The weekly check-in
The check-in is the heartbeat of First Six: a few seconds, once a week, to say how you're actually travelling. It's not a survey and it's not a test. It's a quick way to notice your own pattern and, if you want, to put a hand up.
How it works
- Pick the face that fits
You'll see a small row of faces, from thriving to having a hard time. Tap the one that matches your week. That's the whole thing.
- If it was a hard week, say what's weighing on you
Pick the "wobbling" face and First Six asks one gentle, optional follow-up, what's weighing on you most right now?, with a short list to choose from (fitting in, keeping up with the work, money, it's not what you expected, how you're feeling, or something else). Tap one and it points you somewhere useful, or skip it. Your support team at the university can see your answer, so they can offer the right kind of help instead of a generic nudge, and every time a staff member opens your details it is recorded. Nobody outside your university sees it.
- Ask for a hand, if you need one
If you choose an option that says you could use support, First Six points you straight to raising a help request, so you don't have to go hunting for it.
If you don't feel like checking in, tap "maybe later" and it'll leave you alone for that week. Skipping is genuinely fine. It's better than a forced answer, and it doesn't count against you anywhere.
Seeing your own answers back
Your check-ins are not write-only. The Wellbeing page shows Your check-ins so far: one dot per week, coloured by what you said, with the weeks you skipped left hollow so the gaps are honest rather than hidden. It is read-only, it makes no judgement, and there is nothing to tidy up.
It is there because the answers are yours. Some people find a run of weeks more useful than any single one, and it can be easier to notice "that was three hard weeks, not just a bad Tuesday" when you can see it laid out. Equally, if you would rather not look, nothing asks you to.
How much you see at once depends on how your university has set First Six up.
If you are on a single six-week arc, that arc is the whole timeline and there is nothing to switch between.
If your university runs rolling terms, the timeline shows one term at a time, with a row of terms above the chart you can tap to move between them. Each term shows how many weeks you answered in it, so you can see which ones hold anything before opening them. Weeks are numbered within their term, so "Week 1" means the first week of that term, not the first week you ever used First Six. Terms are listed newest first.
The same timeline is on the mobile app.
Who sees it
Staff read the cohort's overall picture on the dashboard, and small groups are hidden there so no one is identifiable. The staff who support your cohort can also see individual responses, including yours, so they can reach out if you're struggling. That's your university's support staff only, and it's logged. And if you explicitly ask for help, that goes straight to the right person. The full detail is in who sees my check-ins and what staff see.
Common questions
Do I have to check in every week?
No. It's always optional, and "maybe later" skips the week cleanly.
Will a bad week get me in trouble?
Never. A check-in is not a grade or a flag. If you select that you're struggling, the staff who support you may see it and reach out. That's the point. But it's support, not a mark against you.
Can I change my answer?
The check-in captures how you felt at that moment. There's no wrong answer to fix. Next week is a fresh one.
Related
The fastest answer is usually one question away.