Supporting your child at college

We are delighted that your child has chosen to study with us.

We will do our utmost to support them during their time with us to help them reach their full potential and career aspirations.

For most young people, parental support is a key factor in successful education outcomes and we aim to help you by providing you with key information about their progress and achievement at college. However, although they may be under the age of 18, data protection regulations mean that we are limited in the amount of information we can share with parents without the student’s express permission (the law governing parental rights to information about their child's education in a further education college is different from in a school).

Students have the ability on their Student Portal to give this permission and allow us to share information with you about their progress and achievement. They can also give you direct access to log in to their Student Portal and see their online PDP (personal development plan). To give you full access, they’ll need to provide your email address and tick the “Give this person access…” box at the bottom of the form (see screenshot below). Once they have given this permission, we will contact you via the given email address with details of how to access Student Portal.

How you can support your child at college

• Check with them that they have ticked the right boxes on the Student Portal for us to share info with you. Without their express permission, we will not usually be able to share info on their timetable, progress, attendance etc
• Please encourage 100% attendance. There is a college target for all students of a minimum of 95% for all aspects of their programme and we have limited scope for authorisation of absence.
• Avoid holidays during term time
• Make sure you / they report any absence in accordance with the expectations of the curriculum dept. Each area will communicate the best approach to notification.
• Make contact with their Course Director if there are concerns. The sooner we know about an issue, the quicker it can be resolved.

Track their progress

Once you’ve been given the necessary permission (see above), you will be able to log in to Student Portal and view your child’s PDP (personal development plan). This will provide you with up-to-date information on their progress throughout the academic year and will be regularly updated by the course team. You will be able to access their attendance, view details of meetings, targets, praise and concerns that have been logged and see how they are progressing on their study programme (please see more details about study programmes below).

Study programme

Your child's Study Programme will include a number of components, which will include their main qualification (e.g. BTEC diploma, A level etc) along with a number of other elements to make up their individualised study programme / timetable. Please note that their timetable may differ from other students on the same course as each student's Study Programme is individualised.

Although your child will typically attend college 3 or 4 days a week, the course is regarded as full-time and so their study days should be regarded as just that…….study days!

What you can expect as a minimum

• Main qualification

  Units of study which link to the area of study that interests them, either A levels or Vocational

• English and maths

  Students (under the age of 19) who have not achieved a grade 4 in either English or maths will have to attend English and or maths depending on their grade. This is NOT optional if they have not achieved the minimum grade.

• Work experience

  All students under the age of 19 will be expected to complete a period of work experience or work placement. The number of hours required varies according to the course. If they are not sure of how many hours they need to complete, they should discuss this with their Course Director, Work Placement & Careers Coordinator or their Progress Coach.

  Work placement helps to enhance the student’s employability skills and enables them to become more work ready. It provides students with real-life work experiences, which can also help them to confirm that they are on the right career path.

• Tutorial

  All students have at least one hour (many have 2) of tutorial on their timetable. This is a mandatory part of their study programme and they are expected to attend these sessions as they do all other sessions. During the tutorial process the students will meet with their Course Director and/or Progress Coach/Personal Tutor at least once each half term (as a minimum), where their progress is reviewed and concerns can be raised. It is important for the student to ensure they attend their review so that regular monitoring of progress can be made.

  Also during the tutorial session, when the students are not having a one to one with a member of their teaching team, they are expected to be completing personal study. The tutorial programme covers key Personal Development and Behaviour and Well Being (PDBW) elements, for example safeguarding, including being safe online, PREVENT and mental health awareness.

• Self-directed study

  All students have access to our Learning Resource Centres (LRCs), which offer quiet study spaces, with access to a large library of physical and online materials and resources to support student learning. Many students have an identified expectation of time in a year that they should spend in the LRC. We typically stipulate this as an hour per week but that is very much the minimum and we encourage more time to be spent both before, during (in between their timetabled slots) and, where possible, after the college lessons formally finish.

• Careers advice and guidance

  All students have access to impartial careers advice and guidance. If they require support in preparing for their next steps, please encourage them to arrange an appointment with a Learning Resource Specialist to discuss their options and consider their opportunities.