Statistics of number of parents / nominated persons contacted by university regarding student mental wellbeing.

The request was successful.

Dear University of Bath,
Following a spate of sudden student deaths in 2018, an ‘opt-in scheme’ was pioneered by the University of Bristol as part of a set of measures aimed at preventing suicide. In 2019, a coroner wrote to the Department for Education and Minister for Suicide Prevention suggesting that these measures might be shared throughout the sector. I am now seeking to establish the extent to which ‘opt-in’ has been subsequently adopted and/or utilised.

In reply to a previous FOI request you answered “yes” to the following question: “Do you have an opt-in scheme to gain consent at registration from new or returning students in the event of the University having serious concerns about that student’s health, physical or mental?” This is a follow-up request.

There is a lot of confusion in the sector, about what is meant by ‘opt-in’ and/or ‘gaining consent at registration’, and what does or does not qualify. The ‘opt-in’ or ‘consent at registration’ scheme implemented by Bristol University comprises an additional personal information sharing agreement that supplements when information might be shared. It gains consent at annual registration for the university to contact a ’safe and nominated’ parent, guardian or friend in situations that are not emergencies, but where staff have serious concerns that something bad might happen to an enrolled student, and/or where their health, wellbeing or welfare could be affected. Essentially it involves lowering the bar at which parents or nominated others could be contacted by a designated professional at the university, from ‘vital interests’ to ‘serious or significant concerns’. It could for example apply in cases of trauma or distress associated with suspension / expulsion / non-attendance / mental health issues etc.

To qualify as ‘opt-in’ a scheme must be optional and additional to the regular emergency contact protocol. The latter is compulsory and typically restricted to serious incidents and/or emergency situations, that may present an imminent threat to a student’s vital interests. Further particulars can be found at:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/contacting-peop...
https://thetab.com/uk/2018/09/20/these-a...
https://thetab.com/uk/bristol/2019/10/31...

Is your acknowledged scheme consistent with the above description? If so, please provide me with the following information as absolute numbers and percentages.
For each academic period (2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21) and year-of-study (e.g. 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year) sub-division:
How many students opted-in at registration?
How many students subsequently rescinded their consent?
How many times was the opt-in consent used to contact somebody?
How many times was use of the opt-in consent considered, but with you deliberately choosing not to contact a parent or nominated individual?

Yours faithfully,

Gillian Green

Freedom of Information, University of Bath

God morning

Please accept this email as acknowledgement that your request has been received by the University of Bath and will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of information Act.

A response will be issued in accordance with the statutory timeframe of 20 working days.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Warhurst
Freedom of Information Officer
University of Bath

Address: 4 West 3.10, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1225 383225
Email: [email address]

Please note my working days are Monday,
Tuesday & Thursday

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Freedom of Information, University of Bath

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Dear Ms Green

 

The University of Bath’s response and accompanying pdf are attached.

 

Yours sincerely

 

D Bean

 

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    Freedom of Information Officer 
    [1]University of Bath
    4 West 3.10, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom |

 Telephone: +44 (0)1225 383225                           

Email:  [2][University of Bath request email]

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