Walsall College makes commitment to support students and staff with their mental health and wellbeing

Walsall College has reaffirmed their commitment to staff and students by signing up to a new national mental health and wellbeing charter – created by the Association of Colleges in conjunction with mental health experts.

The 11-point document includes commitments to:

• Promoting equality of opportunity and challenging mental health stigma
• Providing appropriate mental health training for staff
• Providing targeted individual mental health support where appropriate

Colleges across England teach and train 2.2 million people each year – including 685,000 young people. Every year, 1 in 10 young people experience a mental health problem and 1 in 5 young people aged 16-24 experience a common mental illness such as anxiety or depression at any one time. Add to these facts, 75% of adults with a diagnosable mental health problem experience their first symptoms before the age of 24 means Walsall College plays a vital role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of its 10,500 students and 850 staff.

Richard Caulfield, Mental Health lead at the Association of Colleges, said:

“Every single day colleges provide a world class education and transform the lives of millions of people. This includes providing support for both staff and student wellbeing at the right time, in the right place. This charter gives colleges the chance to publicly state their commitment to the mental health agenda.”

About Love Our Colleges: The ‘Love Our Colleges’ campaign is a partnership between Association of Colleges (AoC), National Union of Students (NUS), Association of College and School Leaders (ASCL), University and Colleges Union (UCU), Unison, GMB, TUC and National Education Union (NEU).

The AoC Mental Health Charter in full:

The mental health charter encourages colleges to commit to:

• Ensuring that wellbeing and mental health work is led by a senior manager supported by a member of staff with particular responsibility for mental health
• Having a wellbeing and mental health policy accompanied by a clear implementation action plan which is monitored regularly and reviewed annually.
• Creating an open and inclusive college ethos which includes respect for those with mental ill health.
• Promoting equality of opportunity and challenging mental health stigma through curriculum teaching and also by promoting wellbeing through tutorial programmes
• Encouraging and collecting student views on mental health and wellbeing by working with the Students Union and other student representative bodies
• Providing appropriate mental health training for staff
• Ensuring a consistent and positive approach to staff wellbeing
• Providing targeted individual mental health support where appropriate or alternatively signposting to external support services
• Providing relevant information to parents and carers
• Establishing effective links with local health system and voluntary sector mental health providers
• Promoting the benefit that physical activity and sport has on mental well being