Student mental health action plan

Joint ministerial foreword

Scotland’s 24 colleges and 19 universities offer a diverse range of courses and welcome students not just from Scotland but from the rest of the UK, the EU, and across the world. Our institutions are vibrant communities where students embark on journeys of learning and personal growth. We recognise, however, that this journey can be exciting and, at the same time, challenging. Moving away from home for the first time, making new friends, and adapting to new ways of learning are significant events.

Students also live, study and work in our communities and, like all of us, they are not immune to setbacks in their health. It is crucial that they can access all the support available to them to help them through those difficult times.

The Student Mental Health Action Plan acknowledges these challenges and places student wellbeing at its core. It sits within the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Workforce and Delivery Plans published last year which set out our wider ambitions on Scotland’s mental health and wellbeing.

It is built on three levels of prevention - having measures in place to stop students getting ill in the first place; facilitating early detection and support when students start to struggle; and ensuring access to the right treatment and management for those who need it.

The five actions outlined in the Action Plan are informed by these principles and build on the significant investment already made by the Scottish Government in local services and on the good work already underway in our colleges and universities and the third sector.

The Scottish Government is committed to fostering and strengthening effective partnership working across the sectors. We will look to institutions, NHS Boards, and Health and Social Care Partnerships to work with us to jointly deliver the actions set out in this Plan.

Working together, we can ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive both academically and personally. By taking forward the actions set out in the Plan we can continue to build a Scotland where every student feels supported, valued, and empowered to achieve their full potential.

Graeme Dey Minister for Higher and Further Education

Maree Todd Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport