Student Mental Health Action Plan launched
The Scottish Government have today launched their Student Mental Health Action Plan. The plan expands on the wider Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy set out by the Scottish Government and sits alongside the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan.
Students face a unique set of challenges when it comes to their mental health. This can be due to a combination of factors unique to the academic environment such as intense academic pressures, social transitions, financial concerns, and the need to balance multiple responsibilities, often while adapting to new and unfamiliar settings away from home. This can create a complex environment that impacts on wellbeing.
The Student Mental Health Action Plan and its five actions are informed by Public Health Scotland’s Three Levels of Prevention. The five actions are as follows:
- Prevention and early intervention – better access to local and national prevention and early intervention services.
- Student Mental Health Agreements (SMHAs) – robust institution-wide planning, local cooperation, and support for students through Think Positive and Student Mental Health Agreements.
- Staff awareness and training – facilitate and enhance access to mental health resources and training for all university, college, and PBSA staff to continue to become mental health aware.
- Data sharing – explore mechanisms to improve data sharing between schools, colleges and universities.
- Enhancing access to support – better access to clinical support and acute services.
Commenting on the plan, NUS Scotland president Sai Shraddha S. Viswanathan said:
“We welcome the publication of the long-awaited Student Mental Health Action Plan. We appreciate the difficult financial circumstances faced by the Scottish Government so are glad that this plan contains a commitment to proper funding. However, it is key to the plan’s success that funding is committed, sustained over multiple years, and that there are guarantees against cuts. We are facing a crisis in student mental health with research showing that 45% of students have said that they had experienced a serious psychological issue, any uncertainty in funding would be a grave mistake that would undermine the plan and ultimately lead to greater costs in the long term.
We are glad that this plan was developed in consultation with groups across the third sector and recognises the excellent work being done by NUS Scotland’s Think Positive project team who have collaborated with 86% of Scotland’s colleges, universities & students’ associations in delivering mental health services.
Ongoing monitoring of the plan’s implementation will be critical to ensure that it has a tangible positive impact on student mental health and as collaboration and cross sector working is encouraged delivering for students must the remain the central focus. NUS Scotland is keen to continue working productively with the Scottish Government towards a better environment for all students, but we will never shy away from holding our politicians to account if they let students and apprentices down.”
