Following successful pilots, we are launching a programme of Mental Health First Aid England accredited and wider mental health awareness training starting in July 2019. The programme, which will run through to March 2020, is a deliverable of the university's Health and Wellbeing strategy and responds to feedback you gave us in the 2018 My University My Voice staff survey.
At our university, we are not unique in facing the issue of poorer levels of mental health and wellbeing amongst students and staff. But as a university, we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our staff and students and additional funding has been made available for this training. The training provides staff with access to appropriate mental health training, so they can step in and support a person who needs assistance and has been well received by those who took part in the pilot sessions.
This training is essential for Academic and Professional Services staff who support students and/or work in key roles. Faculties and directorates will contact staff shortly with details of how to book this training.
Zoë Pettit, Head of School, Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
Excellent training that was informative, interactive and thorough. Useful supplementary reference materials were also provided to all attendees.
Steve Rickards, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
This was an excellent course, which will be really useful helping me support a number of students.
Solomon Habtemariam, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering and Science:
Well done in organising this training. It was an excellent form to increase awareness and early intervention of mental health within our community.
Emma Denton, Faculty of Health and Education:
This course was a really useful recap for me of various mental health issues and what we can do to support. I would strongly recommend for anyone wanting to improve their awareness in this domain.
Sophie Maguire, Human Resources:
This was a really useful course highlighting the ways in which we can support those who may be struggling with their mental health.
Staff that do not work directly with students will be provided with access to a new online training course which covers mental health and wellbeing so they can learn more about this topic. We encourage all staff that have also been trained in mental health first aid to also use this resource.
What is Mental Health First Aid England training?
It is accredited training which provides an in depth awareness of mental health and factors affecting wellbeing. It also provides practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of a range of mental health issues, with confidence to step in, reassure and support a person in distress.
It's different to the existing Mental Health Awareness training in that:
- It is a licensed product delivered by instructors trained by Mental Health First Aid England.
- The training is accredited by the Royal Society of Public Health and is grounded in research and robustly tested.
- Courses are developed by experts with input from people with lived experiences of mental health issues.
