“The promotion of good mental health and wellbeing in students has become an imperative in the country’s universities. Today’s announcement recognises that each of our institutions are more than the sum of our parts, and that we can tackle this problem much more effectively by building on our existing shared expertise, further investigating and promoting good practice wherever we find it. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve.”
Professor Juliet Foster, Dean of Education at King’s IoPPN
13 May 2022
King's part of new network to support student mental health
The Office for Students (OfS) has appointed King's as part of a consortium to help universities and colleges identify and make use of effective practice in supporting student mental health.
The Office for Students (OfS) has appointed King's as part of a consortium led by Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO) to help universities and colleges identify and make use of effective practice in supporting student mental health
Dr Omar Khan, Director of TASO said, “TASO is delighted to have been appointed as the evaluators for the Office for Students' 'what works' student mental health project. Along with our five consortium partners, we look forward to building on our existing work to improve our understanding of what works to address student mental health. We know there is a great deal of work and commitment in this area, and we are dedicated to ensuring that it effectively supports and improves student lives.”
In addition to King's, other partners, in the consortium include What Works Wellbeing, Universities UK, SMaRteN, Student Minds and AMOSSHE.
John Blake, director for fair access and participation at the Office for Students, said, “Students have experienced an especially difficult time through the pandemic. It is crucial that they continue to receive the right mental health support as universities and colleges return to normal.
“The OfS has provided a range of funding and resources to support student mental health, and this national programme will help us to better identify what works best. I am delighted that we have appointed this TASO-led consortium, with the organisations involved having significant expertise in understanding what works best to support students. Students will be consulted through this work, to ensure their views are taken into account.
The project marks an exciting next step in the consortium's work around student mental health. This week TASO published their new report, What works to tackle mental health inequalities in higher education (HE)? which you can read more about here.
For more information, please contact Patrick O'Brien (Senior Media Officer)
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Dean of Education