If you're concerned about a student and need to contact King's Student Services, please complete our online form (selecting 'None of the above' when asked whether you are a student or staff member) or call (+44) (0)207 096 9984. If you're supporting a student who needs urgent or emergency mental health support, however, please follow the instructions on this page - Crisis support: need help now.
This article contains information for parents, guardians and any other supporters of current King's students, including what to do if you're concerned about a student's wellbeing.
Where can students access help at King's?
Adjusting to life at university can pose many challenges. It’s common for students to experience feelings of anxiety and loneliness as they establish themselves in a new environment.
If someone in your life is facing these struggles, King’s support services can help.
Student Services Online contains support for a range of issues. You can also refer to the following articles to learn more about the different types of help we offer:
I’m concerned about a student, how can I report this to King’s?
You can contact us in any of the ways mentioned in our article How can I contact Student Services Frontline?, but we strongly recommend you complete our enquiry form, so we can more easily direct you to the correct support. When you complete the form, please select 'None of the above' when asked who you are.
Please note that due to legal requirements related to data protection, we may need to speak directly with the student, depending on the nature of your enquiry. For more details on confidentiality and other useful information, please see the 'What will happen when I raise a concern?' section below.
Much more information on contacting us can be found in our article How can I contact Student Services Frontline? Please note that there is a separate process for our current students to raise concerns about other students.
I’m concerned that a student is at risk of suicide, what should I do?
It can be very difficult to hear that someone you care about is experiencing suicidal thoughts. If you're supporting a student who's expressed that they're having suicidal thoughts, you can help them to take the first step to getting help by listening to their experiences and encouraging them to access professional support as soon as possible. You may find the following article helpful: Concerned about suicidal thoughts for yourself or someone else?
If a student needs urgent or emergency mental health support, please follow the instructions on this page - Crisis support: need help now.
What will happen when I raise a concern?
How the university will deal with your concern
If you have concerns about one of our students, please let us know by contacting us in Student Services. More information on how to do this can be found in our article How can I contact Student Services Frontline?
If appropriate, we’ll make a referral to our Student of Concern procedure, as outlined in our article I’m concerned about a student/peer.
Student Services will be guided by the King’s College London Safeguarding Policy. To understand how we manage confidentiality, please read our article When I share information with a student support service, is this kept confidential?
Important to know: If you raise a concern with Student Services, you will receive an acknowledgment that it has been received. However, it will not be possible to provide any further details unless the student has given prior consent to share information with you.
Student confidentiality
King's staff are bound by a code of confidentiality which is laid out in the King’s College London Core Privacy Notice. If a parent, guardian or relative contacts us to discuss a student's support needs, we will inform them that we cannot discuss the case or take any action without the student's permission.
If a student wishes to have another person communicate with us on their behalf, we will need signed express permission from the student to do so.
Important to know: The university sometimes receives enquiries from concerned third parties who wish to know if a student is accessing support. If this happens, King’s needs to respect the student’s confidentiality. We are not able to provide student information without their express consent.
Trusted contacts
A ‘trusted contact’ is a person nominated by the student who can be contacted if there are significant concerns for their safety and wellbeing.
Students are free to nominate anyone as their trusted contact. Who they name is their choice; they don’t have to name a parent or partner.
Should it be considered in the student’s Vital Interests, we may decide to reach out to a student’s trusted contact via the King’s College London Student Trusted Contact Procedure.
King’s supports the aims of the Information Sharing and Suicide Prevention Consensus Statement coordinated by the Department of Health. These guidelines aim to improve information and support for families who are concerned about a relative who may be at risk of suicide.