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<p>It is a priority for this government that students are provided with the mental
health support they need. The opportunity to enter, thrive and graduate from university
should be open to everyone with the ability to do so. To achieve this, the department
is taking an approach based on three pillars:</p><ul><li>Funding vital services and
innovative projects via the Office for Students, with £15 million allocated for the
2023/24 academic year to support students starting university for the first time and
enable effective partnerships between higher education (HE) providers and local NHS
services. £3.6 million was invested to launch Student Space in 2020 and it has since
provided over 450,000 students with free online mental health resources and confidential
support.</li><li>Spreading and implementing best practice consistently across providers.</li><li>Clear
responsibilities for providers and protection for students, with solutions developed
by the HE Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck.</li></ul><p>On 5 June 2023,
the department wrote to all higher education providers asking for their strongest
possible commitment to the mental health of our students, including by showing ownership
of mental health at an executive level. The department has set a target for all universities
to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter Programme by September
2024 so that they take a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing
and follow the principles set out in the Charter. This programme is about continuous
improvement from universities so that standards are raised within the sector.</p><p>61
universities had joined the programme by the 2022/23 academic year. Following the
5 June 2023 letter, nine HE providers wrote back to the department on action being
taken to improve practice. A significant number of universities then applied to the
Charter Programme during the summer 2023 application window. The programme has seen
a greater than 50% increase in membership and now has 96 members for the 2023/24 academic
year. The full list of members is available at: <a href="https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/"
target="_blank">https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/</a>.</p><p>The
Higher Education Mental Health Taskforce is looking at the application of best practice
among HE providers. The Taskforce will deliver a final report by May 2024 and will
provide an update ahead of that early in 2024.</p><p>I continue to raise the value
of Charter Programme membership with universities and sector representatives and hosted
a roundtable on the mental health of students with university leaders at Leeds Trinity
University on 23 November 2023. This roundtable addressed the important role that
executive leadership have in setting the culture and practice around wellbeing for
students on campus. We also confirmed at this roundtable that the National Confidential
Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, a renowned centre of expertise on
suicide prevention, will lead the National Review of HE Suicides. This will ensure
lessons from tragic instances of student suicide are shared widely across the sector.</p><p>This
roundtable followed a speech I delivered at the UUK Mental Health Conference on 21
November 2023 where I asked the sector to come together and finish the job of embedding
best practice.</p>
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