Supporting students
This section is for workers who want to support young people from their church/group who are heading off to university.
- If you're a student (or a soon-to-be student) then there's a page specifically for you here.
- If you're a parent, carer or significant adult of a child going to university, there's a page of advice here.
Do you have young people in your groups heading off to university?
Here are some top tips to send them off well…
Talk to the young person about it
Discuss what their fears, worries and excitements are. Talking about it can help and it may be that you can offer practical assistance or advice about some of their concerns. You could run some sessions to help the young people in your group think about the university experience – Student Christian Movement (SCM) offers a resource for leaders with a number of session ideas, such as busting myths about uni, dealing with finance, and exploring the person you should be at uni.
Put together a starter pack
This might be something you create yourself – a small box with some essentials like teabags, chocolate, and an encouraging book for example. Or there are organisations, such as SCM or Fusion, that already have resources that you could purchase to give to your young person. Fusion’s starter pack is available here. SCM has a number of resources, such as prayer books and guides to mental wellbeing.
Explain about chaplaincy
Most universities will have a chaplaincy. Chaplains are people appointed by faith communities to work at the university to care for the staff and students. The chaplaincy is the building on campus where the chaplains are based. It is good for students to connect with the chaplain (many universities have specific Methodist Chaplains) as they will be a good source of support for the student and may help them to connect to Christian groups or relevant churches. You can find out who the Methodist Chaplain is at the university your young person is going to, by visiting the chaplaincy pages of the Methodist website. If appropriate you can contact the chaplain in advance and put them in touch with your young person.
Involve the congregation
Try and create some time in a service in September where the congregation can pray for the young person who is starting university. If appropriate the young person could tell the congregation a little of where they are going and what they are studying. Having the support of their congregation and knowing that they are being prayed for can be very helpful and will help them to feel connected to that congregation when they return in the holidays. Some churches have encouraged the congregation to create/knit a prayer blanket to give to the student. Another idea is for the congregation to write prayers and put them in envelopes for the student to open throughout the term. Get creative with how the congregation can pray for your young person as they leave and throughout the time they are there.
Keep in touch
As the youth worker you will have played an important role in the young person’s life and it can be a strange time to have left the youth group and moved on. Mental health is an important issue for students and many will struggle with being away from home for the first time. Keep in touch, with an occasional card in the post, email or message to help them feel connected and to reassure them that they still have a support network at home should they need it (whilst also encouraging them to find local support networks at university).
You can also download a prayer for those going to university here.
There are other resources and info available on our webpage for students, plus a Top Tips handout that you could print and give to your students.
This advice can also be downloaded as a handy PDF here (The Methodist Church is not responsible for any third party content linked to from this document).
This section is for parents, carers, families and significant adults who want to support young people they know who are heading off to university.
Top Tips for parents, carers and supportive adults of students going to university!
Keep talking By making sure the lines of communication are kept open, having honest and open conversations beforehand will help your child to know they can talk to you when they’re struggling or finding student life a challenge.
Stay in touch Try to have regular times of catching up and hearing how your child is doing. This could be a phone call or ‘FaceTime’ on a particular day that both of you know works well. Of course it’s well worth messaging in between times too just to keep that sense of connection.
Check self-care Sleep, diet and exercise all help to keep us fit and well so learning how to do this alongside studying and socialising are important! It’s not just about asking if your child is getting their 5-a-day but finding out how these essentials of wellbeing make a difference to them on a daily basis.
Finding support Take a look at what services and support your child’s university offers. Doing this together before they go can help them to feel prepared and informed. If issues arise you both know who you can get in touch with for help or advice.
Take an interest In the whole of your child’s university life: their new roommates, lectures, seminars and social time. Find ways to encourage them to share both the highlights and the challenges so they know it’s ok to be open and not have to pretend everything is ‘fine’.
Grow their independence If your child is finding aspects of university life difficult, it can be easy to feel the need to offer solutions. But for them to make the transition into adulthood it can be more helpful to problem solve with them, supporting them to reach their own conclusions. This builds independence and resilience, learning along the way how to manage issues when they arise and having confidence in themselves to deal with new situations. It could be useful to consider the ‘what ifs’ and chat through some possible scenarios before they go.
Send care packages Receiving a surprise in the post can give your child a real boost, so whether it’s their favourite snack, a voucher for a pizza restaurant, a funny card, it’s a way to keep them, their uni life and home connected. It’s a reminder that friends and family haven’t forgotten them!
Be prayerful Take time to pause and pray for your child in all the new situations and things they find themselves in. See if there are ways to pray together over the phone or during video calls too, it doesn’t have to be long but it recognises that God is with you in that moment despite physically being in different locations.
The following advice can also be downloaded as a handy PDF here.
You can also download a prayer for those going to university here.