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Health & Safety


Risk Assessments

Please see the Events and Activities page for what process you need to follow for running Student Group events.

Some of your events/activities will be covered by your student group annual risk assessment. For other events/activities your group may be required to complete a risk assessment.

Annual Risk Assessment Risk Assessment Guide
Student Group Sport Activities

Sporting activities outside of what Clubs run are not covered by our insurance. If you want to host a sporting activity for example, a sports day, a football match between groups etc then you must register the event with us and contact your staff support.

Online safety

Student Group leaders should familiarise themselves with the Online Platforms Guidance which contains information how to facilitate and maintain positive and inclusive interactions and how to respond to inappropriate behaviour at online events and activities.

The Online Safety Settings Guide also explains how you can best use the settings on Zoom Pro and MS Teams to keep your Student Group online interactions safe and a positive experience for all involved.

Online platforms guidance
Incident reporting
Students’ Union procedures
Making an informal complaint

If an incident takes place at one of your events or meetings, please email your designated staff support as soon as possible with as much detail as you can and any evidence you might have.

On receiving a report (informal complaint) like this, we will ask you for details relating to your complaint and tell you how we will investigate it. When we have completed our investigation, we will contact you by email to let you know the outcome and any action that has been taken as a result. If you are unhappy with this, you may raise the matter as a formal complaint.

Incidents could include injuries, being kicked out of a venue, harassment etc. Our staff are here to support and assist you with any issues that you may have.

If there is an incident during an event organised by the Students’ Union and staff is available, please approach them directly on the day to ensure we can support you immediately.

You can find lots of information around Health and Wellbeing here and here as well as in Byelaw 12.

An informal complaint may not be appropriate for issues of a more serious nature such as incidences of violent, indecent, disorderly, intimidating or offensive behaviour, language; or sexual misconduct. These should instead be raised as a formal complaint using the procedure outlined below.


Making a formal complaint

If necessary, it might also be referred for disciplinary action or to QMUL if necessary.

You can find out more information about this in Byelaw 12 which gives you your more detailed information, also including how we record and store personal data.

View procedure
University procedures

If you wish to report any incidences of bullying, harassment, hate crime or sexual harassment: The Queen Mary report and support service offers many options including anonymous reporting which can be accessed here.

This service provides a place to document and investigate these incidences but also signposts to support, processing this claim within five working days.

You can also email reportandsupport@qmul.ac.uk with any questions.

Alongside this, please also inform and reach out to your staff support as soon as possible!

View procedure
Further mental health or advice related support

Queen Mary Advice and Counselling service through the avenues listed below.

For counselling, mental health advice and student wellbeing advice, they are currently offering online appointments via MS Teams and in-person appointments on the Mile End campus. You will need your own quiet, confidential space for online appointments.

To contact: log an enquiry through AskQM.

You can call 020 7882 8717 or drop in to the Advice and Counselling building at Mile End on Monday – Friday between 10am-4pm.

Waiting times for an appointment depend on the time of year. During quieter times (start of term and holidays) initial appointments may be offered quickly but at busier times, the wait time for an initial appointment may be 2–3 weeks or longer. The more availability provided, the sooner an appointment can be offered.

If you are finding things difficult while you are waiting or have concerns for your mental health, we recommend you contact your GP.


For immediate support and assistance

The 24/7 Wellbeing Helpline 0800 028 3766

Togetherall which offers unlimited, 24/7 accessible online support – connect with peers, chat online to clinicians, use self-help resources, join groups or take self-assessments.

Or in a mental health crisis call 111 or if someone’s life is in danger call 999

More general wellbeing advice and information can be found here.

Safeguarding

If you are looking to plan events or activities involving under-18s or adults at risk, please contact su-volunteering@qmul.ac.uk to discuss safeguarding measures that may need to be put in place for your event or activity. Types of activity could include:

  • School visits
  • Inviting sixth form students on-campus for conferences
  • Selling tickets to an event
  • Delivering a session at a care home

The Students' Union takes safeguarding seriously and has safeguarding policies and procedures in place to protect you as well as any children or adults at risk you come into contact with as part of your involvement in Students' Union activity (such as community volunteering or through a society or club).

The definition of a child is anybody up to the age of 18.

The definition of an adult at risk is a person aged 18 or over who is or may be in need of community care services because of mental or other disability, age or illness, and who is or may be unable to take care of their self or unable to protect their self against significant harm or exploitation. More information about the definition of an adult at risk can be found in the document below.

All students taking part in Students’ Union activity working with children or adults at risk have a responsibility to ensure that they can recognise signs of abuse or neglect, how to respond to it and how to report it. It is also important that students avoid situations in which their interaction with children or adults at risk could lead to accusations against them personally. This can also include children or adults at risk attending an event as a ticket holder.

All volunteers who come into regular and/or unsupervised contact with children or adults at risk or have access to personal information for children or adults at risk will need to obtain a DBS check. The process takes 4-6 weeks to and no student can volunteer without a valid certificate. Contact su-volunteering@qmul.ac.uk to arrange DBS checks for you and your volunteers.

Safeguarding children and young people is as important online as it is when conducting activities face-to-face. Please make sure that you contact su-volunteering@qmul.ac.uk for advice and to ensure you are putting the right safeguarding measures in place before running your online event or activity.

Please make sure that you contact su-volunteering@qmul.ac.uk for advice and to ensure you are putting the right safeguarding measures in place.

Clubs & Societies

Recent News

Apply to our Participation Fund!

Fri 09 Jan 2026

We understand that University and student life can be expensive. Especially with rising living costs, joining a student group or an activity can feel completely out of reach. Which is why we have our participation fund to help break down any potential financial barriers and to give you the best student experience possible.

 
 

Contact Us

Clubs & Societies

Contact your Students’ Union with any questions you may have.

Societies:
su-societies@qmul.ac.uk

Sports Clubs:
su-sportsadministrator@qmul.ac.uk

Student Media:
su-studentmedia@qmul.ac.uk

RAG:
su-rag@qmul.ac.uk

Volunteering:
su-volunteering@qmul.ac.uk