Higher education mental health implementation taskforce

This taskforce ensures that guidance and initiatives in student mental health are implemented, with clear measures for identifying progress.

Role

The taskforce’s original terms of reference focused on 4 priority areas:

  1. Develop a plan for better identification of students in need of mental health support and a clear user journey for accessing that support.

  2. Support the adoption of common principles and baselines for approaches across providers.

  3. Develop a ‘Compassionate Communication Statement’ for more sensitive student-facing policies, procedures and communications in the sector.

  4. Support sector engagement with the National review of higher education student suicide deaths.

Following extensive consultation, the taskforce incorporated work on:

  • the relationship between HE and the NHS – promoting models of good practice and developing practical guidance to encourage collaboration between HE and NHS mental health services

  • learning and development for non-clinical staff – so they can respond to students with empathy and offer a clear pathway to more specialist services

  • case management – improved management and sharing of student information to enable coordination of support within higher education providers.

In Autumn 2025, the taskforce entered a new phase of work with a refreshed terms of reference. This phase focused on implementation, ensuring that recommendations from the ‘National review of higher education student suicide deaths’ and the taskforce’s previous outputs were embedded across the sector.

Terms of reference

Read the terms of reference (PDF, 1010 KB, 4 pages).

Outputs

HE mental health implementation taskforce: improving student mental health through higher education-NHS partnerships (PDF, 571 KB, 34 pages).

The report gives information, evidence and case studies to support discussions at a local level on the development or enhancement of partnerships between higher education providers and NHS mental health services for students.

HE mental health implementation taskforce: second stage report (PDF, 324 KB, 25 pages).

This second stage report sets out:

  • progress on its areas of work including the release of a Compassionate Communication Statement

  • next steps

The taskforce was extended to progress its work and deliver its additional areas of focus.

This follows the HE mental health implementation taskforce: first stage report (PDF, 418 KB, 31 pages).

Membership

Current members:

  • Professor Sir Steve West, Chair

  • Professor Sir Louis Appleby, Chair of National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group

  • Professor Nic Beech, Board Member, Universities UK (UUK)

  • Dr Nicola Byrom, Network Leader, SMaRteN

  • Suzanne Carrie, Head of Student Equality and Welfare, Office for Students (OfS)

  • Prathiba Chitsabesan, National Clinical Director for Children and Young People’s Mental Health, and Mark Ewins, Head of Mental Health, NHS England

  • Ben Elger, Chief Executive, and Helen Megarry, Independent Adjudicator, both from The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

  • Lee Fryatt, Member, The LEARN Network

  • Angela Halston, Senior Policy and Engagement Officer, Independent HE (IHE)

  • Jane Harris, Chair, Mental Wellbeing in Higher Education Expert Group (MWBHE)

  • Polly Harrow, FE Student Support Champion

  • Matt Lee, Head of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Policy, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

  • Peter Mayhew-Smith, Group Principal and CEO at South Thames Colleges Group, representing Association of Colleges (AoC)

  • Dr Mark Shanahan, Member, The LEARN Network

  • Dominic Smithies, Head of Influencing & Communications, Student Minds

  • Jill Stevenson, Chair, Association of Managers of Student Services In Higher Education (AMOSSHE)

  • Saranya Thambirajah, Vice President Liberation and Equality, NUS

  • Dr Dominique Thompson, Clinical Advisor, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Student Minds

  • Kate Wicklow, Director of Policy & Strategy, GuildHE

Meeting minutes and papers produced

The taskforce was convened in July 2023 and will meet until May 2026.

10 October 2025 meeting

22 May 2025 meeting

27 February 2025 meeting

6 December 2024 meeting

19 April 2024 meeting

7 March 2024 meeting

2 February 2024 meeting

6 December 2023 meeting

1 November 2023 meeting

22 September 2023 meeting

18 July 2023 meeting

Contact details

HE.MentalHealth@education.gov.uk

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