Maintaining up-to-date and accurate Trusted Contact details

About Trusted Contacts

A trusted contact is like a next of kin. This could be a parent, sibling, spouse, or friend who the student has a close relationship with, and who they’ve nominated for us to contact if there is a serious concern regarding their wellbeing or safety. At pre-enrolment, students must provide at least one trusted contact. Whilst enrolled at UCL, a student can add, remove, or update their trusted contact details on Portico.  

It is the responsibility of all UCL staff to provide a safe and supportive environment that helps students overcome any personal or academic barriers and realise their full potential. Many student welfare concerns can be supported and resolved by working with the student to identify the support they may need from the university, external agencies such as the NHS, or their wider support networks, including family members and trusted contacts. UCL staff can also use the trusted contacts for their departmental non-engagement protocols.

Further information on Trusted Contacts is available on the following webpages:

• Staff Guidance on UCL’s Trusted Contact Policy
• Student Trusted Contact policy
• Student Triage and Referral tool (START)

Recent Portico changes

We have recently updated Portico to enable Student Support and Wellbeing teams to update Trusted Contact details on behalf of a student. The team will make updates in line with the trusted contact policy and only when it is considered appropriate to do so. When any change is made to Trusted Contact details by Student Support and Wellbeing the student will receive an email to notify them that a change has been made and that they can log in to Portico to view this.

These measures help to ensure up-to-date and accurate Trusted Contact details are available to staff when needed.

Students can also view / update their own Trusted Contact details on Portico at any time.

All Department and Faculty staff members can view a student’s Trusted Contact details from the Student Summary page on Portico.

Contact for further information:  For questions regarding the Trusted Contacts policy, please contact ssw-comms@ucl.ac.uk. For questions related to accessing Trusted Contacts on Portico, please contact your Department Administrator.