Raise a Note of Concern for a Student: Staff

The Note of Concern is an online form designed for staff to alert the Safeguarding Team to any non-emergency concerns about a student. The aim of the form is to enable the Safeguarding Team to provide support through early intervention and prevent the risk of the issue escalating further. See form here.

Please note, if an incident of bullying, harassment or sexual violence has occurred, please fill out a report an incident form.

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Guidance for submitting a note of concern form

How to complete a note of concern form 

The form includes two main questions:

  1. The first question  asks you to check a box to indicate the nature of your concern.
  2. The second question  will ask for a brief summary of your concern, and if applicable, additional information based on your selection.

For the following three selections, you’ll be asked to provide specific details. Guidance on what to include is outlined below:

1. Concerning statement/disclosures

If you select ‘Concerning statement/disclosures,’ please provide details of any statements or comments made that raised concern for the student. Use the open text box to describe what was said.

You’ll also be asked to attach any relevant documents that contain this information (e.g. Extenuating Circumstances Submission, email). Use the Upload File option at the bottom of the form to attach these documents.

2. Missing Student

If you select ‘Missing Student,’ a drop-down menu will appear asking you to confirm you have completed all necessary checks prior to submitting this form.

The options you’ll be asked to confirm are:

  1. Have you tried to email the student using both student and personal email?
  2. Have you tried contacting the student via telephone – trying all numbers on MyCampus?
  3. Have you checked when the student last accessed Moodle (SSO can assist with this)?

Please Note: You will be unable to submit the form until all three actions have been completed.

You’ll also be asked to attach any relevant documents that may help locate the student. Use the Upload File option at the bottom of the form to add these documents.

3. Physical Health Concern or Mental Health Concern

If you select ‘Physical or Mental Health Concern,’ please provide details of your concerns including any information of diagnosis known and any behaviours or disclosures that have caused this concern. Use the open text box to describe what was said.

Please Note: It is not sufficient to simply state that you are concerned a student may be experiencing mental health issues. To help the Safeguarding Team assess and manage the risk, please include specific behaviours or disclosures that led to your concern, along with any information about how this may be impacting the student’s studies.

You’ll also be asked to attach any relevant documents which contain this information. Use the Upload File option at the bottom of the form to add these documents.

Any Other Option

If you have selected any other option other than the three described above, you will be asked to provide a summary of your concerns in a text box with maximum of 2000 characters.

Follow Up Questions

  • We will then ask you to tell us when you first became aware of these concerns. Do not worry if you do not have an exact date, feel free to input several days, weeks or months.
  • We will then ask when the last known contact with the student was. Do not worry if you do not have an exact date, feel free to input several days, weeks or months. It would be helpful if you could also provide information on what kind of contact was made e.g. in person, via email, telephone call.
  • You will also have the option to attach any additional relevant documents using the Upload File option at the bottom of the form.
  • We then ask you to provide contact details (name, email address) so a member of the Safeguarding Team can contact you and provide you with the necessary support and information to deal with the concern raised appropriately.

What will happen next?

The completed form will be sent to the Safeguarding Team who will initially review each form.  They will then contact you within 48hrs to outline the options or actions that are available to you.
Please note: The safeguarding team work Monday- Friday 9-5pm.

Follow up actions might include:

  • advice and guidance on how you might deal with the situation yourself, if appropriate.
  • further informal support through the Safeguarding Team
  • signposting to the appropriate University services
  • reporting to external services, such as police
  • If, after talking to the Safeguarding Team, it is decided that this should be reported to police, the Safeguarding Team can support you to do this.

Confidentiality

Your note of concern and your details will be treated as confidential and will not be shared without your consent, unless for emergency interventions (see below). 

Emergency intervention

Where a report discloses information which suggests that the safety of an individual is at imminent risk, we may be obliged to share the report without your consent.

In such a situation, the University may need to take immediate action. If you feel that your report may fall into this category, we advise you to seek more immediate support through the University's SafeZone app, or https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/emergencyandcrisissupport/

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Privacy Notice: The Data Submitted in this Form

Privacy Notice

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Additional Resources for Students

Depending on the type of concern raised, the following resources may also be beneficial to the student:

  • The Wellbeing Home: The Wellbeing Home is a webpage designed to help students and staff understand and navigate the wellbeing services available at the University. It explains what each service offers, how to access support, and the roles of the different teams within Wellbeing Services.
  • Student Listeners: Student Listeners are a confidential, student-led service where students can talk and share their problems either online or in person. 
  • Self refer to Counselling Service: You can self-refer to Counselling using the form on our website (under ‘Register for Support’). Once you have registered, someone may call you or you may just get sent a link to make an appointment. At the initial appointment, one of the Counsellors will talk to you about this situation, the impact on your mental health and explore what sort of support might help.  
  • Register with Disability Service: We welcome enquiries from students with a disability, chronic medical or mental health conditions, learning difference (dyslexia, ADHD), sensory of physical impairments.
  • SRC Advice & Support: The Advice Centre is an advice, information and representation service provided by the SRC for all Glasgow University students. The Advice Centre offer free and confidential advice on wide range of subjects.
  • Student Support Officer: Student Support Officers (SSOs) are based in your academic school and are your go-to guides, offering signposting and support with a wide range of issues or challenges you may be experiencing.
  • Safezone App: You may want to consider downloading the SafeZone App. This is an app that is monitored 24 hours a day by the Campus Security team ensuring the safety and security of our students - whether it be on campus, at halls or anywhere in between.

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