We're here to help you achieve your goals and thrive – both at college and in life.
Support Coaches
Our Support Coaches are here to help if you’re facing challenges that might affect your college journey or personal life.
They work one-to-one with students who may be:
- Living away from birth parents
- Involved with the police
- Struggling with mental health
- Young carers or young parents.
From application through to course completion, your Support Coach will work with you to remove any barriers and help you stay on track. They’ll connect you with the right support, both inside and outside college.
You can speak with a Support Coach via:
- Face-to-face meetings
- Email or phone
- Microsoft Teams.
They’ll also link you to other support services including:
- Early help service
- LGBTQ+ services
- CAMHS
- NIDAS (domestic violence)
- Young carers support
- Sexual health services.
Need support now? Drop by the Duty Desk based at the Derby Road campus or email
Care Experienced Coaches
We offer dedicated support to care-experienced students, including those in foster care, local authority care, or who are care leavers.
Each student is assigned a designated Care Experience Coach, a consistent, trusted adult who is there to guide and support them throughout their time at college.
Support includes:
- Help transitioning and settling into college
- Academic and pastoral support
- Financial advice (including bursaries)
- Attendance at review and PEP meetings
- Advocating and supporting students to have their voice heard.
- Support in accessing extra resources or additional services
- Events such as employability workshops and university visits
- Focus groups
- Peer mentoring.
Our goal is to provide all care-experienced students with a safe, supportive environment where they can grow in confidence and succeed, both personally and academically.
For more information or to speak to our Care Experience Team, please email
Welfare Support
Welfare Hub
Located at our Derby Road campus, the Welfare Hub is a safe, welcoming space where students can access support for their mental health and wellbeing.
We offer:
- Drop-in sessions for quick advice and guidance
- One-to-one support for issues such as anxiety, depression, stress, and self-harm
- Whether you need someone to talk to or longer-term support, our team is here for you.
- Additional support - You’ll also find the Student Finance Team based here ready to help with any questions about bursaries, travel support, or financial assistance.
The Zone
Also based at the Derby Road campus, The Zone hosts monthly themes, workshops, and fun activities to help you build confidence and boost your wellbeing.
You’ll get the chance to:
- Develop key life skills like time management, communication, and resilience
- Set personal goals
- Explore your mental health in a supportive space.
To more information or to speak to our Welfare Manager, email
Wellbeing
The Wellbeing Team provides targeted mental health support for students who would benefit from further intervention. We provide a counselling service, targeted advice on specific issues and we run wellbeing events and groups throughout the year. The wellbeing team work with the Support Coaches, tutors and external services to tailor mental health support for those who need it.