How you can help

Moving to University can be an overwhelming experience for students – and the following years can sometimes be pretty stressful at times too. We want to make sure that our students feel comfortable and supported at university so their experience can be as good as possible!

Preparing to go

If they want you to, help teach them to cook some quick meals, how to keep on top of their washing and how to budget. Make sure they've got their student finance payments sorted and help them to get all the things they need! You can find out more about student life in accommodation on our ResLife website.

Settling in

It may take a little while for students to get used to living away from home. Make sure they get to know their flatmates when they move in but remember not everyone will become friends with the people they live with. It might be that they get on better with friends they make through their course or student societies. Encourage them to meet new people and get involved!

Things will quickly get less nerve-wracking as freshers gets underway and they start their course. Our Residence Life team is always available to lend a hand if they need a bit of extra support or just a friendly chat.

Feeling homesick

It's natural for everyone to feel homesick sometimes and it can happen at any time during their time at university. It may be worse in the first few weeks or if things aren’t going so well. Sometimes all they'll need is a cup of tea and chat, so make sure you check in and find out how they're getting on. Let them know that there's always support available, our friendly team are always on hand to help students settle in.

Keep in touch

As your child becomes more independent and moves away from home, make sure you catch up! Regular contact is a good way to support the transition period so speak to them about how they'd like you to keep in touch. Don't forget they need to settle in and meet new people, they'll be getting involved in lot's of new experiences over the first few weeks, so don't worry if you don't hear from them every day!

If you have any concerns or are worried that you haven’t heard from your child in a while, you can contact us and we will pay them a visit to check in. We cannot give away any information without the student’s consent, but we can check on them and encourage them to get in touch with you themselves. For more information, take a look at our Data Protection Notice.

Coming to visit

To maintain safe household bubbles for students in accommodation, only members of each household should access a student’s flat or house. If you wish to visit please make arrangements outside of the accommodation. We have lots of social spaces and outdoor spaces available at our sites that you can use. If you are only visiting to drop off items then please do so outside the accommodation.

Please note that there is limited parking in The Village and no parking in The City. Leicester has a number of options available for overnight stays in the local area. We have guest accommodation available at the University, please visit Leicester Conferences for more information. Alternatively, there is our University-owned hotel, College Court that you’re welcome to book.

Leicester is a great city to visit and there are plenty of things to see and do if you’re planning a visit here. Check out the Visit Leicester website for more information or try out our interactive map built by some of our students!