A touch on the shoulder, a small gift, a simple question about whether everything is OK. Often, it’s the little things, not the grand gestures, that can make the biggest difference.

It will be worth remembering this as we prepare to start a new academic year. Colleges will be full of plans to better meet the mental health needs of students.

But is a huge overhaul of pastoral processes, a shiny new bought-in wellbeing scheme or a transformation of learning approaches really what these students need? I recently completed some research that suggested a huge impact in ensuring our colleges are more supportive towards anxious learners can be made through much smaller tweaks.

It is clear that teenagers are feeling more anxious than older generations ever did, or at least they are more willing to talk about it. Study after study, survey after survey, tell us that young people need more support. For example, in 2018, the National Assembly for Wales published Mind Over Matter, which made emotional support and wellbeing for children and young people in Wales a national priority (see box, below left).

Prompted by all of the above and my own experience of teaching in college, I began a research project to try to do more to support our learners with their mental health.

My first job was to ascertain whether there really had been an increase in mental health challenges among our own student population. I had certainly recognised an increase in self-identification of mental health concerns among those attending learning support introductory sessions, but what about the broader student body?

I also needed to know how staff perceived these challenges and how they were already supporting students. So I sent out a survey to college staff, asking:

* Have you seen an increase of reported anxiety among further education learners?

* What do you think triggers anxiety within the classroom?

* What mental health support strategies do you already use in the classroom?

* Do you think that guidance on creating a low-anxiety classroom would be beneficial?

The response to the first question was an overwhelming yes. All colleagues I asked stated that anxiety among FE learners is increasing. One lecturer said that 68 per cent of students in one class had been referred for mental health support.

Supporting student mental health in colleges

To the second question, I received a variety of responses. The room or the group size was mentioned, as was ambiguity around work that was set or the amount of work set. Some colleagues mentioned a lack of structure in the classroom - or a change in structure - was difficult for anxious students to process and also that a lack of student/teacher rapport could exacerbate anxiety.

Other issues that came up were that learners were being targeted to answer questions before they were ready and that students had a fear of failure, plus there were concerns around social media and mobile devices, friendships and home situations.

The strategies already being used to support students were diverse, so I decided to use them for a term with students I was working with to see which might be effective.

I started by discussing anxiety symptoms with each learner privately. They had the opportunity to share their thoughts with me, such as preferential seating or how the classroom environment affected them (noise, lighting, etc), and also to voice general fears.

I then worked with the entire group to reiterate the behavioural and academic expectations within my classroom. These were clearly stated and written down for future reference. I combined this with classroom routines, so that learners knew what to expect and when.

Language use became another important strand to my approach in the classroom. I tried to make my explanations as clear as possible and ensure instructions were both written and verbal.

Finally, I held frequent check-ins for understanding with all students and helped them to practise good study hygiene: breaking work down into manageable chunks, encouraging breaks and taking time out when needed.

At the end of term, I asked my learners how they rated their anxiety levels within my classroom. Overwhelmingly, the consensus was that anxiety wasn’t really an issue for them during my lessons. They had a clear picture of what they were supposed to be working on coupled with the knowledge that if they did become anxious about something, then they would be able to talk to me about it and we could discuss a way to resolve that issue together.

So it worked. Now, you might think that the above seem like pretty small strategies that lecturers would be doing on a regular basis anyway. But these small strategies clearly have a big impact, and it seems they are not being implemented as much as we think in our classrooms.

Can we honestly say that we include all of these strategies in every lesson? While it is acknowledged that anxiety can never be entirely removed from the situation, a learner can be assisted to reduce their anxiety to a manageable level. My findings suggest there needs to be more of an emphasis on routine, clarity and organisation, and these are simple fixes for lecturers to make.

It’s important that those changes are made quickly. In September, we will be asking students to work differently and behave differently, and we should not expect them, as young adults, to just transition to that seamlessly. We need to be adaptive to how their anxieties might change and the support they may need. If we do the small things well, we have a good chance of getting it right before things escalate.

Laura Main is a learning support lecturer at Coleg Sir Gar and Coleg Ceredigion

This article originally appeared in the 28 August 2020 issue under the headline “Little things that can do a lot to quell anxiety”