Medr/2026/37: Higher education wellbeing and mental health funding 2026/27

Introduction

1. This publication sets out our intentions in 2026/27 to allocate:

• £2,350,000 funding to universities to implement well-being and health strategies (universities only);
• £2,000,000 additional funding for well-being and health support for learners (universities and further education (FE) providers in direct receipt of Medr higher education funding).

2. For 2026/27, Medr will continue to support a number of national projects aligned to mental health and wellbeing priorities. These will be funded separately via grant letter.

3. This funding contributes directly to the:

• Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition which requires providers to have effective arrangements, including policies, procedures and services, that promote and support staff and learner wellbeing and safety using ongoing self-evaluation to identify strengths, gaps and emerging risks to plan activities; and
• Medr’s Common Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework which provides a shared approach to mental health and wellbeing across tertiary education in Wales. It supports the development of a Support Map that helps learners access appropriate support, from early intervention through to crisis response.

4. Welsh Government highlights the continuing importance of strong mental health and wellbeing support across the post-16 sector. In April 2025, the Welsh Government published its Mental health and wellbeing strategy 2025 to 2035. Medr expects all providers to take account of the national mental health and well-being strategy when developing and revising their well-being and health strategies, suicide prevention and self-harm approaches and well-being policies.

5. In April 2025, the Welsh Government published its Suicide Prevention and Self-harm Strategy for Wales. Medr encourages all providers to participate in, and contribute to, the Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Community of Practice.

6. We expect providers to take account of intersectional impacts on learner and staff emotional and mental well-being. Therefore, providers should take account of how the mental health and well-being funding contributes to the following Welsh Government equality plans:

• Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan;
• LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales;
• Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence: strategy 2022 to 2026 and its Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence: blueprint high level action plan;
• Disabled People’s Rights Plan: 2025 to 2035.

7. Higher education (HE) providers must use the findings and conclusion of their own equality impact assessments to inform plans, policies, procedures to demonstrate actions are evidence-based.

8. Providers should consider the suicide prevention guidance, uploaded to the HE and FE suicide prevention community of practice Padlet. They should also take into account the implications from the National Review of HE Student Suicides and consider actions that address the recommendations.

9. Providers should consider the Violence against women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) self-evaluation framework for universities and higher education providers in Wales tool to support universities to identify need, plan and deliver interventions to prevent and respond to VAWDASV affecting staff and students.

Funding allocations

10. In 2026/27 £4,350,000 (£2,350,000 strategy funding in Table 1 and £2,000,000 additional funding in Table 2) will be allocated directly to HE institutions and further education providers in direct receipt of Medr higher education funding.

Table 1: Wellbeing and health, including mental health, strategy allocations 2026/27 

Provider	2026/27 Allocation £
University of South Wales	344,032
Aberystwyth University	139,920
Bangor University	166,298
Cardiff University	527,668
University of Wales Trinity Saint David	257,269
Swansea University	317,604
Cardiff Metropolitan University	205,436
Wrexham University	129,389
The Open University in Wales	262,384
Total	2,350,000

Notes: Verified HESA student record 2024/25 data. Headcounts – HESA standard registration population, all modes and levels, reduced to a headcount where students have more than one enrolment.

Table 2: Wellbeing and health, additional funding, 2026/27

Provider	2026/27 Allocation £
University of South Wales	290,716
Aberystwyth University	118,236
Bangor University	140,526
Cardiff University	445,895
University of Wales Trinity Saint David	217,400
Swansea University	268,384
Cardiff Metropolitan University	173,599
Wrexham University	109,337
The Open University in Wales	221,722
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai	11,634
NPTC Group of Colleges	1,587
Gower College Swansea	439
Coleg Cambria	524
Total	2,000,000

Notes: Verified HESA student record 2024/25 data. Headcounts – HESA standard registration population, all modes and levels, reduced to a headcount where students have more than one enrolment.

11. In 2026/27 we will allocate Table 1 and Table 2 funding in one tranche with payment in December 2026.

Use of funding

12. Providers must ensure that Mental Health and Wellbeing funding is used to deliver effective, evidence-informed support that meets the needs of their learners and staff.

13. Wellbeing and health, including mental health, strategy allocations may be used to support a broad range of activity, including (but not limited to):

• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training, and resources for staff and learners which includes postgraduate learners; international learners and learners at franchise/partner organisations;
• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training and resources provided bilingually and/or separately in Welsh;
• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training and resources to secure the well-being and health of staff and learners, including health affected by harassment, hate and sexual misconduct and violence, regardless of identity;
• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training and resources to, or providing information about supporting, staff and learners with protected characteristics;
• extend, enhance or subsidise period dignity and personal hygiene products and/or clothes washing services for their students;
• activities, services, training and resources that take account of the Universities UK (UUK) Stepchange: mentally healthy universities self assessment findings and recommendations;
• clearly identifiable actions to address gaps, priorities or recommendations identified as a result of the university’s review using the UUK self assessment tool;
• activities, services, training and resources that take account of the Universities UK (UUK) Suicide Safer Framework and supporting guidance.

14. Funding should not be used for capital expenditure (e.g., purchase of equipment) is not eligible for funding.

15. As a result of this funding, providers and their Students’ Unions are not eligible to apply for the Period Dignity Grant from their Local Authority under the Period Proud Action Plan.

16. Universities and colleges are subject to the Learner Engagement Code from 1 August 2026 and as such, must demonstrably ensure that their Students’ Union, or equivalent body, participates in the making of decisions relating to this funding.

17. In line with the expectations of the Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition, providers should engage with staff representatives, including recognised trade unions, where appropriate, as part of their arrangements to promote and support staff wellbeing.

18. We expect providers in direct receipt of Medr funding to manage and spend in full in-year their 2026/27 allocations.

19. Medr reserves the right to clawback funding where it is not used in line with the purpose and conditions set out in this guidance. This includes, but is not limited to, unspent funding identified through monitoring or ineligible expenditure.

Monitoring and reporting

20. Providers are not required to submit a standalone action plan for Mental Health and Wellbeing funding. Medr will instead draw on the two-year welfare action plan (required under the Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition) to understand providers’ delivery intentions and strategic priorities.

21. Providers are expected to maintain ongoing dialogue with Medr throughout the academic year. This approach supports timely intervention, shared learning, and continuous improvement across the sector. This could include:

• Raising emerging issues or delivery challenges as they arise;
• Providing updates through meetings, networks and engagement activity;
• Sharing learning and practice.

22. Universities are required to submit an end-of-year monitoring return to demonstrate the use of the 2026/27 wellbeing and health funding. Monitoring will be aligned with approaches used in recent years, and will be expected to provide information which will include:

• alignment with national frameworks (including UUK Stepchange and suicide safer approaches);
• the use of funding in line with the purposes set out in this document;
• the proactive engagement with learners, via Students’ Unions or equivalent bodies, in provider decision-making relating to this investment;
• the impact of activity on learners and staff, including those with protected characteristics;
• how activity aligns with and supports implementation of the Common Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework, including the development and/or use of a Support Map, and evidence of progress, areas for further development, and key challenges and learning from implementation.

23. Further education providers in direct receipt of Medr higher education funding in Table 2 to support HE learners specifically, this activity should be reported using the monitoring template provided in Medr/2026/36: Support and Wellbeing Fund 2026/27 – Phase 1: further education institutions.

24. Monitoring will include a combination of:

• quantitative returns, capturing activity and reach;
• narrative reporting, including progress against key strategies and actions
• case studies, demonstrating examples of practice and impact across different funding streams;
• financial reporting, confirming allocation, expenditure and any underspend.

25. The completed monitoring return must be submitted by Friday 24 September 2027.

26. Medr will review all monitoring returns to ensure that funding has been used in line with the purpose and expectations set out in this guidance. Medr may request further information from providers in exceptional circumstances.

27. Medr will also use information from monitoring returns to identify and share emerging practice, innovation and approaches across the sector. This will support collective learning and contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of mental health and wellbeing provision.

Assessing the impact of our policies

28. We have updated our ongoing impact assessment to take account of equality, diversity and inclusion. We also considered the impact of policies on the Welsh language, and Welsh language provision within the tertiary sector in Wales and potential impacts on the goals set out in the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

29. Our impact assessment findings include:

• identifying likely positive impacts on the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. No negative impacts were identified.
• confirming that the funding supports five of the seven well-being goals and takes account of the five ways of working of the Well-being of Future Generations Act
• noting that the funding and monitoring seeks to have a positive impact on the Welsh Language.