Mind has released their evaluation report for their Mentally Healthy Universities Programme. Sheffield Mind were part of the delivery pilot, working with staff and students at the University of Sheffield.

What is the Mentally Healthy Universities Programme?

The Mentally Healthy Universities Programme is a two-year pilot, supported by Goldman Sachs Gives, which has run from September 2019 to August 2021 in nine universities across England. It has tested a whole-university approach, with preventative interventions for students such as courses on Wellbeing Essentials and staff schemes such as Mental Health Champions and Peer Supporters. It also supported the nine universities to meet the Mental Health at Work Commitment.

The evaluation findings

The report sets out how Mind worked with its nine partner universities, the demographics of those who took part, their evaluation findings, and recommendations for Mind, the higher education sector and government.

• Take a look at our full evaluation report.
• Take a look at our executive summary.

Some key findings from the report include:

• Nearly 90 per cent of students had a better understanding of mental health problems and wellbeing after attending their Wellbeing Essentials course.
• Over 90 per cent of students who took part in their Tools and Techniques to Manage your Mental Health course said they were more confident looking after their mental healt
• Over 90 per cent of students were more aware of where to seek help for mental health in the workplace after taking part in the Looking After Your Mental Health at Work course.
• Nearly 90 per cent of staff felt confident tackling mental health stigma in the workplace after attending the Mental Health Champions course, and 97 per cent of staff reported they knew more about peer support after attending the Staff Mental Health Peer Supporters course. The majority of attendees of both courses (93 per cent) said they would recommend the training to colleagues.

The Mentally Healthy Universities pilot ends on 31 August 2021. This work has been invaluable and there has been so much learning from the pilot which will help inform their future work with young people.

We were delighted to be a part of the project and to have developed such excellent working relationships with staff at both Mind and the local University.