£1m programme to help college students thrive
A group of seven colleges in the West Midlands are collaborating on a new pilot programme to improve the health and wellbeing of students.
Haleswowen, Sandwell, Telford, Walsall and City of Wolverhampton are among the colleges involved in Thrive at College.
The West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, visited South and City College Birmingham’s Bournville Campus to announce the £1 million pilot, which is to be formally launched in September.
It will offer support to people aged 19 to 24-years-old to help them to succeed during their time at college.
The most recent Youth Voice Census highlighted the importance of supporting young people with their wellbeing, with more than half (55 per cent) of young people in education saying their learning had been disrupted. Many young people reported missing education due to poor health, impacting their motivation to continue with their studies.
Thrive at College follows on from the success of Thrive at Work and Thrive into Work programmes and is expected to provide around 200 young people with extra support and mentoring in a bid to support health and well-being, help them stay in education and transition into employment.
The Thrive programmes have already supported 4,000 people with long-term health issues find and retain jobs (Thrive into Work), and over 550 businesses understand how to improve staff wellbeing (Thrive at Work).
Mr Street said: “Seeking to improve residents’ mental wellbeing in the region continues to be a key priority through the WMCA’s groundbreaking Thrive programmes.
“Thrive at College builds on the success of those other programmes by supporting people with their health and wellbeing while they are in a learning environment. We know that healthy and happy people can more easily achieve their full academic potential and become more productive, benefitting society as a whole.”
The vision for a mentally healthier West Midlands in which residents thrive at school, college and work, and in their own communities was set out in the final independent report of the region’s second Mental Health Commission.
The WMCA is using Commonwealth Games legacy money to fund community-led schemes that promote physical activity and wellbeing – both drivers of good mental health.
A further £2 million will be used to help grow the region’s social economy – to support of the Commission’s recommendations around creating self-sustainable and healthier communities.
