Student Minds Mental Health Charter: Learn Workstream

The last two NU Connections have updated you on our work towards obtaining the Student Minds Mental Health Charter. As part of the charter’s ‘whole university approach’ we have a Learn workstream, which looks at how student mental health can be promoted in the curriculum, at how we embed mental health support into student transitions, and at how our educational activities interact with our support services. 

How can I make my teaching more supportive of student mental health? 

One thing we can all do is make sure that we’re up to date on our knowledge and training. Many of the University Essentials have guidance that support student wellbeing, including the Mental Health and Wellbeing Awareness course. Postgraduate supervisors can also take the Wellbeing for Supervisors course as part of the PGR Supversior Development Programme. 

On a day to day basis, we can also think about the actions we take which impact on student mental health: choice of wording in an email, detail of guidance for a task, consideration of deadlines for assessed work, etc. The principles of ‘compassionate academia’ encourage us to go beyond thinking of the minimum standards of support or being purely reactive, towards thinking about how we set up a culture and environment which supports positive wellbeing through an ethos of care. For example, the Academic Registrars’ Council recently published guidance on compassionate communication, to encourage all involved in education to think about the impact that our communication has on students. Newcastle also has guidance for working with specific groups, for example, through our Canvas module on Understanding and Supporting International Students. 

I don’t know where to send students when they’re struggling! 

One of our discoveries has been the need to clarify and simplify how those involved in education access information about the services that support students’ health and wellbeing, including their mental health.  

We have therefore produced an interactive graphic which you can now find in the quick links menu on NU Connect. Just select ‘Colleague Wellbeing’ and you’ll find a link called “Support your Student: Health and Wellbeing Service”. Clicking on that takes you to the interactive graphic, which guides you as to how to support your student based on their current needs or the questions that they’re asking. Links take you to areas such as disability support, hate crime reporting, refugee and asylum advice, emotional and mental wellbeing support, as well as several others.  

Mental Wellbeing in the Curriculum 

Some colleagues have gone further teaching of wellbeing into our curriculum! We’re working on a resource which will share examples of good practice that colleagues across the university use to encourage students to reflect about anxieties, manage workload-related overwhelm, or learn about the principles of mental wellbeing. Students in Psychology can now take a module called The Science and Culture of Mental Health and Wellbeing, which encourages students to critically reflect on their own learning practices. Extracts from this module will in future years be made available to educators from across the university to integrate into their own teaching. 

Interested in Taking Part? 

The Learn Workstream is led by Dr Robert Shaw from the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, but he is moving onto other projects from next academic year. If you’re interested in being part of the workstream, or maybe even leading it, then please reach out to Kristy Johnson who is co-ordinating our work Kristy.Johnson1@newcastle.ac.uk.