From the JCR Welfare Officers
Hello everyone! We are Alessandra and Sarah, your JCR Welfare Officers. Our job is to provide students with support and signposting to support their welfare, as well as running fun events such as craft nights to help you all relax. We also provide free and confidential sexual health and period supplies – these can be accessed from the JCR pidgeonhole (on the bottom right when you first enter the pidge room) or through our Google forms, where supplies can be requested anonymously.
We can be contacted at jcr.welfare@newn.cam.ac.uk and are both more than happy to be contacted directly via email, social media or in person if you ever have any problems or questions! No problem is too small – we really encourage you to get in contact if you need some support!
Period supplies can be accessed here.
Sexual health supplies can be accessed here.
Information on funding links can be found below:
The Disabled Students Fund (DSF) can reimburse any costs related to a disability – such as mobility aids or doctor’s letters, amongst many other things.
To apply, fill out the form and send it to the Disabled Students’ Officer, Els, at jcr.disablities@newn.cam.ac.uk, making sure to include receipts/proof of purchase
The Gender Expression Fund (GEF) can reimburse costs related to purchases of gender affirming products.
To apply, fill out the form and send it to the LGBTQ+ Officer, Lilly, at jcr.lgbt@newn.cam.ac.uk
We are still running the Free Prescription Trial this term, to apply for this please fill in the form and send it to our Treasurer, Eva, at jcr.treasurer@newn.cam.ac.uk
For the DSF and the GEF, we recommend a limit of £40 per student per year (although this may be flexible based on demand, so please do apply if you think you would benefit). For the Free Prescription fund, there is a cap of £39.60 (4 prescriptions) for the trial period (Lent and Easter 2025).
Aside from the JCR welfare officers, other welfare points of contact in college include:
To book an appointment with the College Nurse or Wellbeing Advisor please book online appointments here: https://newnham-college.uk2.cliniko.com/bookings#service
The College Nurse and Wellbeing Advisor also practise an open door policy so if our doors are open, please do pop in and see us. Our rooms are on the ground floor of the Pfeiffer Building.
- Julie Barker – College Nurse – Julie Barker can be contacted at nurse@newn.cam.ac.uk. She is available in College every day in term time. Her hours are more restricted outside term time.
- Sineidin O’Reilly-Williams – College Wellbeing Advisor – Our college wellbeing advisor is available to provide support and signposting for anyone struggling with their mental health or wellbeing. Sineidin O’Reilly-Williams working hours are 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Please note she works from home on Thursday mornings between 8am – 1pm so cannot be reached by phone, but will respond to emails and can be contacted via Teams.
wellbeing@newn.cam.ac.uk t. 01223 335708. - Rev’d Dr Arabella Milbank – Our Chaplain – Newnham was founded as a non-denominational college (‘for all faiths and none’), therefore we do not have our own chaplain, but we ‘borrow’ Arabella from across the road at Selwyn College. She is available from 2-4pm on Friday afternoons in the Kennedy Building (room G02) to support students of any faith or none. She can be contacted at chaplain@sel.cam.ac.uk.
- Professor Manali Desai – Our BAME advisor – if students have experienced racial harassment or wish to raise any issues they have encountered about race and BAME identity in College, Manali can be contacted to provide confidential advice and support. She can be contacted at md644@cam.ac.uk.
- Your Tutor – Assigned by College – Every student at Newnham has a tutor, a senior member of the college who you can go to with any welfare concerns. Your tutor is also your first port of call for any financial worries, including applying for bursaries or funds provided by college. You will meet with your tutor for the first time in Freshers’ Week and should meet with them at the start and end of every term during your time here.
- The Porters – Available 24/7 – the Porters are available at all times, so if situations arise outside of working hours, they will be available to provide advice and support. All of our Porters are first aid trained and can help in emergency situations, such as through booking a taxi to take you to Urgent Care or A&E if needed.
Other avenues for support include:
- The University Counselling Service – the University Counselling Service (UCS) supports students who are experiencing personal, relational or academic concerns. To book an appointment, students should first fill out an online referral form. The UCS aims to provide an appointment within 10 working days, however the average wait time in Easter Term 2023 was just 3 days. Help and support with how to access the UCS can be obtained through the JCR Welfare Officers or through the Welfare Advisor, Sineidin.
- NHS 111 – the NHS 111 phone service (or the accompanying online service) can be used to provide medical and mental health advice, including outside of GP working hours. To access mental health support over the phone, dial 111 and select option 2
Newnham College JCR 