Following our previous blog post on mental health and wellbeing in work-based learning and apprenticeships a dedicated event took place online on 25 March 2025 facilitated by the Practice, Tuition Training and Development Team within Associate Lecturer Support and Professional Development (ALSPD). Readers from within the Open University can view the event recording here.<\/a><\/p>\n The event featured three distinct parts which we consider below whilst also considering the reflective questions Jenny Hillman posted in our blog <\/a>\u00a0those being:<\/p>\n Professor Joan Simons, Head of the School for Health, Well-being, and Social Care in the faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS), shared insights from her research on supporting students with mental health difficulties. Joan’s three-year project involved interviews with 39 Associate Lecturers and focus groups with OU students who declared mental health conditions. She reported on her findings and facilitated discussions on the specific needs of work-based learning students. Internal reports<\/a> on the project are available for Open University staff.<\/p>\n The OU is one of the largest providers of nursing apprenticeships in the UK and has a strong history of provision in health and social care. It was discussed that these types of courses can impact mental health and well-being in specific ways, for example through second-hand trauma<\/a>. All agreed that it is vital for Practice Tutors (PTs) to prepare students\/apprentices on these programmes for the nuances of health and social care workplace learning.<\/p>\n Effective communication and support structures through tuition is crucial for helping students with mental health conditions succeed. \u00a0It was identified that ensuring learners can receive help without repeatedly having to share their issues across the institution would provide an enhancement to the support the OU provides to students.<\/p>\n Attendees observed that the OU Practice Tuition role allows for continuous support at whole programme level rather than the module level . A strong effective tutorial relationship is advantageous for supporting workplace learners (Umeokafor and Soares, 2021; Marsden and Youde, 2012) and it is widely acknowledged in the literature that high-quality tutorial relationships can contribute to personalised and successful personal tutoring for students on traditional courses. This is an example of an enhancement that could be applied for all types of learners. It was noted, however, that external Professional Statutory Bodies like Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) can place restrictions on the level of continuous support provided in the tutor \u2018in practice\u2019 role.<\/p>\n Professor Simons raised development opportunities for staff delivering on work-based learning programmes as a priority. This will help to ensure \u00a0that development focused on mental health continues to be available in different formats (workshops, online learning etc) . ALSPD facilitates online training alongside an events programme specifically related to supporting OU students, which is informed by internal Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). \u00a0Reflecting on this, we consider that we have further opportunities to use insights from staff and students to enhance our materials and further aid the nuance of understanding for the work-based learning student experience of mental health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n The next session at our event was led by Joe Kirman from the Mental Health Casework and Advice Team (MHCAT) at the OU.\u00a0 Joe emphasised the team’s mission to enhance, not replace, existing support structures, and their focus on students with complex or severe mental health needs. The work of the MHCAT, like many institutional mental health casework teams in the sector, highlights the critical role of mental health support for students. \u00a0At the OU, the team offer flexible, individualised support plans, including one-to-one sessions, risk assessments, and coping strategies, without requiring formal diagnoses. They also provide an advice service for staff, helping to ensure a holistic approach to student wellbeing.<\/p>\n Joe shared insightful case studies, based specifically onwork-based student cases at the OU. We apply the theory of experiential learning (Kolb etc) to the development of cross-faculty events so that Practice Tutor participants have the opportunity to reflect on learning from experience. The case studies used in Joe’s presentation were rooted in the experience of delivering multi-agency support by tutors and case workers. Case studies are an effective way to facilitate experiential learning, for example – see Kreber (2001) who also emphasises the importance of reflective practice in leveraging the educational benefits of case studies. The relevance of the case studies offered, which featured insights from interactions with work-based learning students, highlighted how this relatively new service can be used effectively to support this population of students within the OU.\u00a0 Crucially, the lack of requirement for formal mental health diagnoses removes a barrier to accessing this service.\u00a0 Joe also highlighted how his team were able to respond flexibly to meet learners needs, something that is important for work-based learning students \/apprentices who have demands related to their employment alongside intense study requirements.<\/p>\n Discussion with Practice Tutors highlighted the importance of communication, collaboration with OU support staff, and empowering students\/apprentices to advocate for their own needs. \u00a0It was recognised again that, especially for work-based learning students, fear of stigma through disclosure of issues, potential complexities in the workplace, employer reaction and the possible scrutiny on \u2018fitness to practice\u2019 could be a barrier for learners to sharing of mental health issues.<\/p>\n As Education Developers, we aim to facilitate a Community of Practice informed by the development of the concept by Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner (2015). To this end we regularly utilise participatory methods of learning and seek to enable development of practice through collaborative learning activities such as described below.<\/p>\n The online collaborative training activity used in this session, focused on identifying barriers and enablers for apprentices and work-based learners regarding mental health and well-being. This was intended as a practical exercise to extend the approach taken by Lister et. al (2022) which identifies the barriers and enablers related to student mental health in distance learning to the context of work-based, distance learning.<\/p>\n Key barriers identified and discussed included:<\/p>\n Practice Tutor attendees engaged in activities using the online collaborative tools Padlet and Polls to prioritise these barriers based on their experiences of support needs. They also contributed reflections on barriers not mentioned in the literature. These included:<\/p>\n The potential enablers that tutors in attendance identified \u00a0included:<\/p>\n Within the discussion and activity, it was apparent that the relationship between Practice Tutors and Student\/Apprentices is critical.\u00a0 Tutors supporting work or practice-based learning at a distance work closely with students\/apprentices in a 1:1 capacity. \u00a0\u00a0As with any dialogic relationship, trust and rapport should be established at the earliest opportunity. Trust can facilitate enhanced communication within learning environments, enabling students to express their specific support needs.\u00a0 The same might be applied to relationships between work-based learners and employers\/workplace mentors (especially if that relationship is new).<\/p>\n Consideration of the key learnings of this event has articulated further reflections for us as educational developers, specifically:<\/p>\n The relationship between learners, and communication and system strategies may have untapped potential to make a difference to learners with mental health difficulties.\u00a0 This could be paramount for work-based learning courses that utilise supported distance learning for some elements of the course \u00a0\u00a0How might we influence the development of digital material contexts to ensure they meet the needs of the work-based student population? \u00a0Are there elements of our work-based learning provision that can be made less complex by further consideration of the student experience in the online community? What is unique about the work-based learner journey and their user interactions that we might not have considered? And, are these considered when new initiatives are deployed at institutional level?<\/p>\n As we have already mentioned in our previous post, mental health and wellbeing of those on work-based learning or apprenticeship programmes has received less attention than the experiences of students on other modes of study (Umeokafor and Okoro, 2023).<\/a> There is a continuing need for SoTL \u00a0which investigates \u00a0mental health support for work-based learning students, and there are particular occupational areas that may require nuanced \u00a0consideration.\u00a0 One of these areas discussed within our session, is the potential for students on certain courses to experience particular types of occupational stress.\u00a0 Within the current nursing apprenticeship, the placement experiences can have a negative effect on mental wellbeing with stressors such as workload and secondary traumatic experiences. Compassion fatigue is prevalent in professional learning in this area.\u00a0 Jack (2017) highlights how \u2018it is important that educators recognise student\u2019s susceptibility to compassion fatigue and provide appropriate support.\u2019 For those that provide development to the educators we must question if we are providing relevant training, awareness and support systems that are targeted to help those work-based learning students particularly susceptible to occupational stress?<\/p>\n Our discussions in this blog may have raised additional questions for those supporting work-based learners in HE. \u00a0A key theme is the importance of the relationship between the student and the university. The Practice Tutor plays a crucial role as the university’s representative, fostering support and trust through their relationship with the student.<\/p>\n Tutors can provide personalised and timely support and guidance essential for students with mental health issues. They act as connectors, raising awareness about mental health resources and referring students to appropriate services<\/p>\n a safe space for students to discuss their challenges.\u00a0 The personalised nature of the Practice Tutor role at the OU is prominent source of support for our work-based learning students. Targeted development and recognition of the significant challenges of work-based learning tuition is essential to continue to facilitate effective relationships and dialogue between students and the institution.<\/p>\n Jack, K. The meaning of compassion fatigue to student nurses: an interpretive phenomenological study.\u00a0J of Compassionate Health Care<\/em>\u00a04<\/strong>, 2 (2017). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40639-017-0031-5<\/a><\/p>\n Kreber, C. (2001) \u2018Learning Experientially through Case Studies? A Conceptual Analysis\u2019, Teaching in higher education<\/em>, 6(2), pp. 217\u2013228. Available at: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13562510120045203<\/a><\/p>\n Marsden, F. and Youde, A. (2012) \u2018Fostering a transactional presence: a practical guide to supporting work-based learners\u2019. In: Part-Time study: the new paradigm for Higher Education? UALL, Leicester, UK. Available at:\u00a0Huddersfield Repository \u2013 University of Huddersfield<\/a>\u00a0(Accessed: 13 March 2025).<\/p>\n Umeokafor, N. and Soares, A. (2021). \u00a0Delivery features of apprenticeship courses: The influence on the mental health and wellbeing of apprentices. Available at:\u00a0Umeokafor-N-49833-VoR.pdf<\/a>\u00a0(Accessed: 11 March 2025).<\/p>\n Umeokafor, N. and Okoro, C. (2023).\u00a0Mental health and wellbeing experiences of Higher Education apprentices.<\/em>\u00a0In: Digital Transformation of Health and Safety in Construction. University of Porto, Portugal, 21st \u2013 22nd June 2023. CIB International Council for Research & Innovation in Building & Construction, Kanata, ON Canada, pp. 243-252. ISBN 978-9727523092. Available at:\u00a043052_UMEOKAFOR_Mental_health_and_wellbeing_experiences_of_Higher_Education_apprentices.pdf<\/a>\u00a0(Accessed: 13 March 2025).<\/p>\n Wenger-Trayner, E. and Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015) An introduction to communities of practice: a brief overview of the concept and its uses. Available from authors at https:\/\/www.wenger-trayner.com\/introduction-to-communities-of-practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Introduction Following our previous blog post on mental health and wellbeing in work-based learning and apprenticeships a dedicated event took place online on 25 March 2025 facilitated by the Practice, Tuition Training and Development Team within Associate Lecturer Support and … Continue reading \n
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Scholarship on Mental Health and Wellbeing at the Open University<\/h2>\n
Proactive communication and effective use of student profiles<\/h2>\n
Longer-term mechanisms for pastoral support<\/h2>\n
Support from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team<\/h2>\n
Collaborative Activity: Developing a Taxonomy of Support<\/h2>\n
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Key Learnings and Reflections and Recommendations<\/h2>\n
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Future Directions<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
References<\/h2>\n