Around 94 per cent of colleges in England had a student attempt suicide in the last year, a new survey reveals.
The Association of Colleges’ Mental Health and Colleges report, shared exclusively with Tes, shows that the mean number of attempted suicides per college was 12 - with the number of attempts ranging between one and 44 across those colleges that responded.
Just 6 per cent of the 107 colleges surveyed stated that they were aware of no attempted suicides in the past 12 months.
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The AoC is urging colleges to engage with the local suicide prevention plan and to ensure that all staff have access to suicide awareness training.
According to the Samaritans charity, the suicide rate for females under the age of 25 increased by 93.8 per cent between 2012 and 2019. Across both genders, statistics show that suicide is the biggest killer of young people - in 2018, 759 young people took their own life in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
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Richard Caufield, mental health lead and area director at the AoC, said that as many people as possible needed to be aware of the signs that someone may be at risk of attempting suicide and the preventative conversations they can have.
Mental health support in colleges
He added: “The suicide data did cause some initial surprise, but when speaking to frontline staff, the data did not surprise them at all. There is lots of training and support out there from the likes of Papyrus, Zero Suicide Alliance and the Charlie Waller Trust that reinforce the message that talking about suicide does not increase the risk and can aid people in getting the support they need quickly.
“The survey shows that mental health continued to be a key challenge for colleges pre-Covid and is further exacerbated by the pandemic. It also shows colleges are investing time and resource on the agenda from the amount of staff training that has been undertaken and the sheer volume of work put in by colleges, especially during lockdown.
“The great work colleges do is further evidenced by the 38 colleges who have met the Beacon standard for mental health and wellbeing in our awards programme for the last three years. The fact over 170 colleges have shown their commitment to supporting learners and staff through signing up to the AoC Mental Health and Wellbeing Charter is further evidence of the seriousness with which this issue is being addressed.”
The survey also reveals that the majority (85 per cent) of colleges in England have seen a significant increase in the number of students with mental health difficulties without diagnosis.
Around 60 per cent of colleges said that there had been a “significant increase” of 16-t o 18-year-olds diagnosed with mental health conditions over the past three years - 83 per cent of colleges said that they had seen an increase from last year.
More than 90 per cent of respondents believed that the pandemic had contributed to this increase, with home circumstances, social media and money worries also big factors.
In his foreword to the report, Stuart Rimmer, chair of the AoC mental health and wellbeing policy group and chief executive of East Coast College, said that despite a huge range of interventions on mental health, demand “continues to rise and outstrip services”.
“This survey forms a compelling and irrefutable current set of data that provides insight into the lives of young people in the care of colleges,” he said.
“The overall trend remains concerning. Despite a huge range of interventions, the demand continues to rise and outstrip services. Staff are well trained and supported, and students increasingly literate around mental health. These can only be to the good. However, more work is needed.
“The position in young people’s mental health undoubtedly has been negatively amplified by the Covid-19 crisis, with some services being exposed and overwhelmed when needed most.
“Based on this research, it is imperative that the work continues with renewed vigour, with a ‘coalition of the willing’ between colleges, the NHS and education policymakers within the Department for Education continuing to direct precious resource where it is most needed.”
The mental health crisis: how are colleges tackling it?
Mental health services and resources have been an increasing focus in colleges, the AoC survey shows. Around 83 per cent of colleges said that they had increased resources, and 87 per cent said they now have a dedicated mental health lead.
The average college now provides 40 hours of counselling for their students, with over two-thirds of colleges employing their own counselling staff.
Almost all colleges - 95 per cent - have staff trained in mental health first aid, and 99 per cent have a mental wellbeing focus in tutorials. Around 65 per cent of colleges now have a mental health policy in place for students (68 per cent for staff) and 80 per cent of colleges work with local and national charities on the mental health agenda.
However, the research shows that government investment in mental health and wellbeing is not reaching colleges. During the pandemic, the government has invested £8 million in the Wellbeing for Education Return training programme to be rolled out across schools and colleges. At the time of asking, the survey found that just 34 per cent of colleges had been offered funds from that programme.
How do colleges support staff mental health?
The AoC also surveyed colleges on staff mental health and found that 70 per cent of colleges collate data on staff mental health, and 90 per cent run some form of wellbeing session for staff, with all colleges having structures in place to support staff wellbeing.
Around 65 per cent of colleges said they had seen an increase in staff accessing services, with the greatest factors being returning to work post-Covid, the recurrence of existing mental health conditions and workload.
Key mental health resources for college staff
