Alcohol Impact Accreditation for Keele University and Keele Students’ Union
Keele University and Keele Students’ Union have officially received the Alcohol Impact Accreditation following an award presentation earlier this month.
Lucy Henry (NUS Alcohol Impact Programme Manager) presented Kara Holloway (Alcohol Impact Officer), Natalie Jordan (Resident Support Officer), Ian Munton (Associate Director of Student Services) and Aysha Panter (Keele SU Welfare and Internationalisation Officer) with the award certificate and formally thanked them for their hard work and support throughout the project.
Pictured - Aysha Panter and Kara Holloway with the awards
Keele University and Keele Students’ Union were successfully audited in June 2017 with a score of 80% of criteria completed. Keele were commended for their innovative intervention ideas such as social norming videos and stickers on cups during Alcohol Awareness Weeks, as well as creating a strong and effective partnership between the University,Students’ Union and Postgraduate Association. Other Keele initiatives including the Safety Bus, Street Team and Tea & Toast were recognised as vital to creating a safer community for students.
Ian Munton, Associate Director of Student Services, commented:
“We are committed to the wellbeing, health and safety of our students, and I’m extremely pleased to see this project recognised. We embarked on this accreditation programme in 2015, and over the past two years have worked closely with our Students’ Unions to establish a mix of innovative, institution-wide behaviour change approaches and interventions encompassing policy, procedure, campaigns, retailing and accommodation.”
Aysha Panter, Welfare and Internationalisation Officer at Keele Students’ Union commented:
“I'm really proud of the work that we've done at Keele to encourage responsible drinking and make sure that Keele students are looked after. I would like to thank all the staff at the Union and University who worked to make this possible and the team of fantastic volunteers who give their time to Street Team and Tea & Toast for their contributions to making Keele an inclusive, welcoming and safe community.”
Members of the Drug & Alcohol Group at Keele are now working to promote the accreditation among staff and students and share the work that was undertaken throughout the two-year project. Furthermore, members are also compiling an official response to the recommendations made by student auditors to ensure that these points are taken on board when devising the strategic plan for this academic year.
Alcohol Awareness activities will be taking place in November, including a trip to Flip Out, free mocktails, chill out zones and competitions.
The full announcement of the accreditation can be found on the Alcohol Impact website
What is Alcohol Impact?
NUS Alcohol Impact aims to embed social norms of responsible drinking on campuses, change attitudes towards alcohol and build healthier, safer and more productive student communities. Its main goal is to create a more positive culture of responsible drinking for students. The programme involves participating institutions and students’ unions working through a list of criteria ranging from shaping policies to working in partnership with local community groups.
