Student Services
Find yourself supported by caring staff.
Our Student Services team are here to help and ensure all students are treated with respect. The team offers lots of support to help keep you on track with your studies and to help you stay safe and healthy during your time at Newcastle College and beyond.
Personal Tutors
Everyone gets a personal tutor, a friendly member of staff who will be your go-to person for academic progress and support.
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 on-going progress as your programme develops, and then onto your plans for the future towards the end of the course.
Learning Support
Our Additional Learning Support (ALS) team is available to students with specific learning difficulties and provides tailored support and assessments to ensure each student is achieving to the best of their ability.
Help with money
If you’re struggling to come to college because money’s tight, we can help. That could mean help with the cost of meals, with travel or with equipment.
There are two types of financial support: College Maintenance Allowance (CMA) and Vulnerable Student Bursary (VSB). Both allowances include support for food, travel and essential course costs. If you are aged 16 to 18 and received Free School Meals whilst at school you may still be eligible to receive this entitlement through one of the two allowances. You can check to see which allowance you may be eligible for by reading the guidance below.
Our online Student Finance Application Form is now live! Want to apply for financial support? Click here.
COLLEGE MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE (CMA)
Who can apply for this support?
Anyone with a total household income below £23,000 per year (excluding students enrolled on an apprenticeship, a self-financing course, a higher education (HE) course or students enrolled on a course with another education provider where funding is being claimed). Please note you will need to provide specific evidence when you apply to support your application. Want to apply for financial support? Click here.
How much will I get?
You can receive up to £20 per week. Payments will be attendance based as detailed in the payment schedule. The payment is a contribution towards the cost of travel on public transport, the cost of food at College and other course related costs.
How will I get paid?
The agreed amount will be paid onto your Student ID card in accordance with our payment schedule or in kind. There will be no cash alternatives.
What evidence will I need to provide?
You will be required to provide evidence of current household income upon application and we may request up to date evidence of your household income at any point during the academic year. For guidance about the evidence you need to provide, please contact the Student Finance Team.
What other College related costs could I get help with?
If you are approved to receive CMA you could also receive help with additional College related costs, determined by the requirements of your course, such as:
Specialist equipment, specialist materials, essential uniform (refund to be claimed within 6 weeks of the course start date) and compulsory trips.
CHILDCARE FUNDING FOR STUDENTS AGED 16-19
Care to Learn is a Government scheme whereby if you are aged 19 or under on 31st August 2019, you may be eligible to receive help with the cost of childcare and transport (up to £160 per week) whilst you are learning. Your child must attend an Ofsted registered childcare provider.
For further information and details of how to apply please visit www.gov.uk/care-to-learn or telephone their Student Support Helpline on 0800 121 8989.
VULNERABLE STUDENT BURSARY (FOR STUDENTS AGED 16-18 ON 31ST AUGUST 2019).
Who can apply?
You can apply for this bursary if one or more of the following applies to you:
You are in local authority care or have recently left local authority care/you are in receipt of Income Support or Universal Credit in your own name (the evidence must confirm that you are allowed to participate in further education or training)/you are in receipt of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in your own name. Want to apply for financial support? Click here.
How much will I get?
You can get up to £1,200 in total each academic year. You will receive most of your bursary through an allocation of up to £30 per week. Payments will be attendance based as detailed in the payment schedule. The remainder of your bursary will be allocated to meet your needs and the requirements of your course. This will be determined through one to one meetings with a Student Finance Advisor.
How will I get paid?
The money will be paid directly into your bank account. It is essential that you have a bank account in your own name. Please request a bank details form from the Student Finance Team.
When will I receive my first payment?
Once your application has been approved you will receive a schedule of payment dates.
What evidence will I need to provide?
You will be required to provide a local authority care status letter or current benefit evidence.
TRAVEL COSTS
Subsidised bus passes are available to purchase from the College. The College offers a range of bus passes for the following companies: First Network, Smart, D&G and Arriva. Please get in touch for further information.
If you will be travelling to College by rail or require further information about the bus passes available, please see the additional Travel leaflet on this page, or please contact the Student Finance Team for further information.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME ADULT STUDENTS AGED 19 +
We offer a range of financial support for full-time and part-time students aged 19+ including remission of fees, College Maintenance Allowances (CMA) and childcare funding. Please click here for further information. Want to apply for financial support? Click here.
When you decided to study at college, it is important that you think about how much it will cost and what financial support you may be eligible for. There are a range of financial support packages available depending on your personal circumstances.
Advanced Learning Loans
Advanced Learning Loans are available to pay course fees for people aged 19+ studying at Level 3 or above.
- No credit checks take place
- It isn't a bank loan
- Your household income isn't taken into account
- You pay nothing back until you're earning over £25,725 per year
If you're aged 19-23 and enrolling on a Level 3 course for the first time, you may be eligible to receive the course for FREE. Learn more by clicking here.
Higher Education (HE) Loans
Tuition Fee/Maintenance Loans are available to cover course fees if you're studying a full-time HE course and tuition fee loans are available to cover course fees if you're studying a part-time HE course. Learn more by clicking here.
Student Welfare Officers
If you’re struggling at college or in your personal life, don’t worry. Student Welfare Officers are here to offer 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. Also, we have a college counsellor on-site.
Our Student Welfare Officers can offer a range of support, including:
· Mentoring and support with transition from school to college
· Confidential and impartial 1:1 support to help you stay on track
· Support from outside agencies
· Support around lifestyle choices
There is a Student Welfare Officer for each curriculum area so there is always a familiar face around to help.
Study Support
We have a large team of specialists who support you through your studies. Whatever you may need, we’ll help you to achieve your goals.
To help you and your tutors track your progress, the College has developed a range of leading-edge tools so that you can complete an Individual 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 ILP.
Careers and Next Steps
You might already have a very clear idea of what you want to do when you finish your course/courses with us, or you might still be unsure of your options. Whatever you want to do, we can help you to get there. Whether it be an apprenticeship, university, gap year, a job, or even start your own business, our highly experienced careers staff are here help you.
Every year, hundreds of NSCG students attend a Next Step Fayre where they get to meet representatives from 40+ universities and many local and regional employers who visit the College to showcase their offer. If you’re thinking of going to university, this allows you to see a multitude of universities all under one roof to help you decide which one/s you may like to visit. If you’re not thinking of going to university you can chat to a range of employers who showcase their apprenticeship and traineeship schemes and current vacancies.
We also have a dedicated Work Placements team who will help you to find relevant and useful work experience while you are studying. A work placement gives you the chance to experience a real working environment with an employer that specialises in the sector in which you wish to work. It gives you the opportunity to enhance your industry knowledge and understanding whilst you study.
Add this all together with the programme of guest speakers, trips and visits which you’ll undertake as part of your course, and you’ll leave NSCG with the knowledge and skills to get where you want to be.
Got a question about Student Support?
If you would like a member of our highly qualified Student Support team to contact you to discuss your specific requirements, please enter your name and contact details below and a member of the team will call you back soon.
Managers, teachers and support staff use learners' education and health care plans to identify accurately the individual support necessary including transport, personal care, and a variety of adaptive equipment to support very well individuals' learning needs.
