Student Space
Student Space is a collaborative mental health programme to support students through the unique circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Student Space will act as a single point of access to support for university and college Higher Education (HE) students. The platform will consist of both immediate and preventative interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes. It will offer a range of clinically developed psychoeducational resources, curate and quality-assure other types of available support and provide accessible therapeutic interventions. Student Minds will lead the development of Student Space, working with a range of sector bodies, specialist organisations and service providers and involving clinical, professional and student representation throughout. |
Read our Student Space announcement |
FAQs
Since our announcement on 17th June 2020, we have been grateful to receive significant interest in Student Space. These FAQs address some of your most commonly asked questions regarding the programme. As we develop Student Space we aim to release specific updates and details regarding the platform, the services it will offer, and how it will complement existing university and NHS interventions.
How will you make sure the support meets the diverse needs of students across England and Wales?
Student Space is designed for all university and college HE students in England and Wales. However, we know that the pandemic is not affecting every student in the same way. There are certain members of the student population who are disproportionately affected, with research showing how long-standing health inequalities are deepening. As experts by experience, students need to be listened to, in order to make this an effective programme. At Student Minds, we will ensure that there is co-production and student representation built-in through all levels of the programme. This will enable Student Space to provide accessible support which meets the broad variety of student needs.
To reflect the diverse needs of our student community we seek to support we will also seek to engage with specialist organisations, including those representing particular demographics (e.g. racialised and minoritised students, international students, LGBTQ+ students), specialist topics (domestic violence, bereavement), specific areas of mental health support (e.g. eating disorders, psychosis, trauma survivors) and those focusing on different stages of the student journey (from application to graduation).
To reflect the diverse needs of our student community we seek to support we will also seek to engage with specialist organisations, including those representing particular demographics (e.g. racialised and minoritised students, international students, LGBTQ+ students), specialist topics (domestic violence, bereavement), specific areas of mental health support (e.g. eating disorders, psychosis, trauma survivors) and those focusing on different stages of the student journey (from application to graduation).
Where does Student Space fit in amongst existing services offered by the NHS and HE support services?
Student Space has been carefully designed to make the best use of the resource available. It aims to supplement and support, not replace, existing services. We do not intend to offer types of therapeutic support already provided by universities, colleges and the NHS who are currently working hard to support students. However, we know that even prior to Covid-19 these services were stretched with spikes in demand for their support.
Our therapeutic interventions will aim to support students who face barriers to accessing already available support. For instance, our listening exercises are highlighting that some students are not accessing online or telephone therapy because they do not have private space in which they will not be overheard. We will partner with a provider of text-based support to address this need. We also know that the availability of support for students varies between different types of providers. Responding to this, we may commission additional telephone-based support where this is not available. This programme will aim to support efforts to allow students across England and Wales equitable access to support tailored to their needs and the difficulties arising from the pandemic.
Our therapeutic interventions will aim to support students who face barriers to accessing already available support. For instance, our listening exercises are highlighting that some students are not accessing online or telephone therapy because they do not have private space in which they will not be overheard. We will partner with a provider of text-based support to address this need. We also know that the availability of support for students varies between different types of providers. Responding to this, we may commission additional telephone-based support where this is not available. This programme will aim to support efforts to allow students across England and Wales equitable access to support tailored to their needs and the difficulties arising from the pandemic.
There are a lot of providers of online mental health support out there already – how will this be different?
Student Space is specifically targeted to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on university and HE students in colleges. We want to work with existing providers to help students find good quality and evidence-based support. There are a lot of online resources available at the moment, but it is difficult for students to be able to identify which are well-suited to meet their needs. We will collaborate with a number of external organisations to clinically review and assess available resources. Student Space will provide an easy access point to the best quality support for students through the pandemic.
What can this programme do that universities, HE providers and other existing support services won’t be doing anyway?
Being a student during a pandemic and the resultant lockdown is a new experience. While we can make educated predictions as to how this experience will affect students, we do not know with certainty. It would be remiss to rely on assumptions from previous circumstances, which could leave students with support that would not be fit for purpose.
Conducting and monitoring ongoing research is a demanding, resource-intensive task for any one university or support service to undertake. A centralised programme will draw from ongoing research from across the sector and respond quickly to emerging student needs whilst avoiding undue replication of effort. Interventions that are part of Student Space will augment existing support and be targeted to address the specific impacts of the pandemic.
Student Space will be based on existing and external research and evidence but also consist of Student Minds’ research and our own listening exercises, which will support us to identify specific groups of students who may be having the most difficult experiences of lockdown, enabling us to co-create interventions that can reach students across England and Wales and share our learning with the sector.
Conducting and monitoring ongoing research is a demanding, resource-intensive task for any one university or support service to undertake. A centralised programme will draw from ongoing research from across the sector and respond quickly to emerging student needs whilst avoiding undue replication of effort. Interventions that are part of Student Space will augment existing support and be targeted to address the specific impacts of the pandemic.
Student Space will be based on existing and external research and evidence but also consist of Student Minds’ research and our own listening exercises, which will support us to identify specific groups of students who may be having the most difficult experiences of lockdown, enabling us to co-create interventions that can reach students across England and Wales and share our learning with the sector.
Will Student Space reduce demand on university support services?
It is extremely unlikely that support services will see an overall reduction in demand this year, due to the additional needs generated by the pandemic. As the Office for Students (OfS) has noted in this briefing note, universities should likely be preparing and planning for an increase in demand for support. Our Planning for Sustainable Futures Guidance also sets out that support services need to be, at least, maintained at current levels. Student Space will help to absorb some of this increased need and provide specific interventions that respond to the Covid-19 circumstances to support the ongoing, vital work of university and college support services.
What partner organisations are you going to be working with?
We will share further details on organisations we will be working with in the coming weeks, but due to the nature of this programme, this will be iterative and not fixed. The programme design, delivery and evaluation will be supported by a programme advisory group and will involve clinical, professional and student members, representation from a range of professional bodies, health organisations, support services and research organisations.
How will you work with university Student Services departments?
We have collaborated with AMOSSHE in shaping the programme and we will continue to collaborate with them as key partners in developing Student Space.
We intend to work with student services teams at institutions in a variety of ways to ensure Student Space support is well integrated and complements existing interventions. Student Space is intended to provide students with links to all of the services available to them, including those at their institution. We will be asking universities to provide information detailing their services and how their students can access these.
We will also use our research monitoring and listening work to keep the sector informed of ongoing developments and emerging needs within the student population. This will enable us to provide timely interventions which are targeted at the specific impacts of the pandemic, while also drawing upon best practice.
We intend to work with student services teams at institutions in a variety of ways to ensure Student Space support is well integrated and complements existing interventions. Student Space is intended to provide students with links to all of the services available to them, including those at their institution. We will be asking universities to provide information detailing their services and how their students can access these.
We will also use our research monitoring and listening work to keep the sector informed of ongoing developments and emerging needs within the student population. This will enable us to provide timely interventions which are targeted at the specific impacts of the pandemic, while also drawing upon best practice.
How will we ensure the interventions on Student Space are safe?
Student Minds will commission current providers to provide specific interventions on Student Space. The commissioning process itself will involve robust clinical governance. Our independent governance board will include independently appointed mental health clinicians, professionals and students.
We will also have an expert review panel to assess the quality and relevance of support. The panel will consist of a range of mental health professionals with experience of support in Higher Education.
We will also have an expert review panel to assess the quality and relevance of support. The panel will consist of a range of mental health professionals with experience of support in Higher Education.
How will we account for different health contexts between England and Wales?
We are working closely with colleagues at HEFCW, seeking ongoing advice on opportunities to develop parts of Student Space in both English and Welsh and account for specific legislation in Wales, such as The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. We will also contact Welsh institutions that have developed bilingual mental health projects and listen to and explore the experiences of Welsh students in informing the support provided.
What will the long term legacy of Student Space be?
Student Space is a temporary resource provided to help the sector meet a specific need due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from July to December 2020. However, we hope that there will be significant learning from this project that will benefit the sector well beyond the lifecycle of the programme.
If you have any questions that aren’t covered please get in touch with us at [email protected].