Have your say on our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategies
Students and staff are at the heart of our university. We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our community and have been listening to your feedback in relation to mental health and wellbeing. In response we have drafted new mental health and wellbeing strategies, one for students and one for staff.
Update 16 November 2019
We would like to thank everyone for their feedback to the initial consultation. We have received very thoughtful and useful feedback from all members of our community, and we would particularly like to thank the Students' Union for their help in supporting the consultation with students.
Feedback was given via the online consultation (over 200 responses); from Bristol SU forums held throughout the consultation period (which involved 50–60 students), including with the Wellbeing Network Forum and the Education Network's Course Rep Conference; from the University Planning Conference participants (which involved c.200 staff members); from the Board of Trustees; and from the Vice-Chancellor's Expert Advisory Group.
The key themes emerging from the consultation included:
- the nature and tone of communications around mental health;
- support for transition points where students may be particularly vulnerable (such as suspension of studies);
- ideas to review the structure of the academic year with a particular focus on wellbeing;
- the range and level of provision of different services available through the Counselling Service;
- the need for enhanced training for personal tutors; and
- a commitment to collect data annually to identify trends that require a response and to transparency with the findings of research.
Additional themes that emerged via the online feedback related to:
- availability of, and access to, counselling (including emergency access);
- clarity over roles and responsibilities of personal tutors and other support roles including wellbeing advisors; and
- signposting and the information available about support and how to access it.
All the feedback we received is being reviewed and we expect to issue updated strategies and supporting action plans in the coming weeks. Thank you again for contributing to such important work.
Our draft strategies are still available to view. They outline the wide range of activity already underway and explicitly set out our commitment to:
- prioritise the wellbeing of our students and staff, whether that is through tackling structural barriers or supporting individuals;
- foster an inclusive and diverse community where our students and staff can succeed; and
- engage with all parts of our institution and community in the effort to support staff and student wellbeing.
Our support should be coherent and consistent, and so these draft strategies outline:
- the drivers for our strategic approach and improvement to our support for staff and students;
- key areas of work already underway; and
- the principles that should underpin both the strategies, the actions we are taking and our behaviours in relation to support and wellbeing.
We recognise that mental health and wellbeing can be a difficult or upsetting topic for some people, or that you may not know where you can find help. More information about what support is available for yourself, your friends or colleagues can be found online: