Student Minds welcomes Universities Minister outlining university mental health as a personal priority

Last week Michelle Donelan, Minister of State for Universities, set out that university mental health would be a personal priority and that she would ensure mental health remains at the top of the government's agenda.

The Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to mental health in education at the pre-launch event for Universities UK’s Mentally Healthy Universities Framework, the refresh of the StepChange framework, due to be published soon.

Student Minds attended the event in parliament alongside a number of Vice-Chancellors, MPs and representatives from key organisations such as the Office for Students, AMOSSHE, NUS, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing and Public Health England.

Our CEO, Rosie Tressler OBE, gave a speech at the event, emphasising the need to co-produce approaches to improving mental health and wellbeing with staff and students and the importance of ensuring those who are most affected by mental health issues are supported equally. She urged VCs, MPs and other attendees to ensure that commitment to mental health leads to action and change.

The Mentally Healthy Universities Framework has been co-developed alongside Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter and will encourage universities to work across the four domains set out by the Charter - Learn, Support, Live and Work in order to achieve a whole university approach to mental health. Together we hope to shape a future in which everyone in higher education can thrive.

We are encouraged by the commitment to university mental health shown by the Minister and Universities UK and hope this helps to support work to transform the state of university mental health across the sector.