Actions to be taken: Look after your mate training to be offered to all students in the residencies Workshops / psych-education sessions to be offered to students in the residencies Students Association to look at ways of socially including the residencies. Look at making support services accessible through online mediums e.g. Online Counselling, Eguidance. To tackle stigma NUS Scotland research shows many students are unwilling to talk about their mental health, approach support and for those using services many are unwilling to disclose to even their friends and family that they are doing so. It is clear more needs to be done to challenge perceptions and encourage students to speak openly and honestly about their mental health. This is particularly the case in relation to males and Actions to be taken Meet with Andy’s Man Club Become more involved with STEM areas Staff within STEM areas to have specific training around supporting students with Mental Health Issues Conduct surveys and collect feedback To normalise support and make it an embedded part of the curriculum. Support services have traditionally been seen as an add on to college provision and the curriculum, although this is slowly starting to change much more could be done to make support part of everyday college ….There are specific curriculum areas which tend not to refer or be involved with support services, and these can sometimes have the most vulnerable student groups within them. Traditionally STEM subjects do not engage well and students within this area may be more reluctant to seek support at an early stage where they experience mental health difficulties. We are looking to embed support within these subject areas from the outset, to make it “normal” part of the course and to measure the impact this has on the student experience, attainment, achievement and retention rates. We are also looking to see what information staff develop by having a student support person on hand. Actions to be taken: To engage with curriculum areas based on Applicant Profile data and historical KPI and experiential data. To embed support from the start of semester 1. To attend 1 practical class or PDP session a week Engage with vulnerable student groups on an ongoing basis to determine the biggest issues they face and ways to address these.
Actions to be taken: Look after your mate training to be offered to all students in the residencies Workshops / psych-education sessions to be offered to students in the residencies Students Association to look at ways of socially including the residencies. Look at making support services accessible through online mediums e.g. Online Counselling, Eguidance. To tackle stigma NUS Scotland research shows many students are unwilling to talk about their mental health, approach support and for those using services many are unwilling to disclose to even their friends and family that they are doing so. It is clear more needs to be done to challenge perceptions and encourage students to speak openly and honestly about their mental health. This is particularly the case in relation to males and Actions to be taken Meet with Andy’s Man Club Become more involved with STEM areas Staff within STEM areas to have specific training around supporting students with Mental Health Issues Conduct surveys and collect feedback To normalise support and make it an embedded part of the curriculum. Support services have traditionally been seen as an add on to college provision and the curriculum, although this is slowly starting to change much more could be done to make support part of everyday college ….There are specific curriculum areas which tend not to refer or be involved with support services, and these can sometimes have the most vulnerable student groups within them. Traditionally STEM subjects do not engage well and students within this area may be more reluctant to seek support at an early stage where they experience mental health difficulties. We are looking to embed support within these subject areas from the outset, to make it “normal” part of the course and to measure the impact this has on the student experience, attainment, achievement and retention rates. We are also looking to see what information staff develop by having a student support person on hand. Actions to be taken: To engage with curriculum areas based on Applicant Profile data and historical KPI and experiential data. To embed support from the start of semester 1. To attend 1 practical class or PDP session a week Engage with vulnerable student groups on an ongoing basis to determine the biggest issues they face and ways to address these.
Perth-College-UHI-SMA.docx