after the wellbeing and mental health of our students.
Q: What qualifications and specialisms do you have to support students?
A: All team members have mental health first aid and safeguarding qualifications and are all Designated Safeguarding Officers (DSOs), as well as recieving training in their own specialist areas. I am one of the College’s Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). Caroline is a qualified counsellor. Camilla looks after under-16s, looked-after young people, care leavers and young asylum seekers.
Q: What kind of help does the Wellbeing and Resilience team offer students?
A: Students can talk to us about anything, including mental health issues, social-emotional issues, and home issues. Sometimes, students just want to talk to someone confidentially. We support people in crisis, for example, if they are experiencing relationship problems, or home problems. We try to guide them through and teach them some strategies to help.
Q: How do wellbeing advisers provide 1:1 student support?
A: Wellbeing advisers have a caseload where they can meet with students every week or check in with them ad-hoc.
Q: How can students access wellbeing support?
A: On their application, they can tick the wellbeing box, which creates the referral that comes through to me. I triage the referrals and give them to my guys on their caseloads. Referrals come in throughout the year, and students can also self-refer.
Q: How does the College prioritise student wellbeing?
A: The College has invested hugely in this. We have wellbeing rooms at both campuses. I am based in Bletchley, but we have staff at both sites and staff work across both sites. When I started in this role, it was just myself. In the last five years, we have grown from just one person to now having five advisers. Awareness about mental health has increased a lot. Thankfully, there’s not such a stigma about mental health and struggling and needing to talk.
Q: How do you ensure a joined-up approach?
A: What we do in our sessions is confidential unless it is a safeguarding issue. But with student permission, we do a lot of middleman work. If students are not confident talking to tutors, we can talk to them on their behalf and reach out to them. We have great relationships with staff and the Heads of School.
Q: How does the Wellbeing Team engage with parents?
A: We have really good relationships with parents. We welcome parent input because if we are all working together and aware of what is going on, it’s good.
Q: What’s the best part about your role?
A: Just knowing that you’re helping, especially if a student is in crisis and knowing we have the skills to get them in a good place again. Without our support, some students wouldn’t be emotionally ready to be at college and complete their courses. We make a difference.
Contact the Wellbeing and Resilience team by emailing wellbeingteam@mkcollege.ac.uk or students can self-refer by emailing ineedsupport@mkcollege.ac.uk