Support for full-time students

At Newcastle-under-Lyme College you’ll find your way to achieve what you want from your life… in an encouraging, safe and supportive environment. We’ve built up a big team of people who are here to keep you focused on achieving your goals - and to support you personally when it comes to your health, your well-being, your finances and your studies.

What’s more, our recent Ofsted Report and Matrix Accreditation commended our commitment to supporting our students and our innovative and extensive services.

Learner Services

The Learner Services team includes Learner Managers, College Counsellors, a Connexions Advisor and a Student Finance Advisor. You can drop in to see them in Learner Services on the second floor, next to the LRC, or call them for a chat on 01782 254391. There’s also an email helpline.

Learner Managers

We have four Learner Managers, Lisa, Jo, Lara and Janet, who are here to help keep you motivated and to get you help with anything that is causing you worry or concern – this could include extra support for your studies, or more personal issues such as relationship or family problems, alcohol or drug use, sexual health, housing or financial worries.

If you’re missing lessons, your Personal Tutor may ask one of the Learner Managers to call you to see how you are and offer help to overcome any problems that might stop you from achieving your goals at College.

Lara :01782 254371
Jo: 01782 254383
Lisa: 01782 254190
Janet: 01782 254262

They’ll often drop in to your tutorials so you can get to know them. You can even get support anonymously by emailing help@nulc.ac.uk or you can arrange a one-to-one appointment during the daytime or evening.

College Counsellors

We have our own in-house counsellors, Mary and Charlie, who are qualified to give you confidential counselling and support. You can book an appointment by sending an email to help@nulc.ac.uk.

Careers Advice

If you need advice on taking the next step into further or higher education, new job opportunities or career changes, the College’s specialist careers advisors are on hand to help. For more information see our dedicated Careers Advice section.

Connexions Advisor

Hilary is the College’s Connexions Advisor. If you’re aged 13-19, she can offer you information, advice and practical help with any issue that might be affecting you - from working and learning, to more personal matters such as relationships, health or housing. You can make an appointment to see Hilary at Learner Services every weekday except Tuesday during term time.

Student Finance Advisor

Our Student Finance Advisor is here to offer you help and advice if you have money worries that you feel might affect your studies. She can provide information and advice on the College’s Learner Support Fund. The Student Finance Advisor is available in Learner Services Monday - Friday during term time. For more information see our dedicated Financial Support section.

Personal Tutors

If you are a full-time student, the key person in providing the support you need is your Personal Tutor. Your Personal Tutor will be a friendly member of your course team who you can approach if you need to talk to a member of staff or get help with any problems. He or she will also lead a weekly timetabled session with your tutorial group, where you will cover a range of useful topics to help you settle in and become a better student.

Your academic progress

Your Personal Tutor will help you to ensure you make good progress on your course and meet your deadlines and targets. You will have a series of one-to-one reviews with your Personal Tutor which cover a range of topics as the year unfolds - from how you are settling in at the start, turning to your ongoing progress as your programme develops, and then onto your plans for the future towards the end of the course.

Your individual targets and learning plans

To help you and your lecturers track your progress, the College has developed a range of leading-edge tools so that you can complete an electronic learning plan (ILP) which can be monitored and updated by yourself and your tutors.

We ask you to set your own targets and assess your own strengths and weaknesses - this helps you to see how well you are achieving and makes sure that you understand how to meet your targets. Many courses also use an electronic mark book which enables you to see your marks and grades on your learning plan.

If you have a disability, sensory impairment or learning difficulty

The College is committed to ensuring that disabled people, including those with learning difficulties, are treated fairly. All reasonable adjustments to provision will be made to ensure that disabled students and other disabled people are not disadvantaged.

In addition to welcoming students on our mainstream courses, we also offer a range of specialist courses for young people and adults with learning difficulties or disabilities.

Additional Learning Support

Our Additional Learning Support team can provide specialist equipment or adapt materials to alternative formats as needed. If you feel that Additional Learning Support would be of benefit to you during your studies it is essential that you apply as soon as possible. Contact Denise Dunn on 01782 254249 or email ALS@nulc.ac.uk for details.

Click here to view the College's Disability Statement.

Specialist Support

We know it’s important for you to get expert, confidential help if there’s something worrying you. That’s why we offer you easy access to a range of specialist support agencies, including:

Download the Student Essentials Guide