Buddying at Teesside University
Become a buddy!
Student & Library Services run an accommodation buddying scheme for students in University accommodation in Middlesbrough. Volunteer buddies help students settle into university and refer them to services when needed. We are looking for friendly and approachable students to be those buddies.
Purpose:
Offer one-to-one guidance, to ensure students are OK
Help students to adjust to HE life and study at Teesside
Ensure students know how to access resources that they need (food; study support etc.)
Signpost to other support and interventions as required (Financial Advice; Mental Health and Disability support; Learning Hub; Personal Tutor)
Empower students to find their own solutions and build learner independence and confidence
Report any safeguarding concerns
Boundaries
Not an intervention service
Negotiated timeframe so both recipient and volunteer are clear about expectations – e.g. 1 contact per week.
Importance of confidentiality and mutual respect
The number of students that you engage with can be negotiated to accommodate your personal availability.
Initial contact will be via university email. This could then move onto Teams meetings or face to face meetings on campus. How you meet will be decided by you as the buddy and your students. There will be one training session that you would need to attend - it's about 1.5 hours. It will run online using Microsoft Teams. We will offer these sessions on several dates and these will start in September.