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While Student Minds has always been committed to being an inclusive employer, in 2020 we set an ambition to be a truly anti-racist organisation. This work is not easy, it requires ongoing effort, courage and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. But we are dedicated. We hope by sharing our story we can motivate others across the charity sector to recognise the role organisations can play to foster inclusive and diverse communities. Organisational growthAt the beginning, there was a ‘fear of doing things wrong’ because we didn't dedicate enough time and resources. However, in 2020, we saw a shift. We could see the difficulties in the sector to address intersectionality within student communities, and like many, faced our own challenges to ensure staff could thrive, heavily influenced by campaigns like #CharitySoWhite. We could no longer make excuses for the lack of progress and realised we just had to try. Rather than trying to simply put plasters on our problems, we needed a strategy in place to see radical and sustained culture change at Student Minds. Our initial approachWe started talking publicly about our commitment, including our public response to the Sewell report in 2021. We focused internally, interrogating our communications and recruitment of staff and volunteers. We looked at our programmes, including our University Mental Health Charter, calling on our Programme Member universities to consider intersectionality in all areas of teaching and learning. We started having Equality, Diversity & Inclusion conversations as a team. As a predominately white organisation, we struggled to know what our role could be for fear of recreating inequalities or acting like a ‘saviour’. When our first anti-racism task group was set up in 2022 only 2 members out of 8 were from a racialised background. The progress was limited as we still didn’t have the relevant expertise or collective view. However it was important that we tried and didn’t shy away from making mistakes. All organisations need to start somewhere, and it will always be imperfect but intention is paramount. During these challenging early stages, it was authentic leadership from all parts of the organisation that kept us engaged. Our CEO, Rosie, was personally invested in the work and sponsored it from the start. Krishna Lad, our previous Design and Digital Manager worked tirelessly at the start and Aneeska Sohal, our current Anti Racism Council (ARC) Trustee representative, provided Rosie with the necessary strategic steer and mentorship. Our Communications team were pioneers who kept us motivated. Too many individuals to name drew on their lived experiences and really pushed us to be critical about the way we operate. We recognise that we did not have the best structures in place to help staff and volunteers who were supporting this work outside of their usual responsibilities, and know this could have had a negative impact, and we have learned from this. We want to thank all of those who have now moved on from the organisation, as without your initial support we would not have been able to start this progress. Meaningful co-creationThe reality was we needed financial investment to begin authentic collaboration. When developing Student Space and our research, we partnered with organisations led by racialised communities such as Black People Talk, Taraki and Muslim Youth Helpline to offer tailored support to students during the Covid-19 pandemic. We were able to work with an external consultant, Steve Gilbert, who provided guidance and training for the team and helped us to understand our purpose and set up sustainable strategies for the future. We recruited a steering group of Black students to develop an online content package for Black students, led by Colourful Minds and sector expert Andy Owusu. This was incredibly successful for us to be able to provide support for Black students using direct lived experiences, and as we were still struggling to know how we could support Black students in a way that felt meaningful and authentic, it helped us to better define what we could do to meaningfully support more students from racialised communities. However we spent a lot longer than we expected in the planning stage of this work, and by the beginning of 2024, there was frustration and a call from our stakeholders to be bolder. Anti Racism Council We set up an Anti-Racism Council (ARC) who hold us to account and support us to develop a clear vision at Student Minds. Reflections from our ARC members have highlighted that we have fallen short of our original expectations, in recent meetings they’ve emphasised that:
We are incredibly grateful to the incredible experts within our ARC who continue to challenge us as we develop this work. With financial investment, a leadership team fully behind our ambitions and a staff team eager to deal with the messiness of this change, we feel confident that we can live up to the expectations of our ARC. Next stepsWe are now ready to build on our positive foundations to move to a place of action as an organisation. Part of this commitment involves our public declaration of our initial commitments as an organisation before our action plan is launched. CEO (Organisational Sponsor) commitment
The CEO commits to consistently and publicly advocating for anti-racist practices within the organisation and wider sector. They commit to regular communications, holding themselves accountable to anti-racist values and ensuring that people and financial investments are long-term commitments. They will provide a yearly update on the progress. ARC commitment
The Anti Racism Council commits to 1) monitoring the organisation’s progress on anti-racism initiatives, holding the organisation accountable to its commitments, and not being afraid to challenge failures. 2) developing and publishing an action plan identifying our multi-year plan, complementing our existing 10-year strategy. Student Minds staff and Trustee commitment
Staff and Trustees commit to acting fairly and compassionately, embracing Student Minds' values, and working inclusively. This includes treating others with respect and dignity, continuously learning and unlearning, holding each other accountable for EDI commitments, and challenging actions that undermine such commitments, or the charity's values. At Student Minds, our role is twofold. We have a responsibility to ensure not only our staff, but our Trainer/Assessor networks, our partners and supporters, fundraisers, freelancers, volunteers, consultants and all other stakeholders have the ability to truly thrive working with us. They must have the investment, space and permission to be unapologetic, to challenge us, and to help us shape a better Student Minds. We then have a role to play to raise awareness and identify solutions for health inequalities that racialised students and staff face. We know we can support this work and welcome further external collaborations with ARC to continue to champion this across the sector. Being anti-racist means a commitment towards centering racial justice at the heart of the organisation. Being anti-racist requires a complete shift in how we work with communities while acknowledging our positions in a white supremacist system. We know we must begin with individual action, whilst recognising that only structural change can address inequalities. This work must move beyond a one-off project, and we must embed it into our ethos. We know change is needed, and it can’t just be seen, it has to be felt to be done. We will continue to persist and dream bigger for Student Minds and for the communities, we aim to support to ensure that no student is held back by their mental health. Timeline of events
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Yesterday, the government announced that the cap on tuition fees will be rising to £9,535 per year from 2025 and maintenance loan entitlements are also set to rise. Beyond this, the Education Secretary confirmed that further proposals for reform will be published in the coming months. What we’re calling forThis April, Student Minds set out our vision for a future where every student can thrive in our Student Mental Health Manifesto. In it, we highlighted the need for maintenance loans to increase, accounting for years of real-term cuts. We also called for thresholds for maintenance loan entitlements to increase, for financial support for part-time students, and for the reintroduction of maintenance grants to be explored. More needs to be done on maintenance fundingWhile yesterday’s increase to maintenance loan entitlements is a helpful start, it is not enough to make up for the significant shortfall that students and their loved ones have been forced to account for in recent years - often by taking on unsustainable working hours, further debts, or risky income-generating activities. Given recent findings that for the average student, maintenance loans fall short by £504 a month, this 3% increase - or a maximum of £414 per year - still leaves a significant hole in students’ budgets. We are also disappointed to see no mention of additional support for the most disadvantaged students, and continue to call for the government to consider the reintroduction of maintenance grants as a priority. Tuition fees and sector financesThe picture concerning tuition fees is more complex. We understand that universities require urgent financial relief given tuition fees were frozen in 2017 despite inflation, and that an increase offers a much-needed lifeline. However, we question whether students and graduates should be the ones to foot this bill - even if only a minority of students will ever pay back this additional cost. A Student Mental Health Manifesto winWe’re pleased to hear of the government’s intention to undertake more fundamental reviews of the higher education system, with a focus on ensuring it remains fair and accessible to all. This is in line with our Student Mental Health Manifesto recommendation that the government commits to a review of UK higher education funding, finding a new sustainable system which does not place the additional burden on students or staff. We hope to see a funding model implemented which secures the long-term sustainability of our world-leading universities, whilst also ensuring that every student who wants to can access higher education with the financial support they need. We also call for a more progressive repayment model, which takes a proportionate, fair and manageable approach for all graduates. Student Minds will keep championing our university communitiesAs higher education reform remains in the political spotlight, Student Minds will continue to advocate for you. Our mission is for a future where no student is held back by their mental health. For this to become a reality, both students and universities must have access to the financial support and investment they need.
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