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Partnership picks up pace of mental health support for students 

17/08/2021
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The University of Wolverhampton has secured over £180,000 funding from the Office for Students (OfS) and will be working in partnership to pick up the pace of vital mental health support services for students who are working on placements. 

University staff will work with the Students’ Union and Black Country Partnership NHS Trust- Recovery College, to develop, test and deliver an innovative online suite of tools to support students in managing their own mental health.  

The funding was approved as part of a wider £1 million investment by the Department of Health and Social Care to the Office for Students, encouraging providers to explore innovative approaches to tackling some of the barriers and challenges faced by groups of students who may be more at risk of poor mental health. 

The funding was offered to develop and test approaches that enable a more joined up service between the higher education and health sectors. The proposed successful project – PACE - A co-explored and co-created solution to address the mental health difficulties of students who undertake placement learning – will put students at the heart of the partnership. 

The two-year pilot project, which will start immediately, will focus on three groups of students studying for Nursing, Primary Education and Engineering degree courses. 

Clare Dickens, Academic Lead in Mental Health at the University as well as the Chair of City of Wolverhampton’s Suicide Prevention Stakeholders Forum, said: “It’s clear that the emerging impact of the pandemic on students’ mental health poses both challenges and opportunities. We are absolutely delighted to have secured funding to develop an online toolkit which will aim to allow students to flourish and grow within their academic and practice-based learning. 

“Co-creation is at the heart of the proposal and students will be engaged throughout the life of the project from concept and development through to testing and evaluation.  

“Our priority will be to look at intersectional considerations based on the profile of the students in our target group to tailor provision accordingly.  Beyond the project, the tool will be adapted and rolled out to other courses and made available to other providers, creating a sustainable resource which will be available across the University and the wider sector.” 

Professor Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor at the University, said: “This project fully aligns to the Students First pillar of our existing Strategic plan, by seeking to ensure that all students are provided with the opportunities and support necessary for them to achieve within the higher education environment; and to our developing 2030 vision to transform the leadership and workforce of our Place through inclusive student success.  

“The proposed PACE project is of strategic importance as it enhances and builds on the University of Wolverhampton’s existing provision for supporting student mental health. This programme will provide an exemplar for co-production, and a framework that will be designed in a way that enables rollout across the wider Higher Education sector. We recognise that students undertaking placement-based learning may experience barriers to support, and this initiative seeks to understand and address some of these barriers.” 

The University is contributing over £120,000 in match funding to the project as well as co investment from partners, bringing the total investment to over £300,000. 

Tayabah Mahmood, President of the Students’ Union at the University, said: "The Students' Union is very excited to be a part of this pioneering initiative. Our new Strategic Plan is very much about empowering students to design impactful support services. Students have told us that improving well-being is one of their top concerns and they will therefore play a key role in this project to find practical and innovative solutions to improving well-being. We are very much looking forward to working with our partner agencies on this much needed project." 

Kerry Wilkes, Principal at The Recovery College, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for us and our students to share our philosophy, ethos, principles and practise, and we are delighted to be partners in The Pace Project.  

“Co- production(co-creation) is at the heart of all we do and is weaved into our Recovery College at every level.  

“Reducing stigma, tackling barriers and providing our students with hope, opportunity and choice is part of our mission. We look forward to engaging with all and working towards the shared goal of creating a toolkit to enable students to flourish and grow, effectively manage and be supported with any mental health difficulties in a way that is empowering and free from barriers and stigma.” 

For anyone who already has the results of their qualifications, applications can be made through Clearing from Monday 5 July. Our Clearing webpage provides further information on all the courses we have available in Clearing. Applications can be made either by calling our Clearing Team on 01902 51 8585 or through our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.   

Anyone looking to study at the University of Wolverhampton should register for one of our forthcoming Open Days.  

ENDS 

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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