In recent years, the higher education sector in Europe (and internationally) has become increasingly aware of – and concerned about – the declining mental health and wellbeing of students.
And rightly so. The number of students declaring a pre-existing mental illness to their university has more than doubled since 2014, with there also being an increase in demand for services to support student mental health. In fact, some reports suggest certain universities are seeing a doubling in the number of students accessing support.
This growing concern has provoked action from different bodies. Those in the UK will already be aware of Student Mind’s Mental Health Charter and the UUK StepChange framework, and other sector bodies internationally are increasingly highlighting the importance of a coordinated approach to student wellbeing.
But there is a bigger issue at hand. Our recent report exploring student and staff mental health across European higher education institutions suggests staff and student wellbeing are not separate issues and actually need to be considered as mutually dependent parts of the same ecosystem. So, this means we need to help our staff first, in order to help our students.
