Fareham College

When you apply to Fareham College you will be offered an interview and will be asked if you have any support needs. This information helps us to plan ahead. If you have the entrance requirements for the course and are offered a place then we will start to look at the type of support you will need. Details of our courses can be found on the website http://www.fareham.ac.uk or you can request a prospectus from [mailto:info@fareham.ac.uk] For general queries call us on 01329 815200 Learning Support contact numbers can be found further on in this document. Fareham College will work with your present school in the year before you are due to start with us. This means that we can prepare the right kind of support for you from the start of your course. If you have no details from school but think you might need extra help, we have people you can speak to about it. Your personal tutor may be able to help you. If you need more help than that, you can speak to the Learning Support team. There are many different types of support which we will discuss with you until we agree what is best for you. We are happy to speak to your parents/carers and other people you may wish to involve, also. Access arrangements for exams will also be offered if needed.

The Additional Learning Support Coordinator will make sure that you get the support you need in order to do well on your course. It is often agreed with you before you start at college so you will know what to expect. You can change the support if you think you have too much or not enough. We are visited by Inspectors who make sure that students are given the right amount of support and that they are able to achieve their goals. Our results show that students with support needs do just as well as those with none. The college has its own system for dealing with problems or complaints which is made clear to all students. Complaints are dealt with quickly and any problems are sorted out before they get any worse. There is also a team of Governors who can act on your behalf if needed. Support can take the form of a drop in Study Centre for supervised learning and support away from the classroom. You can also book a 1:1 session for intensive support in the Study Centre. This allows students to work at their own pace and to obtain intervention for any problems encountered in lessons that could not be addressed at the time. Emotional Wellbeing is addressed by the personal tutor system with the option of an appointment with Student Support staff. Any referrals will be made depending on the young person’s needs but may involve advice in making appointments to GPs and other agencies such as Youth Services, Moving On Project etc.

Your needs will be built in to your learning plan right from the start so you learn in the best way for you. We will use some of the support ideas from school if they have worked well for you. You will have regular reviews with your tutor and lecturers so that you know how well you are doing. If you need a change to your timetable because of a support need we will try to do this for you. Your parents/carers will be invited to Parent's Evening to talk about your progress. They can contact us at any other time if needed. If you need to be assessed in a different way or need exam arrangements we can put them in place for you also.

Fareham College will expect you to do well on your course, so your learning will be checked in all lessons in various ways. If you are finding the work difficult we will talk to you about the best way to improve it. This sometimes involves speaking to your parents/carers to keep up the support at home as well as college. You might find it useful to keep a homework log so your parents can check it with you. We will always work with you to find what works best. Sometimes we send letters home to let parents/carers know what is happening at college. Your personal tutor is available to talk to if you are worried about anything on your course. Your needs will be built in to your learning plan right from the start so you learn in the best way for you. We will use some of the support ideas from school if they have worked well for you. You will have regular reviews with your tutor and lecturers so that you know how well you are doing. If you need a change to your timetable because of a support need we will try to do this for you. Your parents/carers will be invited to Parent's Evening to talk about your progress. They can contact us at any other time if needed. If you need to be assessed in a different way or need exam arrangements we can put them in place for you also.

We can provide a secure locker for your medication if needed. If you need a quiet place to take some time out we have a safe and supervised quiet zone in the support department. If you have something bothering you and need to talk to someone about it but don’t want to tell your tutor then we also have someone you can speak to one to one. We might advise you to speak to someone outside of college such as your doctor or other key person who can help. Students have the chance to speak up about anything that is bothering them. This can be done within a group where managers listen to your concerns or you can speak to a student rep who will speak up for you. You might want to be a student rep yourself. We take the safety and wellbeing of our students seriously and will do whatever we can to make your time at Fareham College happy and successful.

At Fareham College, we have a large team of support staff who have been trained to provide excellent learning support. We support all types of disability and if we need to bring in outside specialists such as Advisory Teachers then we do so. We have supported students with physiotherapy programmes, anxiety issues, specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, and many more. We believe in treating everyone fairly so that they are able to succeed. We work closely with the SEN service to make sure you will receive support that is right for you. If you have an EHCP and Fareham is your named college then we will meet you before you start, either at the interview or by attending your year eleven review. If this is not possible you can book an appointment to come in to discuss your support requirements.

Fareham College holds regular training events for all staff on supporting young people with additional needs. In addition to this the ALS team also has frequent training to ensure that our students receive high quality support. Recent training has looked at supporting young people with emotional problems so that they are able to concentrate on their work without worrying about other things. We have had training recently for using IT to help certain students in class and we regularly update our staff in ALS on using reading skills. Some students need extra help with this. If we have a student coming to us with certain needs we make sure our staff receive training in advance. For example, some students with serious medical conditions may need to be looked after carefully by the team to make sure they stay safe and well. We plan risk assessments for these students so that everyone is aware of what to do. We have specialist nurses who come in to train staff as part of the handover from school to college. If you have a particular need that we are not aware of then you should let us know in advance so that we can be ready to support you in college from the start of your course. Your SEN advisor may do this for you during year ten or eleven if you have an EHCP. (Education, Health and Care Plan.)

>All students are asked for medical information so that we can plan trips or activities off site. If necessary, we will do a risk assessment which is a plan to make sure you will be safe and looked after. We will not prevent you from going on trips or activities unless it is unsafe for you. We will involve parents and carers in this process at all times. If additional support is needed on the trip then we will provide it for you.

Fareham College is reasonably but not fully wheelchair accessible. The main buildings on the Bishopsfield Road Campus have lifts to all floors and the CEMAST Campus is all on one level if you are coming to Fareham and you have mobility or access problems then we will timetable you in accessible rooms to make sure you can attend your lessons with other students on your course. You can discuss this with us in advance at your interview. We have disabled access toilets plus a separate shower if needed. We can give you a locker to store your medication if you need it. We have a Sports Therapy and Massage room, complete with hoist, which can be booked for physiotherapy sessions. If you are not able to speak to us we can communicate in other ways by booking a sign language interpreter for your interview or you can bring someone else with you if you prefer. We can send you our prospectus in different formats if you find that easier – please let us know. You can email us on info@fareham.ac.uk with any query you have about our courses or our support. Please remember that the earlier you tell us about your needs the better we will be able to support you. If you don’t tell us about your needs or leave it until you have already started your course, then we may not be able to provide the right support for you.

You will be invited to visit the college for taster days and visits if you need to prepare ahead. We have a welcome morning when you will be able to meet the other new students starting in September. We can meet you and your parents/carers if you are anxious about the move to college. We will attend review meetings at school if you think this would help you to describe the type of support you will need at college. If you achieve your qualification and plan to leave college then you will be able to access advice about employment options. Employability skills will be included in your timetable for you to prepare you for when you are ready to look for a job. Our employment hub also has vacancies for part time jobs with local employers.

Fareham College is given funding by the government to support young people at college. Any young person with an EHCP will be able to expect some form of support. This varies according to the type of difficulty and level of support needed. We organise support on an individual basis so that students can access most courses. As long as you have the grades or required entrance qualifications that are needed to get onto a course here then we will discuss support depending on your particular needs. You will need to be able to complete your course in accordance with the awarding body requirements so there are occasionally some courses that are not suitable for everyone. Please contact our admissions department if you would like further information.

If you have an EHCP then the decision about the amount of support you receive will be made between you, your SEN advisor and the college. Your progress will be monitored by your tutor and lecturers and your support will be adjusted if necessary but not without talking to you about it first.  Any problems will be dealt with so that you are able to achieve as planned. If Fareham College cannot reasonably meet your needs then you will be advised to look at your options again with your school SENCO or SEN advisor in order to find the right college and course for you.

Fareham College has a student liaison group that meets regularly with the Principal and senior managers. Any issues that are raised by students are taken seriously and acted upon as quickly as possible. Students are encouraged to represent the college at many events throughout the year, including Open Evenings, Welcome Days, competitions against other colleges and many more. We are proud of the Student Voice at Fareham and you will be encouraged to become a rep or student ambassador if that interests you. We welcome input from parents/carers and have held focus groups at certain times to measure interest in certain aspects of college life.