Our Student Living: Collaborating to Support Mental Health in University Accommodation report recognised that accommodation providers have a key role to play in creating a Higher Education community that promotes positive wellbeing. The Supporting Student Mental Health in Accommodation Settings training programme is designed for staff – from cleaners to night porters – who work directly with students, to give them the tools to support and signpost their residents whilst maintaining appropriate boundaries.

Since launching the University Mental Health Charter, we have been promoting the importance of adopting a whole university approach to mental health and wellbeing. However, we know that students don’t always have the tools and resources they need to work with their universities to create positive change.

We have been working with a panel of students to explore how we can empower students to work in partnership with their universities and ensure student voice is central to a whole-university approach.

The Student-led Improvement Tool is a co-produced guide for students wanting to improve their university’s approach to mental health and wellbeing, based on the principles of good practice outlined in the Charter. It can be used to allow students to:

• Reflect on how their university supports mental health
• Look at what their university does well and what needs more work
• Make recommendations for improvement

We hope that this tool empowers more students to get involved and create lasting positive change for student mental health. View, download and explore the tool to help you get started.

What is a Journey Review?

The Journey Review provides an optional opportunity for Programme members who do not currently hold a UMHC Award to engage with the Student Minds team and other Programme member universities.

It serves as a moment of reflection, allowing your university to take stock of the progress you’ve made in embedding a whole‑university approach to mental health and wellbeing, identify challenges, and share innovations with Student Minds and other universities.

After completing your journey review template, you will be invited to an optional one-hour virtual meeting with the Student Minds team and 2-3 other Programme member universities.

We have created this online platform to showcase a collection of high-quality resources that align with the Domains in the UMHC Framework, consolidating evidence-based guidance, case studies, best practice and cutting-edge research to empower universities to drive sector-wide innovation in whole-university approaches to mental health and wellbeing. 

Whether you’re an existing Programme Member or completely new to this work, the Library of Learning will further equip you with tools and knowledge to support you on your journey towards embedding a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing.  

The Library of Learning will grow over time, with new resources being developed in collaboration with colleagues and researchers. 

If you would like to work with us to develop a resource for the Library of Learning, you can submit your ideas using this form.

Please share these resources with your team members and enjoy exploring!

The live Award Workshops and this static learning resource aim to support Programme Members in preparing for the UMHC Award Assessment. We understand that every institution is at a different stage in its Award journey, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution – these workshops offer support regardless of where you are in the process!

They provide a space to connect with others, share successes and challenges, and discuss different approaches.

Just starting out?

You might need support with:

• Thinking about how to develop a whole-university approach 
• Learning how to undertake an initial gap analysis

Preparing for a confirmed Award timeline?

These workshops are now mandatory for you. You should attend all Award Workshops in the Programme year before your Assessment.

They will help you to:

• Organise your Self-Assessment Submission 
• Prepare for your Onsite Visit
• Understand the feedback you will receive

What to expect

In these workshops, you can expect to get the most up-to-date guidance on the Award process to complement the Award Handbook and connect with other universities at various stages of the process.

The workshops and learning modules cover:

1. Creating a Whole-University Approach: what we mean by a whole-university approach and how to go about creating one in your institution. 
2. Preparing your Self-assessment Submission: how to use the submission to present a clear, accurate and helpful representation of your whole-university approach.
3. Student’s Role in the UMHC Award: how students are involved in the Award process and the role of the Student Lead.*
4. The Onsite Visit: a brief overview of what to expect from the on-site visit element of the Award process and the role of the Award Lead.
5. Working with the Assessment Team’s Feedback: what kind of feedback you can expect from your assessment report and Student Minds’ perspective on what it’s important to keep in mind when taking that feedback on board. 

*Workshop 3 ‘Students’ Role in the Award’ is open to Student Leads and university staff who are supporting them to explore how to approach the role, how to best support your Student Leads, and for Student Leads to network and connect with others doing the same role.

How the workshops will run:

• If you have a confirmed timeline, you should attend all five of these workshops before you begin the Award process.
• You are welcome to send different team members to each session.
• Prior to the date of each live workshop, you will have some preparatory materials to look at.
• The workshops will be held online using Zoom.
• Attendees are asked to register with their name, institution and pronouns (if they feel comfortable).
• These sessions are interactive; there will be breakout spaces for discussion with other participants
• We encourage participants to have cameras (and mics, where appropriate) turned on, particularly in breakout rooms.*

*We understand that this may not always be possible; please feel free to notify our team prior to the event using the email contact below if you feel you won’t be comfortable doing this.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please note: These resources are only available for staff of Programme member universities. To check if your institution is a member, click here

If your institution is a UMHC Programme member and you don’t currently have access to the resources, please create an account and request to join the Programme members group

To find out more about the University Mental Health Charter and the UMHC Programme, please click here

If you have any questions, please email us at charter@studentminds.org.uk.