ASSOCIATION OF MANAGERS OF STUDENT SERVICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

 

Good Practice Guide:  Responding to student mental health issues:

‘Duty of Care’ responsibilities for student services in higher education

 

December 2001

 

Context and background

 

The significant increase in the proportion of the UK’s population participating in higher education over the last decade has changed both the nature and the expectations of the student body.

 

Students who might previously have been effectively excluded from higher education by reason of their social and/or ethnic background, their prior educational experience, their age, their gender or their health or disability are now increasingly able to take advantage of the opportunities provided by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

 

Amongst those who are now studying in higher education is a proportion who experience mental health difficulties; for some of these students, additional support arrangements may be required. In a minority of cases, these difficulties may be of a sufficiently serious nature to cause distress to the individuals concerned and/or their fellow students and to academic and other staff.  Views as to the proportion of the student body who are affected, either directly or indirectly, by such difficulties vary, but there is little doubt that the mental health of the student population has become an issue of increasing concern to academic and student support staff in HEIs in recent years.

 

This good practice publication was produced by a Working Group of the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE) comprising student services staff from 11 HEIs, supported by legal advisers.  The publication is intended to offer guidance to higher education institutions, and in particular to managers of student services, in planning and developing policies, systems and structures that are mindful of the ‘duty of care’ that all HEIs owe to their students and prospective students, and in particular to those experiencing mental health difficulties. 

 

The audience is intended to be broad, and includes managers and senior staff with responsibility for the strategic and operational management of:

 

·        general welfare support services

·        counselling and advisory services

·        disability support provision

·        careers and educational guidance services

·        chaplains and multi-faith provision

·        student health services

·        equal opportunity units

·        international student support programmes

·        accommodation services, including wardens of students residences.

 

The publication takes account of the current legal framework with respect to an institution’s responsibilities and liabilities to its students, recognising that responsibilities lie with both the higher education institution and the student.  It also emphasises the importance of promoting learning environments that are rooted in principles of fairness, honesty and openness, equality of opportunity and mutual respect.

 

Contents:

 ·        Scope and Audience of Document

 ·        Definition of ‘Duty of Care’ in a Higher Education Environment

 ·        Definition of Mental Health Difficulty and Mental Illness

 ·        Principles of Good Practice in the Delivery of Student Support Services

 ·        Operational Guidelines – a Checklist for Good Practice

 ·        Examples of Institutional Practice and Protocols

 ·        Further Resources:

 

Available from:

 

AMOSSHE National Office

2 St James Hall

King Alfred’s College

Sparkford Road

Winchester

SO22 4NR

 

Tel: 01962 827 554

E-mail: info@amosshe.org.uk

Web: www.amosshe.org.uk