Since 2017 and employing our new Student Activities and Volunteer Coordinator we have seen a big increase in our Clubs and Societies.  Over the years we have had:

• Knitter's Anonymous (Knit & Craft)
• Robocraft
• Care Experienced Support Group
• Forth Valley Creative Writing
• Tabletop Society
• LGBTQ+ (SAGA)
• Disabled Students Alliance
• and many many more

These have been a great opportunity for students to meet new people, learn new skills whilst enjoying their time at College.  It is also a great opportunity to work with other departments or within their own department.  We have seen over the years students working closely with lecturers, senior management, student support etc.

The Student Mental Health Agreement was launched back in 2019 in partnership with the College.  The Mental Health agreement set out actions each year on better support for our students and joining collaboration work throughout the year. This is continued within FVC with the help and support from our officers.

Due to feedback over the years at Student Council we worked with the College to bring a cash machine due to the fact there was not anything nearby and students couldn’t pay with card at that point in the canteen or vending machines.  This cash machine was installed in the Stirling campus around 2016 and was a huge success however after a couple of years in place, it was eventually removed as it wasn't finically viable to keep the cash machine.  Due to this, and the ongoing demand for a method to use card payments instead of cash, the Student Association worked with the college to get a system in place where students/staff could use their card to pay for transactions at the refectories. This is still in place today.

As part of the 'Don’t Let our Students Starve' motion submitted in 2018/19, we worked with FVC to allow free hot water in any of the college refectories to anyone with their own container/cup. 

This has been a big win for our students as they were previously charged for boiling water for hot drinks/noodles etc. 

This was an event hosted by FVC and FVSA to help ESOL students feel integrated & welcome in College. The event was designed to showcase 9 countries that ESOL students at the College are from including Scotland. Countries included Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Poland, France, Italy, Pakistan, Syria and India. Facts and culture documents were provided on tables for each country so that students could read about the different places. Dishes from each country were placed at the tables so that students could try different cuisine from each place. This event was overwhelmingly attended by both staff & students.

FVSA, along with groups of students and staff members take part in a 2-week step count challenge, arranged by our Activities & Volunteer Coordinator every year. The challenge aimed to promote walking as a form of exercise and to get students and staff to think about how active they are on a daily basis. This is always seen as a great success, with working with lots of different students and staff.

FVSA worked with the College Quality Manager to update the College Student Charter back in 2017.  The new charter reflects the positive environment that both FVSA and FVC will strive towards. 

Please click here to download

FVC And FVSA put together a carers charter on the basis of promoting a culture that recognises carers and their needs.  The new charter highlights how FVC values the vital work done by carers and is committed to working with them to help them continue with their education.

Click here to download

Providing safe spaces and platforms for underrepresented groups is embedded in the core of the work we do. We work alongside the college to ensure we set complimentary targets to help students achieve their best while at College. We work with students in identifying any barriers that might hinder their success and build campaigns to help students be part of the process to resolve the issue. 

This training was on the back of Student Mental Health First Aid and is currently delivered by our Student Activities and Volunteer Coordinator to students within FVC.  The training is a bite size version and encompases all the same topics such as Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis. Due to the current pandemic we have seen a huge increase in mental health and this training course has seen a big demand. 

If you are interested in this training for your students please get in touch with student.association@forthvalley.ac.uk 

From 2017 there has been an increasing demand for Scottish Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) training. This is a training initiative run by the NHS to train participants in mental health awareness, signs and symptoms of the most common mental health issues such as Psychosis, Depression and Anxiety and how to sign post people effectively to both internal and external services in relation to this. Participants also learn how to respond to crisis situations such as when someone is having a panic attack.

Mental Health First Aid is an initial response to distress and all participants on the course understand that this help is given only until other suitable or professional help can be found.

Our Vice President back in 2017 was trained to deliver Scottish Mental Health First Aid Training and trained staff and students throughout FVC with huge success. When their 2 year term came to an end in 2018, FVSA no longer had the capacity to deliver this level of mental health training and therefore signposted students to the NHS. 

Following a successful trial in 2020, the Student Association now deliver 'Our Minds Matter' training which is facilitated by our Student Engagement Coordinator. This training brings  a basic awareness around Mental Health including signs and symptoms of mental health disorders. 

We have always worked with FVC on raising awareness of Fairtrade and the products used in FVC.  This will be a continued partnership.