FOI_25-237 Teaching on Homelessness

Date of response: 08 September 2025

We have now considered your request of 09 August 2025 for the following information:

Question 1. Does your medical school provide any teaching specifically on homelessness?

Our response:

Yes.

If so, please indicate:

 The year(/s) of study in which this teaching occurs.

 The format (e.g., lectures, tutorials, clinical placements, case studies, lived experience).

 The amount of time allocated to this topic.

 Whether this teaching is mandatory or elective.

 Any particular frameworks or learning outcomes associated with this content.

Our response:

“Rough Sleeping and Working with Homeless Communities” THIRD YEAR, LECTURE, 3 HOURS, MANDATORY. Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (ClinPsyD).

Placements wise on the ClinPsyD, we have an elective placement in Cambridge with Change Grow Live (CGL) working with homelessness/street outreach and also addictions work in this context. Trainees can elect to go on the placement in their final year. The placement runs for approx. 5 months, 3 to 4 days a week.

In the MBBS Sociology Theme, there is just one moment in a Year 1 mandatory lecture where homelessness is explicitly referenced, this is in a lecture on 'Diversity: Gender, Ethnicity, Class', where there is a Single-Best-Answer (SBA) multiple choice question on one of the slides. The SBA question references being vulnerably housed. We suggest that this is not teaching 'specifically' on homelessness because it is an example exam question, where the exam question is actually asking about models of health inequality, and homelessness is the example used.

Question 2. Does your curriculum include any content on housing insecurity as a distinct issue?

• For the purposes of this request, housing insecurity refers to unstable or inadequate housing situations that may include:

 Living in overcrowded accommodation;

 Frequent or involuntary moves;

 Staying temporarily with others (e.g., “sofa surfing”);

 Being placed in temporary accommodation (e.g., hostels or B&Bs arranged by local authorities);

 Facing unaffordable rent or the risk of eviction or homelessness.

Our response:

Yes.

Question 3. If yes, please provide details similar to the above (year(s), format, duration, mandatory/elective, learning outcomes, etc.).

Our response:

See above and also: “Working with Asylum Seekers and Transient Populations” THIRD YEAR, LECTURE, 3 HOURS, MANDATORY – ClinPsyD

Question 4. Are students assessed on their knowledge or clinical understanding of homelessness or housing insecurity?

Our response:

No.

Question 5. If so, please specify the form of assessment and its weight in overall evaluation.

Our response:

Not applicable.

Question 6. Do you collaborate with any external organisations or community groups to deliver this content?

• For example, charities, service users with lived experience, housing or homelessness services.

• Please specify which of the above examples you collaborate with.

Our response:

Yes, Change Grow Live (CGL) in Cambridgeshire for ClinPsyD placements, and users with lived experience.

Rough Sleeping and Working with Homeless Communities” teaching. Both the “Rough Sleeping and Working with Homeless Communities” and “Working with Asylum Seekers and Transient Populations” teaching sessions have live input from those with lived experience - ClinPsyD.

Question 7. Has any formal evaluation or feedback been collected from students regarding this part of the curriculum?

• If available, please provide a summary or anonymised data.

Our response:

For ClinPsyD:

“Rough Sleeping and Working with Homeless Communities” Most recent feedback summary:

Average overall rating 5/5. Effectiveness 5/5. Structure and Organisation 5/5

Collected comments: “Great organisation and structure to the session due to emotive content and necessary breaks and respecting that. I liked the way the session was broken into topics and felt that it flowed well and was not rushed even with a lot of useful content covered. Was pitched at the right level and was really thought provoking and emotive.” Invaluable to hear from XXX- thank you so much for speaking to us about your experiences, it really helps shape us and our thinking as trainee CPs and going into placement and into qualified life. XXX sharing their lived experience and use of videos of those who have experiences homelessness.2’

[No feedback was received for the most recent “Working with Asylum Seekers and Transient Populations” session.]

If available, please also share any supporting documents (e.g., module guides, syllabi, lecture titles, or learning outcomes) that relate to this teaching.

Our response:

Learning Outcomes (ClinPsyD):