Underpinning excellent pastoral and specialist support in higher education
Tailored training and consultancy in core areas of the management of student services, personal tutoring, safeguarding and mental health
What we do
Plinth House is a training and consultancy company working with universities and other student-focused organisations in the higher education sector. We are passionate about helping people and organisations to deliver excellent support to students.
We deliver training to managers, teams and frontline staff in areas such as managing distressed students, mental health awareness, the management of serious student incidents, safeguarding, coaching skills, and change management. We also work with teams to re-model or review services, draft new policies based on best practice, and deliver ad hoc consultancy support.
Training
Drawing upon our own experience of leading university teams, our training is always practical in its approach and focuses on student services management, welfare incident management, mental health awareness, managing clinical risk and safeguarding issues.
We offer tailored training and development, ready-to-run training sessions, and ticketed training events online. We can deliver training in a wide range of modes, including face-to-face, online webinars, audio podcasts and eLearning packages.
Consultancy
The key when bringing in external support – whether for a short-term or longer-term piece of work – is relevant sector experience.
Working with a management consultant only to find that they are using the time with you to learn about the basics of student services provision and higher education is not helpful for you, your team or your budget. We have managed student services and mental health services ourselves and fully understand the pressures and opportunities that face services.
Upcoming live online training events
Open to all colleagues with an interest in pastoral and specialist support in higher education
Fitness to Study panel training – for chairs and panel members: a half-day, online training event
Online - Microsoft Teams: £83 + VAT
9 Sept 2025
In this half-day session, we explore the purpose of Fitness to Study panels, how we should plan and prepare for a panel meeting, how a panel should consider evidence about the student, and how we can respond to tricky situations that arise during the panel meeting itself.
Managing distressed students: a half-day, online training event
Online - Microsoft Teams: £83 + VAT
16 Sept 2025
When faced with a distressed student, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed or take on too much. This half-day online course is relevant to all student-facing colleagues. It will help you feel confident about responding to a distressed student in a boundaried, role-appropriate and effective way.
Coordinating actions and providing support following a student death: a half-day, online training event
Online - Microsoft Teams: £83 + VAT
8 Oct 2025
All universities need to have clear procedures in place for responding to the death of a student, to make sure support is offered, in a timely and effective way, to those who need it. This half-day online session explores the key aspects of a university’s response to a student death.
Balancing compassion with boundaries when working with students: a 2.5-hour, online training event
Online - Microsoft Teams: £72 + VAT
20 Nov 2025
One-to-one interactions with students can be challenging - such as when delivering bad news to a student, or when a student is angry, passive or disengaged. This session explores how we can show compassion in these interactions while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
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