Our students are members of the communities in which they live. We encourage them to take pride in their neighbourhoods - their home while they are in Sheffield. 

The vast majority of our students make a significant and positive contribution to the local communities where they live. All our students have a responsibility to ensure that their behaviour does not have an adverse impact on their neighbours, including long-term residents and other students. 

We encourage our students to be good neighbours, and to: 

Get to know their neighbours

• introduce themselves to neighbours and building a positive relationship, making any issues easier to resolve in a friendly manner
• respect their neighbours and their living patterns
• consider joining the residents' association.

Be aware of noise and how far it travels

• keep music down, avoid loud shouting and slamming doors
• position televisions and speakers away from neighbours' walls
• return home at night quietly, and remember that people may be asleep in the homes they walk past.

Manage their rubbish and waste

• comply with Sheffield City Council's recycling arrangements and put bins out on correct days
• take bins in between collections to avoid inconvenience for others.

Be a considerate neighbour

• let neighbours know in advance if they intend to have a party, stick to a finishing time, and ask guests to leave quietly
• try to have house parties infrequently and only on a Friday or Saturday night when neighbours are less likely to have work or school the next day
• find out whether neighbours work shifts, and must sleep during the day
• respect other peoples' property and remember that causing damage is a criminal offence
• respond politely and appropriately to complaints from neighbours.

Implications and sanctions

Students are required to meet the expectations of the student code of conduct. The code of conduct is underpinned by the University's disciplinary regulations for students, and these will be applied in the event of persistent misconduct. We work across the University to follow up reports from the local community, to respond to complaints and to engage with students involved. 

When residents report concerns about poor behaviour which may involve Hallam students, we identify which students live at the relevant address and contact them with an initial advisory notice. If the behaviour persists, the student is then subject to the appropriate disciplinary route. In the 2020-21 academic year we sent more than 400 advisory notices (approximately 1.3 per cent of our student population). The overwhelming majority of students respond positively to receipt of an advisory note and clarification of the potential impact on their studies. For the small number that do not, they proceed to a form disciplinary hearing where a range of sanctions are possible.

Partnership

We work closely with our partners to support students living in local communities and to strengthen community cohesion. We intend to establish a 'Good Neighbours Forum' to include both Sheffield universities, residents' groups, Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Police and other interested parties. This Form will discuss a range of issues including student housing, safety, noise, anti-social behaviour and environmental issues. 

We also work with the City Council, the University of Sheffield and landlords on the SNUG scheme, and with Hallam Union to provide advice to our students.