Improving mental wellbeing - new tool for colleges

Charlie Waller and the Association of Colleges have created a way for colleges to measure and improve the mental wellbeing of their students and staff.

C-MET – the College Mental Health Self-evaluation Tool – is available free of charge to all colleges.

Simple to use, it takes colleges through 10 steps to assess their current position in relation to mental health and wellbeing. Topics covered by the 10 steps include leadership and management, ethos and environment, curriculum, the student voice, and staff development and support.

Completing the steps enables colleges to build up a picture of how well they are currently doing. C-MET also offers guidance and recommendations to help colleges fill gaps in their knowledge and practice.

Charlie Waller CEO Clare Stafford said: “We are very excited to launch C-MET jointly with the AoC. Colleges have a vital role to play in mental wellbeing, particularly since they draw many thousands of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are especially vulnerable to mental health problems. We hope this new tool will be really valuable in helping colleges support all students to fulfil their potential.”

C-MET is based on evidence from Public Health England, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, the Anna Freud Centre and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust. It supports Charlie Waller’s whole college approach to mental health and is adapted from the AoC mental health toolkit, published in 2017.

Find out more about the C-MET tool