University of Nottingham: University of Nottingham joins University Mental Health Charter Programme
The University of Nottingham has demonstrated its commitment to the health and wellbeing of its students by signing up to the University Mental Health Charter Programme.
The programme, run by Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity, brings together universities to share best practice in mental health provision and provides access to an online hub of resources and live workshops to help improve and develop strategy, policy and practice in mental health services.
Participation in the programme also allows HE institutions to work towards the Charter Award, an accreditation scheme that recognises those universities that demonstrate excellent approaches to student and staff mental health.
University of Nottingham Pro Vice-Chancellor Shearer West
University is an incredibly exciting time of life but some aspects, such as living away from home for the first time, meeting new people, managing finances and dealing with existing mental health issues, can also be very stressful.
Professor Shearer West, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Nottingham
She added: “We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our students and ensuring that they have the best experience while studying with us. By joining the University Mental Health Charter programme, we are offering our students the additional reassurance that the mental health support they need will be effective, consistent and driven by the very best practice from across the HE sector. We are proud to be associated with the charity Student Minds, which is a fantastic advocate for student mental health, and that its CEO Rosie Tressler is a Nottingham alumna and former Equal Opportunities and Welfare Officer at our Students’ Union.”
The university’s team of specialist professionals who offer help through its Mental Health Advisory Service support more than 1,000 of our students each year. Up to 300 short appointments are available every week for students to speak about a problem and to receive advice and support on accessing other services including our Counselling Service.
This service was expanded during the last academic year and provided support to more than 2300 students through a combination of one to one support and groups and workshops.
In Autumn 2021, the university implemented the Student Engagement Dashboard across the university, a welfare tool which tracks use of digital learning tools and in-person teaching attendance to help staff identify students who may require additional welfare or academic support.
Security staff, all of whom are trained in Mental Health First Aid, and the university’s Residential Experience team – who also receive training in Mental Health support – in its Halls of Residences are often the first port of call for students when they may need a little extra help. They are on hand to offer advice and, if needed, signpost them to further support.
Additionally, students can now access 24/7 clinical expertise and trained practitioners who can help with a range of mental health issues including anxiety and depression through the online platform Togetherall.
The Students’ Union provides support through their advice services, peer support campaigns – including their Reach Out and Check In campaign – and Nightline service, with the latter offering peer support from 7pm to 8am.
The University also hosts an inclusive Chaplaincy and Faith support team and a Disability Student Support Service, both of which are critical in supporting student mental health and wellbeing.
And the university continues to develop self-help resources and health improvement information and activities via its Healthy U campaign and mental health-boosting fitness activities with our colleagues in Sport.
MyWellbeing, an online hub for student wellbeing all in one place, is the latest development due to launch.
We are proud of the extensive range of mental health and wellbeing services that we offer our students. We continue to develop our support and invest £1 million every year into expertise, training and resources for us to take a holistic approach across the university with both proactive and reactive interventions.
Emma Rowsell, Director of Campus and Student Life
The University Charter Programme was developed in consultation with staff and students, with initial funding from the UPP Foundation and the Office for Students and further funding from Jisc and the Charlie Watkins Foundation.