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Supporting students

The case studies on this page look at different ways of supporting students. These include advice on the most appropriate programme of study, the provision of pastoral support, monitoring systems, and supporting students in preparing for higher education.

Matching students to programmes

A three-strand approach to student workload

Student support strategies in a sixth form college

A revised student progress review and target setting system

Progress File as part of 'unified guidance'

Using student support workers

Targeting students to secure HE progression

Matching students to programmes

This chart shows how Yeovil College guides students to take appropriate programmes and achieve breadth in their studies. It is issued to staff interviewing students on enrolment, and provides guidelines rather than being prescriptive. It exemplifies a helpful and comprehensive approach and is not intended to set any benchmarks for programmes of different volume. All students take general studies.

			Students who attain an average GCSE score of greater than 6.5 should be:
	GCE		encouraged to study at least four AS levels or equivalent. Those who wish to take five AS levels should be advised that this would leave little free time. They should be allowed to defer key skills until year 13.
	VCE and BTEC		strongly advised to take an extra qualification alongside their VCE or National Diploma. Students who elect to take the equivalent of two AS levels alongside their main qualification should be advised that this will leave little free time.
	enrichment		encouraged to participate in a non-academic activity on a Wednesday afternoon.

			Students who attain an average GCSE score between 6 and 6.5 should be:
	GCE		encouraged to study four AS levels or equivalent. Those who have not achieved at least a grade C GCSE in both mathematics and English should be encouraged to replace one AS with the missing GCSE. If necessary a replacement AS can be studied in year 13.
	VCE and BTEC		advised to take an extra qualification alongside their VCE or National Diploma. Those who have not achieved at least a grade C GCSE in both mathematics and English should be encouraged to replace the extra qualification with the missing GCSE. If necessary an extra AS level or equivalent can be studied in year 13.
	enrichment		encouraged to participate in a non-academic activity on a Wednesday afternoon.

			Students who attain an average GCSE score between 5.5 and 6 should be:
	GCE		given the opportunity to study three or four AS levels or equivalent. If the student has not achieved at least a grade C in mathematics and/or English GCSE, these GCSE(s) should be taken alongside three AS levels at most.
	VCE and BTEC		given the opportunity to take an extra qualification alongside their VCE or National Diploma. Those who have yet to achieve a grade C in mathematics and/or English should be encouraged to resit the GCSE(s) instead of taking an extra qualification.
	enrichment		encouraged to take a substantial enrichment course, such as photography or sports coaching and leadership, if they are studying three AS levels or equivalent, or a general vocational qualification alone.

			Students who attain an average GCSE score between 5 and 5.5 should be:
	GCE		encouraged to study three AS levels or equivalent. A four-AS programme should be allowed only in exceptional circumstances. Those who have yet to achieve a grade C in mathematics and/or English should be encouraged to resit the GCSE(s) over the two years. The student should be made aware of the additional support available. If successful, these students could pick up an extra qualification in year 13.
	VCE and BTEC		encouraged to concentrate on their VCE or National Diploma. Those who have yet to achieve a grade C in mathematics and/or English should be encouraged to resit the GCSE(s). If successful, these students could pick up an extra qualification in year 13.
	enrichment		encouraged to take a substantial enrichment course such as photography or sports coaching and leadership.

			Students who attain an average GCSE score of below 5 be:
	GCE		limited to three AS levels or equivalent except in the most exceptional cases. It may well be that entry to this course is conditional on extra support being taken up. Those who have yet to achieve a grade C in mathematics and/or English should be encouraged to resit the GCSE(s) over the two years.
	VCE and BTEC		enrolled for only a VCE or National Diploma, except in the most exceptional cases. It may be that entry to this course is conditional on extra support being taken up. Those who have yet to achieve a grade C in mathematics and/or English should be encouraged to resit the GCSE(s) over the two years.
	enrichment		encouraged to take a substantial enrichment course such as photography or sports coaching and leadership.

A three-strand approach to student workload

Bilborough College, Nottingham, is taking a three-strand approach to dealing with student workload.

1. The first strand involves using IT to increase independent learning and help students deal with their workload by making better use of their own time. A staff development programme during examination periods equips teachers to create their own web pages for their subject areas. The content is aimed primarily at teachers' own classes, but it may also be useful to wider groups of students. For example, mathematics material on statistics can be useful to social science students. Students access these pages at home using the internet.
2. The second strand consists of subject clinics. These are weekly opportunities to discuss specific topics with the subject teacher. They may be one-to-one, teacher-student sessions or small groups of students who work with the teacher or together in a peer-support activity.
3. The third strand is strengthening the tutorial system and making it responsible for tracking student progress. Tutors have two hours per week to fulfil the role and students have an individual 15-minute tutorial every three weeks. Each tutorial is based on a set of structured questions or prompts, focusing on the three As - attitude, aptitude and attendance - and uses subject reports from teachers. These progress reviews begin in the sixth week of term and take place every three weeks.

Student support strategies in a sixth form college

Luton Sixth Form College has several strategies for student support, including:

• a two-tier pastoral system of tutors and section leaders. Progression from first to second year advanced level is managed by the two pastoral section leaders, using data supplied by the college management information system
• a support network to provide peer support for students. Students who volunteer are trained in basic counselling skills and are managed by the college counsellor. The training provides volunteers with valuable personal development opportunities
• a College/Community Development Officer, who helps with communication between home and college and supports vulnerable or at-risk students. A particular focus of this post is to provide a bridge between cultures, as more than 60 per cent of students come from an ethnic minority background. The supporter can act as an advocate for students and recruits mentors and role models from the ethnic minority communities to assist students
• monitoring the demands of college study and part-time work, and helping negotiation with employers (if necessary)
• monitoring and offering guidance on the use of private study time
• post-results guidance sessions.

A revised student progress review and target setting system

Christ the King Sixth Form College in Lewisham, south London, initiated a major review of all its systems for monitoring student progress, with the objective of producing a coherent, college-wide approach. The review involved curriculum departments, student services and related support functions. The outcome is a revised progress review and target setting system that supports students, using information about their progress and discussion about their learning.

The proposed system will comprise:

• subject reviews between subject teachers and students
• a baseline grade for each subject, established early in the year, using GCSE performance, a target grade profile and ALIS data
• progress will be measured against the baseline grade and targets will be set for further improvement
• outcomes of subject reviews will be discussed by tutors and students, and an action plan will be drawn up
• reviews will take place four times a year for both AS and A2 students. For year 12 students an additional review will focus on progression from AS to A2. The outcomes will also help to generate UCAS references
• reports will be generated through the college's management information system and will include other student performance data, such as attendance and punctuality.

The college is also going to introduce an internal certificate, provisionally named 'Reaching the standard’, recording the extent to which students have been able to manage their own learning to meet the criteria agreed with their tutors as part of the monitoring process. Tutorial work will be assessed at the end of year 12, targets will be set for the HE application process and the certificate awarded at the end of year 13.

Progress File as part of 'unified guidance'

Two schools in south-west England have linked Progress File into their system of 'unified guidance' to help bring together the various strands of students' learning and experience. Unified guidance is a whole-school, integrated approach, which draws together information about personal development, academic management and careers education and guidance, to make it more meaningful to students. Subject teachers and tutors negotiate clear and measurable learning targets with their students and there is a regular monitoring system and feedback to students. One-to-one reviews are central to the process. In the sixth forms, Progress File is used specifically in preparing students for independent learning, with the development of a personal statement and careers action plan at the start of the first year advanced level.

A key to success has been the whole-hearted support of senior managers and the fact that Progress File has been seen to underpin existing activities. Staff and students have accepted Progress File because it is part of a whole package about academic target setting, improving skills, achievement and personal development; it is not seen as a separate development.

Using student support workers

Nelson & Colne College in Lancashire has piloted the use of student support workers. In the academic year 2000-1, the college received funding from the European Social Fund to support a project worker to address disaffection, particularly among ethnic minority students. Five courses were targeted; three at advanced level and two at intermediate level.

Programme leaders and course tutors identified students in need of support, and the support worker arranged interviews with the students to clarify the nature of the academic or other problems affecting them. Difficulties often included attendance, time management, and planning and completing assignments. The support worker helped individuals to produce an action plan to address their problems, with an emphasis on identifying and achieving short-term goals. Regular follow-up interviews were arranged and the support worker also checked on progress with course tutors.

In its first year, the project succeeded in supporting students to completion of their course. Students generally appreciated the joint action planning. The support worker was effective in articulating the needs of individual students to course tutors and college support services. Students themselves were not always aware of these support services, or were reluctant to approach them.

The college has now expanded the provision to three full-time staff with a non-teaching role, working on a one-to-one basis with students. There are about 150 students on the active list for the project, approximately 30 of them on AS or A2 programmes. Additional funding for this provision has come from the Single Regeneration Budget, the Local Initiative Fund and the Learning and Skills Council. Improvements in student attendance and attainment are persuading lecturers and tutors of the value of the provision.

Targeting students to secure HE progression

Luton Sixth Form College is a partner in a project funded by the local Learning and Skills Council to widen participation from FE into HE, analysing current levels of participation, and identifying and addressing key factors likely to influence decisions to progress to higher education. The college has targeted 50 students as a high achievers group based on the following criteria:

• identification as gifted and talented by their 11-16 school
• five GCSE grade A passes, including English and mathematics
• receipt of Educational Maintenance Allowances
• residence in a deprived postcode area
• membership of an ethnic minority group.

Initially students were interviewed individually and action plans were agreed. During the summer between the two advanced level years, they were given information and were set tasks to research their career aspirations. Further advice and counselling were offered after the publication of AS results. Support for HE applications focused on coaching in completing the UCAS application form and included advice from HE admissions tutors on what they were looking for in applicants.

One particular obstacle to progression to HE was finance. The project identified a large number of additional sources of finance available to students and collated them into a Guide to higher education finance, which will also be available as a CD-ROM. A further obstacle was the lack of experience of HE in the group's families, compounded for many parents by linguistic and cultural differences. The college deployed its home liaison worker to translate guidance, advice and information into Urdu and Bengali. The success of students in their AS external examinations at the end of first year advanced level was used to reassure parents that their children were capable of succeeding in higher education.

The project has contributed to a rise in progression to higher education from 69 per cent of advanced level students in 2000, to 80 per cent in 2001. The number of students entering Oxbridge rose from five to eight, of whom five were from ethnic minority groups.

Also see

> Information and guidance about advanced level courses
> Individualising the curriculum
> Higher education

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Page updated: 12 June 2008
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