Education Minister Jeremy Miles visits Coleg Llandrillo to talk about mental health

This week, the Education Minister, Jeremy Miles, visited Coleg Llandrillo to discuss the important work they are undertaking to support staff and learners’ mental health.

The Welsh Government has allocated over £7m to support the mental health and wellbeing of further education staff and learners across Wales since 2020.

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai has used its share of this funding to appoint wellbeing mentors, student counsellors and wellbeing enrichment officers, provide mental health training for staff and produce a college well-being strategy.

As part of their Mental Health Partnership with Coleg Cambria, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai has led the development of a bilingual wellbeing survey and early intervention tool to measure wellbeing. The survey provides instant feedback to learners enabling them to track their overall wellbeing whilst identifying learners who would benefit from personalised support.

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai and Coleg Cambria have worked together to create a programme to develop self-awareness, build resilience and help students and staff discuss anxiety. Tutors and managers use this to support learners, and staff use it to identify and address triggers that cause anxiety.

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles, said:

“It has been fantastic to meet staff and learners today to see the valuable work they are doing to support mental health and wellbeing in further education.

“We are still feeling the impact of the pandemic on wellbeing, but I want to ensure that everyone has the right to a happy education experience. Supporting mental health and wellbeing for both staff and learners is crucial, and I am pleased to see the work being done to achieve this.”

Dafydd Evans, Chief Executive Officer for Grŵp Llandrillo Menai said:

“Welsh Government funding has been invaluable during the pandemic to support some of our vulnerable learners. Today has been a wonderful opportunity for the Minister to directly meet learners and the inspirational and committed staff who have worked tirelessly to provide such an effective service.”