We are committed to helping all students achieve their potential, and providing the wrap around support they need to successfully gain their qualifications and progress on to their next steps.
Students who are in, or have been in, the care system may face several additional challenges, so we work in partnership with carers, social workers, virtual schools and other professionals to implement a bespoke support plan that will give them the support they need. Each care experienced student at the College is supported by a designated college team/colleague.
Southwark College is committed to nurturing and sustaining a positive future for all, through an inclusive and exceptional learning journey.
Our Statement of offer to 'care experienced' students:
Purpose: Education providers have a major part to play in ensuring that care experienced children are enabled to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy, achieve, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic wellbeing, in line with Every Child Matters.
Principles: Our approach to supporting the educational achievement of care experienced students is based on the following principles:
- Prioritising education
- Promoting attendance
- Targeting support
- Having high expectations
- Promoting inclusion through challenging and changing attitudes
- Achieving stability and continuity
- Early intervention and priority action
- Listening to students
- Promoting health and wellbeing
- Reducing exclusions and promoting stability
Practice: As for all our students, we are committed to helping every care-experienced student to achieve the highest standards they can, including supporting aspirations to achieve in further and higher education and their future career.
We will:
- Work in partnership with carers, social workers and external relevant professionals and use the expertise of college professionals for in-house referrals.
- Ensure a Designated Staff Member for care experienced students is identified and enabled to carry out the monitoring and support of our care-experienced students.
- Support the Personal Education Plan (PEP), working with relevant college colleagues to ensure the plan represents an accurate reflection of the students' progress and aspirations.
This statement of offer links with other related NCG and college policies including our care experienced student policy.
Care experienced students: Our approach to supporting the educational achievement of care experienced students is based on the following principles:
- Children in care are referred to as 'Looked After Children'.
- A child is 'care experienced' if they are in the care of the local authority for more than 24 hours.
- A child will stop being a ‘Looked After Child’ when they are either adopted, returned home or turn 18 and the local authority will continue to support children leaving care at 18 until they reach 21.
- The term 'care experienced' refers to a young person under the age of 25 who is, or has been, in public care for a minimum of three months, since the age of 14, and was in care on their 16th birthday.
- Care experienced students will be supported by the designated college colleague/team.
For further information on support outside college for Care Experienced Learners
Care Leaver Covenant
Care Leavers Wanted - Care Leaver Covenant (mycovenant.org.uk)
Spectra
Homepage - Spectra (spectraconnect.co.uk)
Become
Home Page - Become (becomecharity.org.uk)
Download our Care experienced Student Guide
