PFD report

Julius Jake Little · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 28 Oct 2019•Inner North London

Report record

Published report and response evidence

This page connects the concerns raised in this report with statements found in recipients’ published responses. A link shows a clear evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

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Concerns
2

Raised in this report

Recipients
2

Named on the report

Responses found
2

Of 2 recipients

Stated actions
8

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Source document

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised2

  1. Failure to secure engagement with mental health support invitations
    Part of recurring concern: Failure to reliably identify and support students with emerging mental-health needs
  2. Failure to effectively disseminate mental health disclosure information to tutors and halls of residence staff
    Part of recurring concern: Unreliable university handling of student mental-health disclosures
Responses linked to these concerns

Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.

Actions described in response An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.4

  1. Action

    Regularly review mental-health data-sharing policies and procedures to maintain legal compliance and support students effectively.

    Stated by University of the Arts LondonStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 13 December 2019.
  2. Action

    Have Disability Advisers actively follow up students who have not engaged with support services.

    Stated by University of the Arts LondonStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 13 December 2019.
  3. Action

    Initiate pre- and post-enrolment email campaigns encouraging students with disclosed mental health conditions to engage with support services.

    Stated by University of the Arts LondonStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 13 December 2019.

Respondent positions A position is what a recipient says about a concern when it does not describe a specific action.1

  1. Position

    Data protection law limits sharing disability-related information without informed consent to cases involving a risk of harm to the student or others.

    Stated by University of the Arts LondonUnable to actThe respondent said that a constraint prevented them from taking the relevant action.

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to secure engagement with mental health support invitations

Wider context from the report

“In the course of hearing an inquest at Poplar Coroner's Court on 9/10/19 into the death of Julius Jake Little, evidence was considered in relation to available support services offered to undergraduates at UAL who have a history of mental health problems. The Dean of Students at UAL ████████, gave evidence that applicants to UAL make an online application to the admissions organisation UCAS. The application invites them to disclose any history they have of mental health problems, upon being accepted on a course of study this information is provided to the admitting university. ████████ indicated that the mental health disclosure information is used to target students that may require support, and at UAL emails are sent to undergraduates, inviting them to register with the university's support services. Regrettably, it would appear that of UAL's cohort of students that disclosed mental health problems to UCAS, only 66% of undergraduates responded to the email invitation offering mental health support. The remaining 33%, a total of some 200 students, did not respond to the offer. I asked ████████ whether the identity of students who had made a mental health disclosure in their UCAS application was communicated to tutors and halls of residence staff at the university. I was informed that this information was not so disseminated as it would be breach of data protection legislation, this appears to be a missed opportunity. I cannot suggest a solution to this problem, however it does appear to be a lost opportunity to secure this valuable information but not to utilise it effectively. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Failure to reliably identify and support students with emerging mental-health needs.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to effectively disseminate mental health disclosure information to tutors and halls of residence staff

Wider context from the report

“In the course of hearing an inquest at Poplar Coroner's Court on 9/10/19 into the death of Julius Jake Little, evidence was considered in relation to available support services offered to undergraduates at UAL who have a history of mental health problems. The Dean of Students at UAL ████████, gave evidence that applicants to UAL make an online application to the admissions organisation UCAS. The application invites them to disclose any history they have of mental health problems, upon being accepted on a course of study this information is provided to the admitting university. ████████ indicated that the mental health disclosure information is used to target students that may require support, and at UAL emails are sent to undergraduates, inviting them to register with the university's support services. Regrettably, it would appear that of UAL's cohort of students that disclosed mental health problems to UCAS, only 66% of undergraduates responded to the email invitation offering mental health support. The remaining 33%, a total of some 200 students, did not respond to the offer. I asked ████████ whether the identity of students who had made a mental health disclosure in their UCAS application was communicated to tutors and halls of residence staff at the university. I was informed that this information was not so disseminated as it would be breach of data protection legislation, this appears to be a missed opportunity. I cannot suggest a solution to this problem, however it does appear to be a lost opportunity to secure this valuable information but not to utilise it effectively. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Unreliable university handling of student mental-health disclosures.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Regularly review mental-health data-sharing policies and procedures to maintain legal compliance and support students effectively.

Verbatim wording from the response

“The GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 permit such data to be shared only where there is a risk of harm to self or others. In such circumstances we share information about the student on a case by case basis if we believe it is necessary to protect the individual or others from harm.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UAL
Page 2 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Have Disability Advisers actively follow up students who have not engaged with support services.

Verbatim wording from the response

“For the 2019/20 academic year we have made improvements to our processes for engaging disabled students, including those with long-term mental health conditions, with our support services. At the point that the information in respect of mental health conditions is shared with the university by UCAS, a pre- and post-enrolment email campaign is initiated, asking students to engage with support services. Our Disability Advisers make contact with students who have declared a disability and are requesting support. In addition, Disability Advisers are now actively following up on those students who have not engaged with support services. This has enabled us to significantly reduce the number of students who declared a long-term mental health condition prior to enrolment and are not engaging with support services from 33% in 2018 to 4% in 2019.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UAL
Page 1 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Initiate pre- and post-enrolment email campaigns encouraging students with disclosed mental health conditions to engage with support services.

Verbatim wording from the response

“For the 2019/20 academic year we have made improvements to our processes for engaging disabled students, including those with long-term mental health conditions, with our support services. At the point that the information in respect of mental health conditions is shared with the university by UCAS, a pre- and post-enrolment email campaign is initiated, asking students to engage with support services. Our Disability Advisers make contact with students who have declared a disability and are requesting support. In addition, Disability Advisers are now actively following up on those students who have not engaged with support services. This has enabled us to significantly reduce the number of students who declared a long-term mental health condition prior to enrolment and are not engaging with support services from 33% in 2018 to 4% in 2019.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UAL
Page 1 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Have Disability Advisers contact students who disclose disabilities and request support.

Verbatim wording from the response

“For the 2019/20 academic year we have made improvements to our processes for engaging disabled students, including those with long-term mental health conditions, with our support services. At the point that the information in respect of mental health conditions is shared with the university by UCAS, a pre- and post-enrolment email campaign is initiated, asking students to engage with support services. Our Disability Advisers make contact with students who have declared a disability and are requesting support. In addition, Disability Advisers are now actively following up on those students who have not engaged with support services. This has enabled us to significantly reduce the number of students who declared a long-term mental health condition prior to enrolment and are not engaging with support services from 33% in 2018 to 4% in 2019.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UAL
Page 1 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Data protection law limits sharing disability-related information without informed consent to cases involving a risk of harm to the student or others.

Verbatim wording from the response

“Disability-related information is classified as ‘special category personal data’ under the GDPR. This means there are very limited circumstances in which we can share such data without the informed consent of the student in question.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UAL
Page 1 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Other statements in published responses

These actions and other statements could not be clearly connected to one concern in this report.

Recipient-stated actions An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.4

  1. 1

    Collaborate with education stakeholders to develop good-practice guidance for communicating results and offering student support consistently.

    Stated by Universities and Colleges Admissions ServiceStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 13 December 2019.
  2. 2

    Develop revised disability, learning difference, illness and mental-health disclosure questions and accompanying help text using sector feedback.

    Stated by Universities and Colleges Admissions ServiceStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 13 December 2019.
  3. 3

    Share the final reviewed disclosure question and good-practice materials with the coroner.

    Stated by Universities and Colleges Admissions ServiceStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 13 December 2019.
  4. 4

    Put the improved disclosure question and accompanying help text in place after completing the development work.

    Stated by Universities and Colleges Admissions ServiceStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 13 December 2019.

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Collaborate with education stakeholders to develop good-practice guidance for communicating results and offering student support consistently.

Verbatim wording from the response

“actions, which we will are now looking to take forward in the new year. Most significantly, JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) has agreed to move their A level results embargo to 8am to minimise the time gap between students receiving results and accessing support. Additionally, UCAS will be working collaboratively with JCQ, the Department for Education and other stakeholders to develop good practice for schools, colleges and HE providers to promote consistency in how results are communicated to students, and the support offered.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UCAS
Page 2 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Develop revised disability, learning difference, illness and mental-health disclosure questions and accompanying help text using sector feedback.

Verbatim wording from the response

“As part of this commitment, we regularly review our products and services to ensure that they are fit for purpose. We have been reviewing the questions we currently ask applicants on the UCAS application, and considering how we can improve the flow of information between the student and the course provider. A key area we have been focusing on is the question that allows applicants to disclose a disability, learning difference, illness or mental health condition, acknowledging that there are changes we could make to facilitate disclosure and reassure students about how this information is used.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UCAS
Page 1 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Share the final reviewed disclosure question and good-practice materials with the coroner.

Verbatim wording from the response

“I hope this offers clarification on how UCAS has been working collaboratively with experts and course providers to improve the applicant experience and support students with mental health concerns. We will update you on the details of the reviewed question and good practice once they are finalised, along with any future developments, in due course.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UCAS
Page 2 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Put the improved disclosure question and accompanying help text in place after completing the development work.

Verbatim wording from the response

“However, the data collected by UCAS flows into the systems of nearly 400 universities and colleges across the UK, and into a range of other data collection exercises, such as the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record, so significant planning and engagement across the whole higher education sector is necessary to implement any changes – it isn’t just a change to the UCAS application.”

Source location

2019-0371-Response-by-UCAS
Page 1 · response
Published 13 December 2019

Open published response
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Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026