VIEWS & OPINION


Connectivity: the new frontier of student experience


Comment by ANDY BUTCHER, UK Education Sales Specialist, Axians


Making time for mental health


Comment by MARK WILSON, Chief Executive at


Wellspring Academy Trust


Among the growing challenges facing our young people, one of the most critical is the issue of mental health. Poor mental health in children and young adults can have repercussions that last a lifetime if not properly treated.


This year’s set of A-Level results have revealed a drop in university applications. What’s more, increased tuition fees mean that those who do opt to go down the route of university are now, more than ever, ‘consumers’ with very real purchasing power. As a result, universities need to offer students more bang for their buck.


Underpinning all of this is a growing need to deliver value to both students and researchers. This of course comes in the form of world-class teaching and research, top-notch facilities and a varied pastoral programme. But the increasingly connected nature of the way we live our lives has added another dimension. The Internet and the widespread use of mobile devices mean that students expect the same high service levels on campus as they would anywhere else - and they will rate a university accordingly. As the breadth of connected devices on campus expands, universities need a helping hand to manage the connectivity of those devices in a serviceable and secure way. It has been predicted that 20 billion connected devices will be in circulation worldwide by 2020, but IT infrastructure at higher education institutions simply isn’t equipped to meet this demand. The modern student also demands information more quickly and more independently than ever before. In this age of digital transformation, efficiency and self-services are key to loyalty and this means making it easy for students to access online facilities that help them in their studies and research. They expect the university to facilitate, and if the experience is poor then this can quickly be manifested into negative publicity on social media – another hallmark of our connected age!


The security dilemma


Cyber-attacks are no longer simply targeted at unwitting consumers and traditional enterprises. Critical infrastructure (such as power grids, nuclear facilities etc) and organisations like the NHS and universities are at the forefront of a new cybercrime battleground.


For the modern university, protecting the brand means defending confidential information - student and staff personal data, as well as research IP - all of which have a market value. The reality is that every organisation’s online security can be vulnerable and may be breached at some point. It is therefore vital to put in place the right technology, processes and training to mitigate the impact as soon as the threat appears.


Have you thought about GDPR?


With the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set to come into effect in less than a year’s time, any organisation that handles personal data must be well on track towards compliance.


In preparing to be compliant, the first step should be to ascertain what personal data a company holds that will be affected by GDPR. A key element of the regulation is to enable an opt-in, rather than an opt-out, requirement for data sharing. What’s more, GDPR will affect every department of an organisation, from HR, to marketing and IT; so everyone needs to be on the same page.


All the factors mentioned must be front of mind for the modern university. In higher education tradition is valued highly, but universities must modernise to keep up with their students.


October 2017


As Chief Executive of Wellspring Academy Trust, I see the links between mental health issues and issues like loneliness, depression, truancy, bullying and self-harm, poor behaviour in school, anti-social behaviour and criminality in communities. Families and teaching professionals alike are struggling to cope with an increasing crisis and support can be patchy at best.


I am proud, though, to be involved in a ground-breaking programme in Barnsley that is making headway in helping young people to manage their mental health and live more positive, productive lives.


MindSpace, which launched this month, is a pioneering initiative which is placing mental health practitioners in all 10 secondary schools across Barnsley. These are schools run by both the LEA and academy trusts, with Wellspring leading on the management and delivery of the programme.


This is a unique scheme which sees mental health services, the NHS, schools and local authorities working together. Wellspring run the programme because of our experience in supporting young people, including those with additional needs, and because we are a Trust that is committed to innovation in order to deliver better outcomes for young people. Wellspring's Head of Extended Services Michelle Sault saw an opportunity and approached the Barnsley Clinical Commission Group for money to fund a team as part of the Future in Mind programme.


The £1.3m scheme is a fantastic example of public services working together to achieve better outcomes. When money is kept in silos, the best solutions can be missed. The willingness of the NHS to work so closely with the education sector in Barnsley is proving transformational and is an exciting model of what some Multi- Academy Trusts, those with a commitment to Inclusion and Social Equality, could look like in the future.


The programme has been piloted over the last year and in that time has supported over 200 young people and trained over 100 teachers. The newly launched, enhanced programme has built on this success and we are drafting in teams of mental health practitioners and trained counsellors to provide mental health first aid training for teachers. All school staff will receive training in order to better identify those needing support.


Crucially, MindSpace enables parents and carers to self-refer into the programme. By adopting this holistic attitude to mental health, we can get young people and their families back on track quickly and effectively.


With one in 10 children now suffering from a diagnosable mental health condition, we have to get better at identifying problems and finding ways to support those who are struggling. With MindSpace, we have created something that will have benefit our young people not just now, but well into their future. We want to see Mindspace grow and let’s hope we see similar programmes rolled out across the UK to ensure all children have access to the services so many of them desperately need. This programme really is too good a story not to be told.


www.education-today.co.uk 17


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