Supporting the wellbeing of students and staff is always a number one priority for East Kilbride based South Lanarkshire College.

At South Lanarkshire College support staff, lecturing staff and the senior leadership team appreciate that life can be challenging for students and that many may be going through a difficult time and feeling anxious.  The College recognises the current issues around the cost of living, the rise in energy costs, and the increase in rent, mortgage, and utility prices, and are working tirelessly to ensure students obtain the required help they need.

To ensure support is available to all in the College community, South Lanarkshire College has a dedicated Student Services team located on the main college campus. The team provides help and support with a wide range of issues including funding, personal and emotional challenges, childcare and housing advice. Student Services staff are on hand to provide emotional support and talk through concerns and issues with practical help and support available.  The Student Services team offer a holistic, person-centred approach to ensure students are directed to the most appropriate supported pathway tailored to their specific needs.

Within the Student Services team, students are offered access to in-house therapeutic counselling support which has been designed to help students who are experiencing psychological or emotional distress which is impacting on their studies, relationships, work, or life in general. The service provides a safe and confidential space for students to talk about their feelings and explore issues or concerns that are causing distress.  Counselling support is offered online, by telephone or face-to-face.

South Lanarkshire College is a member of Togetherall, an anonymous online support service for students and staff that provides 24/7 mental health support from trained professionals.  Togetherall provides a safe space online where students and staff can get thoughts off their chest, explore their feelings, and learn skills to help self-manage their mental health and wellbeing. 

As the new term begins the South Lanarkshire College Student Services team are delivering a new in-house Resilience workshop.  The workshops feature a strong focus on resilience strategies, in addition to outlining the various support services available.

Mandy Murray, South Lanarkshire College Depute Head of Student Services, spoke of the initiative stating,” The purpose of the resilience sessions is to introduce the concept of resilience to students, the session addresses what stress means, it teaches skills on how to recognise when we are stressed and provides practical tips on how to develop resilience. 

Mandy adds “At South Lanarkshire College a large focus is placed on the positive mental health and wellbeing of our students, we do this through a variety of support measures, including, the introduction of free health and wellbeing smile boxes for students, containing a selection of branded and personalised products and mindfulness resources to encourage self-care and positive mental health. We have also developed and delivered free weekly online yoga and mindfulness classes for students to access throughout term-time.  All sessions are recorded so that they are easily accessible at a time that is convenient to the student and free yoga mats are provided to every student who signs up for the class”.

Mandy concludes “Coming to college can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can also provide extra challenges and stress, which may affect student health and wellbeing.  As a college, we continue to acknowledge the strains on daily life and provide the care and support needed for a positive student experience.   We are committed to the wellbeing of our students and South Lanarkshire College has a great reputation for providing a nurturing environment,  as well as a level of support which helps students thrive.  The College is absolutely committed to supporting individuals who need our help, advice and guidance, and it is our mission to ensure with support that every student succeeds”