Burton and South Derbyshire College receives award for mental health awareness

Burton and South Derbyshire College (@BSDCofficial) has been awarded the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools and Further Education’s Mental Health Award at Bronze level for its mental health support for students and staff.

The Department for Education recognises the direct link between positive mental health in schools and successful educational outcomes. The Mental Health Award for Schools Award builds on this link and provides a framework for educational institutions to evidence policies and initiatives that work towards improving emotional health and wellbeing for both staff and students.

The award encourages a whole-college approach to mental health, ensuring that mental health awareness is embedded in the curriculum and is designed to meet the needs of the students, specific to their social and emotional needs.

Burton and South Derbyshire College offers a friendly learning environment and learners are supported to develop resilience, self-awareness and self-care through regular Be Sessions. Learners also have termly one to one sessions with their progress coach which enables staff to spot any concerns.

The College has a professionally qualified counsellor and psychotherapist on-site, where learners can book an appointment and discuss any issues affecting their personal or college life in a confidential setting.

Additionally, BSDC has partnered with Fika to give students free access to an innovative mental fitness app. Fika helps to improve the seven skills of mental fitness – connection, stress, meaning, positivity, focus, motivation and confidence – with a range of 5-minute exercises which can easily be fit into the day. There are also regular 60-second ‘Thought for the Day’ videos in-app and on demand where students from across the country share their mental fitness tips. The app focuses on a different skill per month and students can work their way through courses to earn endorsed certificates.

Emily Vinall, Wellbeing and Progress Coach Co-ordinator at Burton and South Derbyshire College said:

“At BSDC, we actively focus on the mental wellbeing of our staff and students and completing this award has given us the space to reflect on all of the amazing work we do. We are very proud to have achieved this award and look forward to continually improving our practice and supporting our students.”