Hatfield College

Welfare & support

Welfare Support in College

The principal contact for welfare and pastoral issues is the Senior Tutor  (Tel: 0191 334 2642).  If you need help with any issues the Senior Tutor can help you get in touch with the right people at the right time. 

At Hatfield we also have a fantastic team of students who have received 'nightline' training providing peer support.  The JCR Vice-President (Welfare) is elected annually and must have completed nightline training before being eligible to stand for the post.  The Welfare team provide an impartial, trustworthy, and confidential resource to counsel you on whatever is bothering you or may just provide a shoulder to cry on. 

The Welfare team run a series of campaigns throughout the academic year highlighting issues to promote a healthy lifestlye and wellbeing.

All Hatfield undergraduates also have a College Mentor (see information below on the Hatfield Mentoring System).

The College Chaplain, Rev. Dr. Anthony Bash, (Tel: 0191 334 2636) is available to all members of College to talk about anything.  The Chaplain is the designated person to deal with Access to Learning  and the Hardship Funds.

Your own personal mentor

The Hatfield Mentoring System is an established part of College life.  'SHAPES' is the key component of the Hatfield Mentoring System.   By Supporting Hatfielders' Academic Progress, Employability, and Skills, we keep the Student/College Mentor relationship at the heart of the programme and enhance this relationship through the provision of a range of additional resources and linkages with others in the University responsible for the academic development of students. 

All our undergraduate students are assigned a College Mentor when they come to Hatfield.  Ideally that person will remain your Mentor throughout your time with us.  Your College Mentor's role is to help you achieve your best and to both enjoy and benefit from your time at University. 

Your Mentor is concerned with your academic, pastoral, welfare and personal development.  S/he will help you to reflect on and record your progress. Your College Mentor is NOT a tutor, and will not advise on the content of your academic work.  Although your Mentor may work for the University, their role as a Mentor is voluntary and not part of their normal contract of paid employment.

The Hatfield Mentoring System is a two-way process.  Your Mentor is expected to engage with you through a Framework of Mentor-led activity; in turn you are expected to develop a professional but friendly relationship to engage with him or her.  If that relationship breaks down, Mentors and students are expected to bring the issues to the attention of the Senior Tutor.

What you can expect from your College Mentor:

  • to support you in reflecting on and reviewing your academic progress, personal skills and future employability and personal development;
  • to help you identify areas of strength and opportunities for improving;
  • to help you reflect and be able to assess your own achievements;
  • to check on your well being and offer advice if needed;
  • to act as a first point of contact if there is any cause for concern;
  • to help you think about employment options;
  • to write a personal reference for you, provided that you have asked his/her permission and provided all the relevant supporting information;
  • It is not your Mentor's job to instruct you or do the work for you.

  • Your Mentor will work in active partnership with you as an impartial guide.

What your College Mentor can expect from you:

  • a prompt reply to emails and other forms of contact and invitations;
  • attendance at meetings or events, unless there are extenuating circumstances you have reported;
  • a willingness to maintain and develop your academic, personal and professional knowledge and skills;
  • a completion of any relevant forms, audits, checks to build your profile.

Your Mentor is not a professional counsellor nor is s/he available at all times but s/he is able and willing to help you make the most of your time with us and "be the best that you can be".

Examples from the Framework of Mentor-led activity:

Freshers can expect to meet with their Mentor early in their first term in a group, then again later in the term in a small group or a one-to-one setting.  In those meetings the SHAPES resources will be introduced; your Mentor may talk about settling-in issues, studying at University (e.g. the transition from A-levels to independent study) and, very importantly plagiarism.

You will be encouraged to use your SHAPES diary throughout the year, as a means of tracking your academic commitments, monitoring time management and forward planning.  

Your Mentor will introduce you to SHAPES and Hatfield Business Lions on DUO as a means of improving your employability, skills and the benefits of networking with Alumni.

Later in the year, small group or one-to-one meetings will focus on your personal development and help you reflect on your academic progress.  That may be in the form of discussing your thoughts on the meaning of feedback on essays, preparing for exams, coping with exam stress (and how to avoid it),  establishing a good balance between your social (extra-curricular) life and academic work/community engagement.

At the end of the academic year you will be asked to complete an End of Year Report which gathers together your refletions on how you have progressed and your plans for the following year.

During the year your Mentor may invite you to a social event.