Connected Communities

SU Basement

“Since its introduction, Shakespeare Society has made frequent use of the SU Basement for our rehearsals thanks to its large capacity and spaciousness. The introduction of new spaces is always welcomed, especially in light of the ever-growing number of societies and activities. Therefore, the SU Basement is both a much-needed and much-appreciated resource for this society!!” - Shakespeare Society (SHAXSOC)

Spaces and student groups were two of the things you asked us to focus on this year. Our spaces are well-loved, but busy, and student groups are always looking for more activity space.

At the start of this year, we opened the Bristol SU Basement. A multi-purpose space right at the heart of the Clifton campus, students now have an additional large activity space which is directly bookable by student groups. It’s used for Friday Prayers by BRISOC, and the rest of the time is bookable for groups and has been used for rehearsals, board games and study.

This directly supports our Connected Communities priority by reducing barriers to participation and providing additional space for students. Since it opened in November, 26 different groups have benefited from using the space, hosting over 500 hours of student activity.

Financial Accessibility

Housing Advice Service

“During my tenancy I faced a stressful deposit dispute involving several high-value damage claims, including a kitchen worktop issue worth over £1,700. Throughout the process, Debbie from the Bristol SU Housing Advice team provided patient and consistent support through meetings and email correspondence. She helped us check our evidence and adjudication materials, regularly followed up on the case, and provided a formal support letter to help us communicate with the landlord and letting agent.

I also really appreciated how understanding and supportive Debbie was throughout what became a very long and draining process. The case eventually went to DPS [deposit protection service] adjudication, and the majority of the claims were rejected, including the full kitchen worktop claim. My advice to students would be not to give up too quickly when facing housing disputes, and to seek support when something genuinely feels unfair.” - Siqi Shen, PhD student

Bristol is a tough city to be renting in – the prices are high, there are lots of single-glazed properties and issues with damp and mould, and too many landlords who don’t have student interests at heart. It’s no surprise that accommodation is regularly one of your top priorities.

This year we launched a Housing Advice Service to give free, independent, and confidential housing advice. Where we can’t help you directly, we’ll always try and put you in touch with someone else who can. We run a weekly drop-in service, as well as longer appointments for those who need it.

So far this year we’ve given support to over 200 students, as well as working with partners across the city on a collaborative campaign around the new Renter’s Rights Act. This service has helped students challenge unsafe housing conditions, recover unfairly withheld deposits, and better understand their rights in a difficult rental market.

Empowered Changemakers

Paid representative roles

“The newly introduced honorarium is an important step in recognising student reps for the time and effort they put into this voluntary role.” - Jordan Fung. Jordan has been a course rep, Faculty Rep and will be UG Education Officer for 26/27.

Supported Student Leaders

Wellbeing Officers / Inclusivity Training

“In the competitive and intense world of Ballroom and Latin dance, my goal was to create a supportive and inclusive environment for our members. I introduced a range of wellbeing initiatives that positively impacted our student community, including practical partnership guides, competition wellbeing resources, and greater representation for same-sex partnerships. Together, these initiatives helped members feel more confident, supported, and valued, fostering a healthier and more positive dance environment both on and off the dance floor.” - Taisiia Oleshko, Vice President, EDI Officer and Wellbeing Champion of Bristol University Latin American and Ballroom Dance Society (BULABDS)

Our student group leaders do an incredible job. They help build communities and skills, and we know for many students being a member of a student group helps to increase their wellbeing. For some students, understandably their student group is the first place they turn to support if they’re struggling.

This year we’ve worked to establish and support Wellbeing Officers in student groups, so that they feel equipped to support other students confidently.

Inclusive Engagement

One way we’ve supported the PGR community this year is with Katherine Nelmes and Charlotte Conway. Kat and Charlotte are co-chairs of the Neurodivergent PGR Network, for which they were named on the SU 50 Most Influential Student list & won Project of the Year. They received support from the SU with advertising, and then secured financial support via the Alumni Fund, which helped them host study skills events specific to neuro-inclusive techniques, and pay writers to produce a co-created community guide for navigating disability services.

Having worked with the SU on this, Kat also reached out to us for support for the work she is doing to overturn the university decision to follow the UKRI changes to sick pay for PhDs. This is seen to disadvantage part time PhD students with disabilities or chronic health conditions. Kat and Charlotte raised a motion, which was passed, at AMM to mandate the SU to support the work. They’ve been working with the SU democracy team on this campaign since the motion passed.

Although 96% of students say they are satisfied with the SU, we know this picture changes and our less satisfied groups have been the same for some time. Tackling this is important to us, to make sure we are a Union for all.

This year we’ve also focused on improving accessibility to SU activities. We’ve renovated the tech and event facilities in the Richmond Building; implemented free carer/companion tickets to support students during events; put on more quiet events this academic year; and created a Venue Accessibility List on the SU website.

We’ve also worked closely with Bristol Doctoral College to try and enhance awareness of what we have available for PGR students. Our advice teams in particular have been doing more work in this area, there’s been a regular PG Pints events series, and we launched a PGR resource centre on our website.

We know there’s still more work to do, so we’re always open to feedback.