Additional Learning Support – College-level Students
If you tell us that you have a support need, we may ask you to provide some more detailed information. Sometimes we will be able to find out more by talking to you over the telephone, but for more significant support needs we will invite you into college to meet with a member of the ALS team for a support assessment.
Our support assessments ask the following:
- What is important to you?
- What support do you need?
- What works?
- What doesn’t work?
- What are your plans for the future?
We ask you very open questions, because it is important to us that we understand your experiences, and that we put support in place in a way that works. You are welcome to bring a family member or a supporter with you to your support assessment.
Support on programme
At our main site, we have a Learning Resource Centre; a member of the Additional Learning Support team is there every day, to help you to develop your study skills or signpost you to other support services. Pick up a timetable from the LRC.
We run small group sessions to help you to develop particular skills that will help you with your studies. For example, we might run some sessions on the use of Readwrite Gold or sessions on confidence in exams. Pick up a termly timetable from the LRC.
We offer 1:1 or small group support with an ALS tutor for 6 weeks to focus on particular skill development, and then we will review whether you need to continue with this support or whether you can go to a workshop or study zone.
Some students may need help in the classrooms; this is an assessed support need, so if you think that it will be helpful to you, you will need to let us know why at your support assessment.
Some students are eligible for exam concessions; this will depend upon your support needs and will need either evidence of a support need or an exam concession assessment – this will be done once you start studying with us.
Our aim is to make learning with us as accessible as possible by removing potential barriers. Sometimes however, some people need a further adjustment to meet their specific needs. You will be able to talk to your tutor about this once you start studying with us.
We believe that the best way to support you is to work in partnership with you, other people such as your tutors, people who are important to you and Student Services. We will keep you, and what is important to you, at the centre of any conversations.
