We have been working with the Charlie Waller Trust (CWT) since March 2021, when we provided funding to enable their experts to write a wide variety of Transition Guides for those leaving their existing educational establishment to go on to university.

Since then, the Transition Guides have been downloaded nearly 1,000 times from the CWT website.

It was an especially difficult time for students during the COVID pandemic and many struggled to cope with university life. Sadly, this has led to a significant increase in students experiencing mental health challenges.

The impact of lockdowns and increased economic problems has continued to take its toll on students during their school/college education and therefore, their mental health may not be as strong as it once was.

Together with the Charlie Waller Trust, we felt it essential that universities are able to offer a selection of Transition Guides written by experienced mental health professionals. It is hoped that the guides will support their students to cope with mental health challenges.

The transition guides, for vulnerable groups such as care leavers, young LGBTQ+ people and those who have had Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), have been written by a highly experienced mental health practitioner who delivers training with the Charlie Waller Trust.

They have been widely circulated to wellbeing support and counselling services in universities across the UK. The Transition Guides have also been included within the Colleges Wellbeing Library – a collaboration with the Association of Colleges. The Colleges Wellbeing Library provides trusted resources for college staff, parents and students.

The valuable guides are already seeing a positive response from students across the country, with other groups benefitting including international students, young carers and those who generally feel like they do not fit in.

Since the initial launch of the guides, the Charlie Waller Trust has been listening to student feedback to refine them – including through tailoring the guides more specifically to the vulnerable groups mentioned. Further support avenues through other agencies that address specific issues have also been included.

Some great feedback has been received from students who have downloaded them, showing they are finding value in these guides:

The refinement also ensures the guides are as user-friendly as possible, have relevant and appropriate imagery and remain current and up to date.

Our latest project with CWT will be added later in the year, watch this space!