Consent Training

Consent for Students is a free online, interactive consent programme for all students and staff at the University of Oxford. This training is being used in a number of universities across the UK. It has been written, designed and developed by Brook, the only national charity to offer sexual health services, education and wellbeing services and training and support.

The course covers sexual consent, including the law, myths, and different factors which may affect someone’s understanding and experience of consent. It will also support you to talk about consent with others and provides advice on what to do if you or a friend experiences harassment or violence, including support and reporting options.

To book onto and complete the training, please follow these steps:

• Click this Consent for Students direct link. You will need your Single Sign On to access the training.
• You will find ‘Consent for Students’ in your shopping basket in CoSy (Oxford’s internal training platform).
• Checkout (you will not pay for the training) and you will receive an email confirmation that the training is available to you.
• The training will appear in the ‘My eLearning’ tile on your CoSy dashboard ready for you to begin. You can also click the link in the email sent to you upon checking out.
• Press 'Play' to start the course, then follow the link to launch the session. The training will open in a new popup window.
• When you have finished the course, exit the training by clicking the cross in the top right hand corner. A certificate will be sent to your inbox.

Please note: The course is free and you will not be charged anything at 'checkout'.

It is recommended you access the training via an up-to-date browser, such as Chrome or Edge. If you have any issues along the way, please refer to our FAQs below. If you are using a Mac, please use Chrome not Safari. We recommend upon completion of the course, you exit and wait until you receive a copy of your email certificate before opening the course again. 

The course will take between 60 and 90 minutes to complete. You need to work through and interact with each module of the course in order to finish the training and receive your certificate.

To receive a text-only version of the course, please email [email protected].

Over 5,000 students have completed the online Consent for Students course in Michaelmas term 2025.

In a survey of 200 students, 80% felt they had a strong understanding of consent after the training, and confidence in supporting others impacted by sexual violence more than doubled.

Here's what some students who have completed the course said about it:

“Excellent work dismantling myths about consent.”

“Made me more comfortable talking about these topics."

“This is the best training about equality that I have ever received.”
 

Consent for Students forms part of the University’s Oxford Against Sexual Violence campaign, sending a clear message that sexual harassment and violence of any form is unacceptable.

The consent training complements the existing measures of the wider campaign, including the University’s Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service.

The Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service provides a safe and confidential space for students to be supported, independent of their college or department.

The Service offers free support and advice to any student who has been affected by sexual harassment or violence; whoever you are, whatever has happened and whenever this was. They also support students impacted by domestic abuse and stalking.

The Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service have developed a healthy relationships and consent workshop programme, running for a fourth consecutive year in Michaelmas 2025. The workshops are delivered across a number of colleges and are led by fully trained student facilitators. Facilitators work closely with college staff to help deliver the workshops. 

The Support Service regularly review the training and workshops, welcoming honest feedback from participating colleges, facilitators and student attendees.

This year, SHVSS is collaborating with the OUR SPACE research project to evaluate student outcomes from the healthy relationships and consent training programme. Read further information about the OUR SPACE study on their website.

Feedback on both the student facilitator training and the workshops themselves has been incredibly positive.

Following the workshops

• 79% students said they were more likely to seek support if they experienced sexual violence or relationship abuse
• 74% said they had a better understanding of healthy relationships
• 73% had a better understanding of sexual consent
• 76% had a better understanding of sexual harassment and violence
• 78% felt more confidence identifying harmful and abusive behaviours in a relationship
• 79% felt more confident signposting someone who had experienced sexual violence, stalking, or relationship abuse to the right support
• 82% felt the workshops were a safe space to express thoughts and suggestions
• 82% felt the workshop was inclusive and accessible
• 89% felt the peer facilitators were knowledgeable and engaging
• 93% rated the workshop overall as positive, with the majority rating it 'excellent'

The workshops are delivered by student facilitators, who attend a full day of training with the Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service, and are provided with all materials and ongoing supervision to equip them with the knowledge and skills to deliver the workshops.

Facilitators should expect to deliver at least two workshops with a co-facilitator. You will work alongside a key contact in your college to arrange the workshops and collect feedback from workshop attendees, receiving support and guidance along the way.

This is an opportunity to develop your leadership, training and organisational skills, and will make a great addition to your CV. This is a voluntary role.

Workshops are around 60 - 75 minutes in duration, with a short amount of preparation and pack up time. They may be delivered throughout the year, as well as in Freshers’ Week.

Applicants should have the skills and confidence to deliver workshops or training to a group of peers. Previous training experience is desirable, but not required. You should feel comfortable in managing challenging scenarios which may arise during workshops, though training will be provided on this and you will be supported.

You should have an understanding of sexual harassment, sexual violence and relationship abuse, and an interest in educating others. It is also important to demonstrate your commitment to reducing and preventing, where possible, sexual harassment and violence, and abuse in relationships. Those with personal experience of sexual violence are welcome to apply, however, we encourage people to be mindful that it may be challenging to discuss these topics in front of a group, and personal disclosures in the workshops are not appropriate. 

Facilitators receive supervision from staff in the Support Service, to discuss the workshops, raise concerns or issues, and reflect on areas for improvement. Outside of these sessions, any concerns can be shared immediately and directly with the Support Service or your college welfare contact.

If you're interested, you will need to complete a short application form. Applicant names will be shared with your college so they can assess your suitability and capacity to commit to the project alongside your studies. If your college does not support your application, no detail of the reasons for this will be shared with the Support Service.

Having been approved by your college and the Support Service, successful applicants will be invited to join a one day training which will be delivered in person in Oxford on either the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th of October.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Recruitment for the 2025/26 year is now closed. Thank you for your interest and keep an eye out for opportunities in 2026.

Colleges participating in Michaelmas 2025 are:

• Balliol (Undergraduates only)
• Brasenose College (Undergraduates only)
• Christ Church College (Undergraduates only)
• Exeter College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
• Hertford College (Undergraduates only)
• Jesus College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
• Lincoln College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
• Mansfield (Undergraduates only)
• New College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
• Oriel College (Undergraduates only)
• Pembroke College (Undergraduate and Postgraduates)
• Somerville College (Undergraduates only)
• St Anne's College (Undergraduate and Postgraduates)
• St Catherine's College (Undergraduate and Postgraduates)
• St Edmund Hall (Postgraduates)
• St Peter's College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
• University College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)
• Wadham College (Undergraduates and Postgraduates)

Some colleges are running workshops for undergraduate students or postgraduate students only, and some are delivering workshops for both undergraduates and postgraduates. 

If you are a student and your college is not listed, you can get in touch with your college welfare team to find out what your college is running and if you can get involved.