Young adolescents in Nottinghamshire offered academic and wellbeing support
Young learners navigating the challenges and pressures of adolescence are being offered coaching to support them with their academic achievement and wellbeing.
By Helen Breese | Published on 29 January 2025
Categories: Press office; School of Social Sciences;
NTU SHIELD is delivered by Psychology students at Nottingham Trent University, who are trained and carefully supervised by NTU staff to act as learning coaches for adolescents aged 11 – 14 from across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
The service is now open for referrals from parents at no cost to the users.
Psychological coaching is focused on helping adolescents to identify solutions to the difficulties they face. The programme is designed to help the young participants engage well with their education; reflect on practical and positive skills to better navigate adolescence; develop self-acceptance and confidence; practice emotional regulation; and build positive connections to form their support network.
NTU SHIELD uses a structured app-based intervention to provide six sessions of individual coaching to adolescents. They can either attend in person after school at NTU SHIELD, which is based at NTU’s City Campus, where they can join a learning coach in a cozy coaching pod, or they can join online via MS Teams if they prefer.
Professor David Daley, Director of NTU SHIELD, said: “For young learners, developmental challenges during adolescence may arise from personal struggles with self-identity, social obstacles, or significant life events. Interactions with peers at school, family members at home, and the broader community play a crucial role in shaping their identity.
“Without the right support, navigating adolescence can become daunting, potentially leading to long-term difficulties and disadvantages. NTU SHIELD represents a significant investment in providing a free psychological coaching service to support adolescents in Nottingham City and County through some of these life obstacles.”
Iram Shah, Clinical Lead for NTU SHIELD, added: “Adolescence is a crucial stage of personal development where young people go through lots of change which can be exciting but also challenging. Psychological coaching is a valuable and helpful experience that helps support adolescents both with short term academic success and long term life success.”
NTU SHIELD also gives NTU undergraduate Psychology students the chance to gain career relevant professional experience as training coaches.
Professor Daragh McDermott, Executive Dean for the School of Social Sciences at NTU, said: “We are proud that our students can take their learning from their studies and put it into practice to support our communities and local young people.
"Our second-year students are trained in coaching as a supportive intervention, to assist a young learner through a series of structured sessions guided by a clinical supervisor, and engage in group reflective practice to enhance their professional development. This hands-on experience is crucial for their growth, helping them build practical skills and confidence in their future careers and make a positive difference for others.”
Referral information
Parents and schools can refer adolescents aged 11 – 14 via an online referral form
For more information, visit the NTU SHIELD website.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751, or via email.
Rationale for NTU SHIELD
The “State of the Nation” report from the Social Mobility Commission (November 2017) ranked all English local authorities into ‘hotspots’ and ‘cold spots’ for every life stage from the early years through to working lives. The East Midlands was the lowest performing area in terms of social mobility in the country. In Nottinghamshire, 6 out of the 7 districts were ranked as cold spots (worst social mobility outcomes), where Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood and Mansfield were ranked in the lowest 10 of the 324 local authority areas assessed.
A key component of mobility is engagement in education and training, and adolescents in Nottingham have some of the worst engagement levels in the country. The most recent Department for Education (DfE) figures available show that the school absence rate in Nottingham is 7.3%, higher than the national average of 6.7% (Department of Education 2024). During the autumn and spring of the 2023-24 academic year, over 2,000 pupils in Nottinghamshire were reported as having severe and persistent absence from school because they were missing more than 50% of their school week. This equated to around 2% of children in Nottinghamshire (Nottinghamshire County Council 2024). The reasons for poor attendance and absence are complex, but one key factor is motivation and the relevance of education to the young person, the so called “what is in it for me factor?
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
It is the 3rd best modern university in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023). Students have voted NTU 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025)
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with over 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of almost 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment, as it was in 2019.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2023).
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2023).