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Published: 30 September 2025

University mental health charter members 2025

We’re committed to providing comprehensive Mental Health support and promoting a culture of wellbeing at the University of Surrey.

We are excited to share our progress towards achieving the Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter Award, over the last 18 months we have been working hard to review and develop our continued actions and commitments to mental health as part of the charter self-assessment. We are pleased to announce that we will be submitting our charter submission in September 2026.  

Over the past year, we have worked alongside other UK universities to collaborate, share practice and drive cultural change in the way we approach mental health across the higher education sector. We know how important it is to give our staff the support they need to improve their approach to mental health and wellbeing across every aspect of university life, creating a more positive environment for both staff and students. 

The UMHC Framework provides a set of evidence-informed principles to support universities to adopt a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing. A whole-university approach must include both adequately resourced, effective and accessible mental health services and proactive interventions to support good mental health and wellbeing.

The Charter is comprised of 18 themes and 102 evidence-informed Principles of Good Practice (PDF).

Find out more about the UMHC Framework and the Principles of Good Practice on the Student Minds' webpages.

As Vice-Chancellor, I am proud to announce our university’s commitment to the principles and ambitions of the University Mental Health Charter. We recognise that mental health and wellbeing are fundamental to the success of our students, staff, and the wider academic community.

This commitment is to continue to promote and deepen our whole University approach to wellbeing, to understand how societal and environmental factors impact on wellbeing and to reduce barriers and look to solutions to support everyone at Surrey.

By making this commitment, we affirm that the wellbeing of our community is central to our mission. A thriving university is one where every individual feels supported to reach their full potential - academically, professionally, and personally. Professor Stephen Jarvis, President and Vice-Chancellor

Learn

What we do well

  • Our Personal Tutor Training and Code of Practice clearly set expectations of academic staff regarding students mental health. Academics work effectively with wellbeing service colleagues to support students.
  • We offer fantastic support to students who are undertaking work placements, whether they are studying business, mechanical engineering, midwifery or veterinary science.
  • Across all programmes and schools, we work closely with student representatives and the student union to ensure that student views and feedback shape student experience.  

Areas for development

  • We could improve how we evaluate the effectiveness of some of our wellbeing initiatives. Informal feedback is very positive but we would benefit from more data on how, when and why certain initiatives are successful.
  • Some research supervisors and tutors have said they want more training and guidance on how to undertake the pastoral aspects of their role.
  • There is scope to work more closely with disabled and neuroatypical students on how we design and administer assessments. 
As Lead for Wellbeing in the School of Health Sciences, I am committed to ensuring that our academic processes and teaching practices promote co-production, inclusion and the wellbeing of students and colleagues. Jenny Oates
Jenny Oates
The University Mental Health Charter makes clear that learning itself is a central determinant of wellbeing, and we recognise our responsibility to create an academic environment where students can thrive without compromising their wellbeing.

We are committed to embedding wellbeing further into the curriculum by actively connecting the curriculum to skills that support personal development and wellbeing, including critical thinking, teamwork, self-care, and reflection, preparing students for success beyond graduation.

We will continue to consider and embed wellbeing as part of our curriculum and academic processes to support our students in their learning environment. Professor Tim Dunne, Provost and Senior Vice-President

Support

What we do well

  • We offer a wide range of support routes for students, from Case Coordinators and Wellbeing Advisers, International Student and Money Advice teams, Student Success Coaches and Careers Advisers to Counsellors, specialist Mental Health Practitioners, and a Student Assistance Programme.
  • We run a variety of activities throughout the year, creating space for students to develop the skills and connections to maintain their wellbeing, such as Gardening Club, the Wellbeing Cafe, weekly workshops, and peer support groups.
  • We work closely with the Student Union to ensure that student views and feedback shape the student support experience. 

Areas for development

  • Improve how we evaluate the impact of our wellbeing provision for service users to support continuous improvement.
  • Improving our cultural competence to increase opportunities for co-creation with students and better support under-reached groups.
  • Increase the reach of Mental Health First Aid training across student-facing staff members.
Central to our commitment to the UMHC is the recognition that supporting wellbeing is not an optional extra, but an essential foundation of a thriving academic community. We know that students and staff cannot reach their full potential if they are struggling in silence. We therefore pledge to build a system of support that is compassionate, inclusive, and proactive, ensuring that wellbeing is at the heart of our culture. We commit to accessible support services which are proactive and responsive, whilst promoting a whole-university approach to wellbeing, where all members of the community feel able to contribute to the care and compassion of each individual. Training, awareness raising, stigma reduction and empowerment will be key to ensuring all staff and students feel supported. Emma Rowsell, Chief Student Officer (Interim)
As Associate Director for Student Wellbeing and Disability, I am committed to providing an expert and inclusive support and wellbeing model across the University of Surrey community which supports our students to thrive. Jo Bott, Associate Director for Student Wellbeing and Disability
Catherine Stott

Work

Three areas we are doing well: 

  • We have a diverse community of fully trained and proactive wellbeing champions, there to support colleagues, and promote our wellbeing offering
  • We provide a well utilised Employee Assistance Programme where colleagues have access to confidential free counselling, GP appointments, and financial advice
  • Wellbeing is integrated at all levels of our management training so our managers can lead with their teams with wellbeing in mind.

Three areas of development: 

  • We commit to improving how we evaluate our wellbeing offer and improving related data to have an accurate understanding of whole-university colleague wellbeing in order to continually support better mental health and wellbeing.
  • We commit to continue developing our managers.  To help them feel supported, to build trust, to feel comfortable talking about mental health and supporting their teams well-being
  • We commit to partnering more closely with our staff communities to understand how work is impacting their mental health and provide relevant interventions and support.
Bringing humour, curiosity, heart, and expertise to listen to and work with colleagues to champion their wellbeing. Catherine Stott
Catherine Stott

Live

  • Residential accommodation
  • Social integration and belonging
  • Physical environment 
As Head of Operations and Equality Lead for Estates, I am committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environments where wellbeing is prioritised across our spaces and services. Susan Keirle
Susan Keirle

Enabling themes and principles of good practice

 At Surrey, we are assessing our progress against these principles to understand our areas of strength and on-going development. 

Obtaining the UMHC Award will acknowledge our continuous commitment to embedding mental health and wellbeing support for both staff and students. Find out more about the Student Minds 'University Mental Health Charter' Award accreditation. 

Beyond achieving the UMHC Award, the university is committed to continuous improvement for mental health and wellbeing support.  

Our Wellbeing Strategy 2023-27 (shortened version) outlines our commitments to mental health and wellbeing of our students.

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