Accommodation Matters S04E03: The future of student mental health

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of sensitive topics including suicide, eating disorders and domestic violence. If you need support with the topics discussed in this episode, there are organisations such as Mind (0300 123 3393), Samaritans (116 123) or Student Minds that can help you in complete confidence.

Accommodation Matters brings sector experts together to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This month, we’re looking at the future of student mental health, including current student mental health trends, the latest thinking in the student support sector, and what this means for the future of student mental health.

Talking points include the legacy of Covid-19 on student mental health, how universities and accommodation providers are collaborating on matters of student support, student suicide prevention, and the future of student mental health provision.

Host Jenny Shaw is joined by an expert sector panel made up of:

• Professor Jo Smith, Professor of Early Intervention and Psychosis at University of Worcester
• David Malpas, Director of Student Affairs at Middlesex University
• Becca Hayhurst, Head of Student Support at Unite Students

You can find the resources and organisations mentioned in the episode below:

• R;pple, a suicide prevention browser tool: https://www.ripplesuicideprevention.com/
• Universities UK and PAPYRUS’s Suicide-Safer Universities Guidance (2018): https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/suicide-safer-universities
• Office for National Statistics data on higher education student suicide incidence (2018): https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/estimatingsuicideamonghighereducationstudentsenglandandwalesexperimentalstatistics/2018-06-25
• ‘Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide – A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings’, edited by Dr Sharon Mallon and Professor Jo Smith [Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2021]
• The Charlie Waller Trust: https://charliewaller.org/
• The University Mental Health Charter, created by Student Minds (2019): https://www.studentminds.org.uk/charter.html

Unite Students is the UK’s largest provider of PBSA, housing around 74,000 students in our 172 properties, which are based in 25 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK.

Accommodation Matters was recorded on 27^th April 2022 and produced by Ed Palmer.