Fairfield Support provides one-to-one specialist support for students, including study skills tutoring and mentoring. Support is delivered in line with your individual needs and, where applicable, recommendations outlined in your assessment report and approved by your funding body (e.g. Student Finance England).
Sessions are typically delivered as regular one-hour appointments across the academic year, although this may vary depending on your needs and funding. The frequency, duration, and focus of sessions can be agreed between you and your tutor or mentor.
If you need to take a short break during a session, please let your tutor or mentor know.
Study Skills Support
Focus of Study Skills Sessions
One-to-one study skills support is designed to help you develop effective strategies for managing and processing academic information, particularly where there are challenges with memory, organisation, attention, or working with written and spoken language in a higher education setting.
Support may include:
- Developing independent use of assistive technology
- Research skills, including searching for and evaluating academic sources
- Understanding and applying referencing systems (e.g. Harvard)
- Time management, planning, and organisation of assignments
- Creating study plans and managing deadlines
- Effective note-taking techniques (e.g. mind mapping, structured notes)
- Revision strategies and exam preparation, including time management
- Understanding different exam formats and practising responses
- Interpreting assignment briefs and academic requirements
- Planning and structuring written work, including longer assignments
Scope of Study Skills Support
Study skills tutors:
- Support the development of academic skills and learning strategies
- Do not provide subject-specific teaching
- Do not advise on assignment content
Mentoring Support
Focus of Mentoring Sessions
Mentoring provides a supportive space to help you manage challenges that may impact your studies. This may include:
- Managing workload and deadlines
- Developing routines and structure
- Building confidence and motivation
- Managing stress or overwhelm
- Exploring strategies related to neurodiversity (e.g. ADHD)
Scope of Mentoring Support
Mentoring focuses on personal and academic development. Mentors do not:
- Provide counselling, therapy, or medical advice
- Offer clinical or specialist mental health interventions
Working Together
- All sessions are based on mutual respect, professionalism, and open communication.
- Support is delivered in line with recommended guidelines and tailored to your individual needs, including any specific learning difference or disability.
Getting the Most from Your Sessions
You are likely to benefit most from your sessions if you attend prepared and have a clear idea of what you would like to focus on.
Booking and Appointments
- All sessions will be arranged in advance and confirmed via a Google Calendar invitation.
- Once booked, you are responsible for keeping a record of your appointment and attending at the agreed time.
- Due to the nature of scheduled one-to-one support, appointments are not typically available at short notice. You are encouraged to book sessions in advance to ensure continuity of support.
- During busy periods, there may be a waiting time of up to 2–3 weeks, or sessions may be offered at a shorter duration (e.g. 30 minutes).
- While reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate requests, availability cannot be guaranteed for last-minute bookings.
Cancellations and Attendance (Important)
- You are expected to attend all scheduled sessions or provide at least 24 hours’ notice (on working days) if you need to cancel. Please contact your tutor or mentor directly by phone or text.
- Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, or missed without notice, may be recorded as a late cancellation and deducted from your allocated hours, in line with funding body (e.g. Student Finance England) guidelines.
- If you do not attend a scheduled session, your tutor/mentor will wait for up to 15 minutes. If you do not arrive within this time and no contact has been made, the session will be recorded as a non-attendance and may be deducted from your allocated hours in line with funding body guidelines.
- If you miss a session without sufficient notice, you may be asked to provide a reason by email. This may be recorded for your funding provider.
- Repeated missed sessions may affect your ability to book future appointments. In some cases, sessions may be limited (e.g. shorter sessions) to support re-engagement.
Timesheets and Record Keeping
- A record of each session will be kept by your tutor or mentor within your Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
- You will be asked to confirm your attendance, either by signing a timesheet or responding to a confirmation email.
- Timesheets should be completed promptly at the end of each session, or as soon as possible afterwards, to ensure an accurate record of support in line with funding body requirements.
- Delays in completing timesheets may affect the recording of sessions and reporting to your funding provider.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
All personal information will be handled in accordance with current data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
Information shared within sessions will be treated as confidential. However, relevant information may be shared with your funding body or associated professionals (e.g. Disability Adviser) where required for the delivery, monitoring, or review of your support.
Safeguarding and Duty of Care
Your wellbeing is important. If there are concerns about your safety or the safety of others, appropriate action may be taken in line with safeguarding responsibilities. This may include sharing information with relevant services or professionals.
Funding and Service Provision
Support is delivered in line with the recommendations and funding approved by your funding body. Any changes to your support provision may be subject to funding approval.
Agreement
By engaging in support with Fairfield Support, you confirm that you understand and agree to the terms outlined above.