Why offer supported group spaces to students

Supported group spaces offer a meaningful and lasting approach to fostering student belonging and success. Here are five key reasons why you might want to consider them.

1. Reduce Loneliness and Isolation

Loneliness is a growing challenge in Higher Education, closely linked to poor mental health and academic difficulties. Certain student groups — such as disabled students, international students, and students from WP backgrounds — are disproportionately affected. Supported groups spaces bring together individuals with shared lived experiences, helping students realise they’re not alone.

The sense of community and connection gained from sharing stories with others who understand can be transformative, reducing isolation, building confidence and fostering real agency.

2. Promote Belonging

Sense of belonging is strongly associated with student retention and success. When students connect with others who understand their background — such as first-generation students, mature students, students with caring responsibilities or those who are estranged from their families — they begin to feel that they do belong at university. Supported groups foster inclusive environments where students can share experiences, build confidence, and strengthen their sense of identity, self-efficacy and self-belief within the academic community.

3. Offer Peer Support

Peer support is a powerful tool for resilience. In supported social groups, students build networks and life-long friendships, share coping strategies, reduce stigma and validate each other’s feelings. These spaces help students distinguish between managing mental health and experiencing mental illness — empowering them to take proactive steps in their wellbeing and practice self-compassion.

4. Provide Psychoeducation

Supported groups are ideal for delivering psychoeducation in an accessible, engaging way. Students gain deeper insight and understanding into their experiences, learn practical strategies for self-management, and develop confidence and resilience. By normalising conversations and providing factual information in a group context, psychoeducation challenges misconceptions and reduces stigma.

5. Expand Your Reach

Group support is a smart, scalable solution. Rather than repeating the same conversations in one-to-one settings, groups allow staff to support more students with fewer resources. This approach benefits individual students, strengthens peer networks, and makes a meaningful impact on your department’s wellbeing strategy — all while being cost-effective.