An independent evaluation of the Office for Students’ (OfS's)
Mental Health Funding Competition found that the programme
supported 3,241 students and trained 316 staff to provide
targeted mental health support for students.
With investment from the Department of Health and Social Care
(DHSC) and the Department for Education (DfE), the OfS awarded
more than £3 million in funding through the Mental Health Funding
Competition (MHFC) to identify effective practice for targeted
student mental health support.
The fund supported 18 projects led by
universities and colleges, to pilot innovative approaches to
supporting the mental health of particular groups of students who
may be at greater risk of poor mental health or who may face
barriers to accessing support. Approaches included peer-to-peer
mentoring, awareness raising campaigns, connecting with NHS
services, and digital solutions such as virtual reality
experiences.
This final independent programme-level evaluation
report produced by Wavehill explores how the MHFC
addressed barriers to mental health support among target groups,
what impact the programme has had, how these approaches could be
adopted by other universities and colleges, and how they might be
sustained.
The evaluation found that the MHFC programme has:
- engaged 1,057 students in the development of the programme
including through activities such as peer-to-peer support and
student-led workshops
- established or developed strategic partnerships across the
sector, including with 83 partner organisations that were
involved in the design or delivery of projects.
The programme also effectively delivered on its aims to change
staff understandings of the barriers to accessing support
experienced by diverse groups of students. The evaluation found
that:
- 64 per cent of students involved in project development
agreed that the support now available is more relevant to student
needs
- there has been a considerable improvement in staff knowledge
of the barriers faced by target groups, as a result of staff
facilitating student co-creation activities or receiving training
- short-term outcomes suggest that the programme has had a
broadly positive impact on students engaged in interventions –
including early positive improvements in mental health or
wellbeing, improved equity of access to support, raised
confidence to disclose and seek help for mental health issues,
and improved sense of belonging and perception of support
services.
This evaluation report aims to provide universities, colleges and
the wider higher education sector with the resources to identify
strategies for improving support for students who may face
increased barriers to mental health support or may be at
increased risk of experiencing poor mental health.
John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation for the
Office for Students (OfS), said:
'This report has highlighted the value of targeted, innovative
and intersectional mental health support for students. It is
heartening to see the majority of the students who helped develop
the projects agree that this programme has generated more
relevant support for student needs.
'The legacy of this programme, however, relies on the sector’s
determination to share, learn from, and embed these insights. We
encourage all universities and colleges to read this evaluation
and learn about what evidence-based interventions may be
appropriate for their own students. Those providers crafting
their access and participation plans should consider how this
work can inform those. Equality of opportunity is vital for
students to thrive and succeed in higher education, and it is
essential that we continue to implement robust evaluation
practices that help us to understand what methods of support are
effective for students'.
ENDS
Notes
- In 2022, the OfS published an interim report on the
Mental Health Funding Competition, focusing on
co-production with students within the programme.
- The partner organisations involved in the programme include
27 other universities and colleges, 17 further education
colleges, 15 NHS organisations, seven students’ unions or student
union representatives, and a range of other third sector, private
sector and public sector organisations.
-
The funded
projects were awarded funding in two phases (July 2021
and August 2021), and most projects commenced delivery at the
beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year. All projects
were completed between March and September 2023.
- Read the latest blog from
Head of Student Equality and Welfare, Suzanne Carrie.
