We want RNCM to be a place where all students are resourced to feel safe, supported and resilient, and where all staff are aware of their role in supporting students’ wellbeing and flourishing
Mission
Our mission is to:
Provide an integrated support network for students, offering clear referral routes;
Offer up to date, research-informed advice and interventions;
Educate and train students at all levels in strategies for healthy performance and psychological wellbeing more generally;
Use data in comprehensive and creative ways to understand and improve Hub services;
Help RNCM colleagues to develop confidence and skills in supporting students;
Maintain and develop strong connections to external practitioners and agencies (e.g. BAPAM, NHS) to enhance our provision;
Work with staff, students and partners to undertake research in the areas of musicians’ health and music, health and wellbeing;
Develop a coherent and relevant Knowledge Exchange offer to share RNCM expertise externally.
Values
Person-centredness – Students are first and foremost unique persons. We aim to respond to each student individually by supporting their holistic development (psychologically, physically, socially, intellectually, artistically, spiritually).
Unconditional acceptance – Listening and attending to students wholeheartedly will help them to be themselves, speak their minds, and draw on their own resources (psychological and social capital).
Diversity – We learn from respecting and engaging with difference, such as culturally diverse understandings of wellbeing and education. All experiences are valid.
Safety – Providing welcoming spaces with healthy boundaries, such as confidentiality, is key to trust, self-awareness and growth. We want students feel free to make mistakes, confident to ask for help, and courageous enough to take calculated risks, all without judgment. In promoting safe and accessible opportunities for reflection, we also make space to resolve conflicts and overcome challenges collaboratively.
Flourishing – Wellbeing is more than the absence of problems. We want to educate, train and empower students for a life of flourishing where they enjoy optimal performance in their chosen walk of life and feel ready to monitor and maintain their own wellbeing.
A healthy view of health – We value prevention as much as remediation. Also, in acknowledging that dimensions of wellbeing and illbeing can co-exist, we want to recognise what is working well for students alongside where they need help. Health is a complex idea, we are never simply ‘ill’ or ‘well.’
Integration – RNCM’s Health and Wellbeing Hub is interdisciplinary. As a developing community of practice, we value integration within our team and across College. Reflective practice, a coherent and visible structure, and close collaboration with students will help to build a shared ethos and institutional resilience.
Accepting vulnerability – We acknowledge that everyone struggles sometimes. For staff and students, the willingness to model vulnerability judiciously will help to remove stigma and increase mutual understanding. Similarly, the ability to model self-care helps both self and other.
