Our resources aim to highlight some of the potential areas it's worth exploring with students with mental health conditions at various transition points. Although they are broken down into various cohorts, many of the resources are transferable to a degree. We hope to build on this resource through the expertise of new members. 

Transition into HE

There are a number of areas which can cause difficulty for students with mental health conditions starting university life - whether this is their first time away from home, or they are a mature student.

Undergraduates

The experience of our members shows that people new to Higher Education often have a lack of understanding about what support might be on offer. To prepare, our advice is:

Language

Students with an Education, Health and Care Plan, or other learning support needs will often not understand the very different terminology that is used in Higher Education.

  • Disabled/disability - this tends to replace "Special Educational Needs" with a focus very much on the social model of disability. Disability Services in Universities were set up many years ago and use the Equality Act 2010 for guidance. This means that students with long term mental health conditions, even if they do not have a formal diagnosis, meet the criteria for being protected as disabled people.


Other resources

UCAS have a toolkit for advisers supporting students applying to university, which includes advice on sharing information about mental health needs. 

UCAS Adviser Toolkit

Student Minds have produced a resource "Know Before You Go", which is aimed at years 12-13, and their educators.

Unite Students, an accommodation provider has developed a programme called "Leapskills" to help prepare young people for life away from home. 

The Office for Students is currently funding several projects focusing on transition support for students with mental health conditions. The attached paper is from a University of Lincoln led project called Transitioning Students Effectively: A student led approach to mental health support


Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash

Transitioning Students Effectively: A student led approach to mental health support
University Mental Health Advisers Network (UMHAN). c/o The Moseley Exchange, 149-153 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8JP Tel: 07510 734544 Registered charity number: 1155038. We use cookies to improve your experience using this website.
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