Living Black at University Commission Report 2022/23 27 26 Living Black at University Commission Report 2022/23 Nicola Frampton Insight Manager at Student Minds Student Minds recognises the clear ways in which a student's race or ethnicity shapes their mental health, wellbeing, access to support and overall university experience. Taking a whole- university approach to mental health, our aim is to build higher education communities where no student is held back by their mental health – but we know that to achieve this aim, we must be active in dismantling the barriers to good mental health which exist through inequalities like racism. Our work to improve the mental health of Black students has developed over time. It became increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic that existing inequalities were being exacerbated. In 2021, through our newly-developed digital support platform Student Space – supported by the Office for Students and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) – we launched funded partnerships with organisations that offered tailored support for students who had been disproportionately impacted. One organisation that we collaborated with was Black People Talk, who offered peer-support groups for Black students to come together and share their experiences. Since this partnership ended, we have continued to explore how we can provide tailored support for Black students through our programmes. We have recently committed to co-producing a new package of psychoeducational content, aimed specifically at supporting Black students during their time at university; we plan to publish this content on Student Space in 2024. We have also actively shared the learnings of the Living Black at University research, and work of the Commission, with members of our University Mental Health Charter programme and training networks, with the hope that universities and accommodation providers will learn from this work and improve their own practices to support Black students. 2.4 CASE STUDY: STUDENT MINDS We have continued to explore how we can provide tailored support for Black students through our programmes. “ Student Minds itself is committed to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation. We are working with an external consultant to develop and embed an anti-racist approach across our whole organisation and have established an Anti-Racism Council, which includes representatives from the Living Black at University Commission, to scrutinise and steer us whilst ensuring ongoing accountability. Recommendation 7 of the Living Black at University report notes the importance of collaboration on mental health support. Our experience has demonstrated its immense value, and has enabled us to learn, develop and importantly, improve our support for Black students. We look forward to continuing our learning journey and further improving our approach in the years to come.