England’s Office for Students has this week published a new report on proposed approaches to improve student mental health through better collaboration between higher education and healthcare professionals.

The report, “Working better together to support student mental health”, is the result of a 10-month project in which a Nous Group team worked closely with small groups of staff at higher education providers as well as two national cross-regional forums.

The Nous-facilitated consultations involved action learning sets, which bring together small groups of people to think about a problem, try out solutions, and discuss and question the results over an extended period. The report was funded by the Office for Students.

Drawing on the consultations, the report identifies five challenges to joined-up working between higher education and healthcare professionals, and proposed approaches:

  1. Clarifying roles and responsibilities. Declaring where responsibilities for student mental health lie would enable the government to support higher education providers (HEPs), healthcare colleagues and service users to understand the roles of HEP support services and the NHS. This will guard HEPs against any obligation to provide everything for their students, which many higher education participants said they felt obliged to do.
  2. Improving NHS-higher education communications and information-sharing. A protocol could be established so that when people present at A&E with a mental health crisis or are discharged from hospital, they are asked their student status, and then asked if they want information about the incident shared with their institution. This will help HEPs to understand what additional support an individual needs.
  3. Addressing the diverse needs of today’s students. Students could be given guidance on what to expect across life in higher education, what support services are available and recommended pathways to follow should they need help. This would inform students of how the HEP can support them and what support is available outside of the HEP (including through the NHS and charities).
  4. Developing resources and support. Increased funding could ensure there are more qualified staff available to meet increasing demand. The higher education sector could review and streamline processes to remove duplication with the NHS and maximise resources, including through using student mentors and mental health first aiders.
  5. Preparing a joint higher education and NHS strategy for student mental health. This strategy could tackle the four earlier challenges. It would enable a joint-sector directive for HEPs and the NHS workforce on undertaking joined-up working. This requires the engagement of senior health representatives.

John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students, said: “Effective collaboration between the health and higher education sectors is crucial in supporting the mental health of students. This independent report published today provides valuable insights into the current challenges and how higher education and NHS colleagues are developing approaches to improving joined-up working to support student mental health.

“We are pleased to have supported these discussions through our funded programme. This report is a useful development that complements and progresses other work that is happening throughout the sector and we hope that this inspires further discussion and action to address these issues.”

Antonia Instone, a Nous Director who led the project said: “We were delighted to support and enable these important action learning sets. Meeting monthly for facilitated action learning sets gave participants the structure and momentum to drive real progress in their thinking. Set members from both higher education and healthcare backgrounds found it a valuable process and are continuing to work together to address what are sector-wide challenges.”

Shona Sutcliffe, a Nous Senior Consultant who facilitated the action learning sets, said: “It was a real privilege to be part of this important piece of work. It was a valuable opportunity for participants across higher education and healthcare to strengthen relationships, exchange knowledge, and ultimately drive toward improved outcomes for students.”

Drawing on experience working with universities in five countries, the Nous team welcomes the opportunity to work with higher education and healthcare providers on meeting student mental health needs.

More information on the project is available here.