Student suicide review says unis must act to stop more deaths

Universities in England have been told to step up efforts to prevent student suicides, in a review commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE).

A report, which has been in the works for nearly two years, says they should assess the safety of student halls and involve families more after a student has died.

Its recommendations, which are the first to ever be issued to university leaders by any UK government, include discouraging the laying of flowers where a student has died if it could draw attention to a "suicide location".

The family of Natasha Abrahart, who took her own life in 2018 while at the University of Bristol, called the review "superficial".

"They emailed me, and I'm pretty sure they sent me a letter, to let me know there are services that I could take advantage of if I needed it. It's really nice to know that."

Sam Lloyd, a product design student, said the university sent out "quite a few" emails letting students know about support services.

"If you really need it, it's very easy to reach out," he said.

But the review said that access to mental health support "could be improved" across the sector in terms of "awareness, signposting, and reviewing the needs of specific groups" like international students.

"While some reports identified a need for support services to ensure active follow-up following contact, many placed the responsibility on the student to seek further help," it said.

The DfE announced the review in 2023, commissioning academics from the University of Manchester, who are part of its National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, to conduct it independently.

Asked why a legal duty of care had not been introduced, skills minister Jacqui Smith said there were "some legal challenges".

"We do think that universities have a general duty of care to their students," she said.

"We'll be absolutely clear with universities that this is their responsibility. We've made resource available and we will continue to challenge them to deliver that."

The review comes at a time of increasing pressure on universities' finances.

The Office for Students (OfS) said this month that more than four in 10 universities in England are expecting to be in a financial deficit by this summer.

Prof Sir Steve West, vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England and a UUK board member, said universities needed to work out how to implement the recommendations "effectively" and how to "prioritise".

"That's easy to say [but] very difficult to do because there are all sorts of issues hitting universities at the moment which often compete, and we have to make choices," he said.

He added that there should be more discussions on how to enforce standards across the sector, including whether universities should have to file reports on their progress to regulators.

The DfE is due to meet with university leaders to discuss the findings of the review this week.