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	Guidance and support for 16-19 students
	Individualising the curriculum
	Informing choices - information for those advising years 9 and 11
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	Pace and progression

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The contribution of guidance and support to student success is indicated by action research projects on improving retention and/or achievement rates. Following such projects, 43 out of 87 colleges adopted strategies focused on student support, while a further 17 made changes to both support systems and curriculum design.

Those giving guidance to applicants to HE should consult the UCAS and HEI websites to keep abreast of developments in admissions criteria and policies. Schools and colleges can also inform local HEIs about the implications of the changes. UCAS recommends to HEIs that they enter into discussions with schools and colleges to develop agreed progression routes.

Guidance and support for 16-19 students


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

Providing guidance and support for students has become increasingly important in the context of the:

provision of a more complex, flexible curriculum
possibilities of making changes within a two-year programme
Widening Participation initiative
government target of HE experience for 50 per cent of 18- to 30-year-olds.

Schools and colleges stress the importance of providing appropriate advice and guidance early enough to give students a secure start to their post-16 learning. Ofsted reports that, in the first year of Curriculum 2000, retention rates in schools were similar to previous years. Where retention rates were close to 100 per cent, the schools had:

well-developed advice and guidance strategies
effective monitoring procedures
often very committed students.

An important aspect of guidance and support is providing advice in August, when the examination results are published. One college achieves this by having a staggered end to the summer term, which means that some staff start their summer holiday early in return for attending college in mid-August to provide advice. In other institutions, managers (such as heads of sixth form and personal tutors) provide advice on results day, a role that is included in their job description.

Devising strategies for student support

Using Progress File to support learning and progression

Student decision making

Matching students to programmes

Making changes to programmes

Managing transition and progression

Tutoring

Student workload

Part-time work

Devising strategies for student support

Schools and colleges are putting in place guidance and support systems that go beyond high-quality support from a tutor. They include pastoral management structures that have access to up-to-date information on each student and additional support for those who need it, whether continuously or occasionally.

Recent national initiatives have encouraged, and sometimes funded, institutions to use staff other than teachers to support and supervise students in different contexts. These include mentors, key skills supervisors, technicians and staff from a learning or resource centre.

Using Progress File to support learning and progression

Progress File encourages individuals to develop a working file to support their reviewing, target-setting, planning and reflection activities. This file also provides a resource the individual can draw on when selecting information to back-up statements about progress, skill development and achievements (eg during reviews with tutors or subject teachers, and when making applications and transitions). The Widening horizons guide, developed for 16- to 19-year-olds, contains sections on induction, reviews and progress checking, skill development, planning how to move on and making applications.

Many schools and colleges make Progress File materials available on their website or intranet, so that everyone can access them. Word versions can be downloaded for use in developing personal statements and job applications.

Student decision-making

Students require clear and comprehensive information, advice and guidance prior to starting a Curriculum 2000 programme. For clarity and consistency, schools and colleges should use standard terminology to describe their provision. Information about the nature of qualifications, specifications, workload expectations and the distinct features of an institution will help students in making choices. Some schools include the development of decision-making skills in their pre-16 programmes to ensure that students are equipped to make judgements.

In the light of their prior attainment, personal interests, preferred learning and assessment styles, and intended progression, students make decisions on the:

number of qualifications/volume of study
type and level of qualification - vocational, general or key skills
nature of assessment
enrichment possibilities.

They should be aware of the demands of their chosen programme, including workload and any financial commitments, for example textbooks or field trips.

One college that devotes a considerable amount of time to in-depth student interviews both before and at enrolment finds that student retention is excellent and there are very few changes of programme. The college ascribes this to the success of the interview process. The more investment made in supporting students to make realistic yet challenging decisions prior to building a Curriculum 2000 programme, the more effective the learning from the first day of their studies.

Matching students to programmes

The outcome of the decision-making process is an individual programme incorporating qualifications of an appropriate volume, level and type, as well as enrichment activities. Schools and colleges are developing a range of recommended programmes for students with different prior attainment. GCSE/GNVQ grades, total points scores and average points scores can all be used to measure the prior attainment. Much depends on the expectations of the institution. For example, students with a wide range of prior attainment are accepted on four AS programmes with different providers.

Making changes to programmes

There will inevitably be some changes of programme early in the first term and institutions need to have procedures to enable and manage this change, and to make sure that it is properly considered. One college has supported this process by a five-step 'right on course' checklist.

step one asks students to reflect on their intended change
step two asks students to discuss their concerns with their personal tutor
step three asks students to discuss their concerns with their subject teacher
step four asks students to discuss the matter in detail with a senior member of staff
step five is associated with the administrative procedures for changing course.

One school has defined the periods during which students can change subjects. No-one can change during the first two weeks, although they can register a desire to do so. From two weeks into term until half-term they can change out of and into subjects. After half-term they can drop subjects but not take up others.

Managing transition and progression

A significant change associated with Curriculum 2000 is the flexibility and options that it offers at the end of the first year of advanced level study. Schools and colleges will be supporting students in the transition from year 12 to 13, which may involve leaving a subject or qualification or starting a new one.

Students and their advisers need to consider:

progress in individual subjects
achievements in any external assessments
intended progression after year 13
personal interests
timetable options and possibilities for combining subjects and qualifications.

For planning purposes, some institutions ask students to indicate, when choosing their programme, which subjects they intend to take to A2. Most ask students to make at least a provisional decision (pending their AS results) during the second term of year 12. The point at which the students make their final decision often follows a progress review. One college has moved a progress review to the end of the June examination period in year 12, and asks students to commit themselves then to their A2 subjects. Teaching for the A2 starts immediately.

For some students, the AS results will be an important factor in confirming their A2 choices. Schools and colleges need to make sure that staff are available to offer the necessary guidance when the AS results are published, and when the key skills and January assessment results come out.

Tutoring

The role of the tutor is changing, and being more closely defined, in response to Curriculum 2000 and other influences. Many colleges now have specialist tutors with more than one tutor group and a reduced teaching load. In one sixth-form college, for example, 17 members of staff out of 119 are group tutors. They apply for the post, which carries an allowance that recognises commitments beyond the normal day and term. There are no mixed-year groups and tutors take their groups through both years.

The advantages of specialist tutors are:

they have chosen to take on the role and regard it as a priority
they fully understand and use any monitoring systems
they contribute to the delivery and development of the tutorial programme
they and their colleagues might have a more coherent workload, and hence less stress.

Some schools are also considering using specialist tutors. Where registration takes place in lessons or by means of a swipe card, there is arguably no need for the traditional morning and afternoon form period, freeing this time to be used differently.

For example, a sixth form might allocate 32 hours 30 minutes weekly for registration, assembly and tutorial programme: 10 groups with 30 minutes per day and one 45-minute lesson weekly. If 30 hours were deployed across five option blocks, six hours would be available per option block. If, for example, tutors were allocated two hours per week for their new role, decreasing the total time required for tutorial activity to 20 hours, the school could choose to:

increase the number of tutor groups
deploy the saved time in teaching other aspects of the curriculum
invest any savings in electronic or administrative support for the system
provide for assembly/collective worship at appropriate times in accordance with school policy.

Putting tutorial sessions into option blocks could result in tutor groups of students with subjects in common; some colleges make an effort to assign tutors who teach a subject that is studied by all the students in the group. Tutorial sessions can involve the whole group, a small group or an individual. Many institutions employ a pattern that can accommodate each of these over a specified time period.

Student workload

Student workload resulting from high-volume programmes means less free time during the working day, with fewer opportunities to build independent learning skills. This is compounded by the number of hours worked by those students who have part-time jobs. On the other hand, many teachers say that year 12 students are now more focused on their studies and clearer about the objectives of that study than their predecessors.

Some of these aspects of student workload will be a continuing feature of the 16-19 curriculum, so it is important that schools and colleges match students to programmes that are challenging yet achievable for individuals. It is important that staff are aware of the totality of a student's commitments when discussing priorities and giving guidance. Institutions have developed a range of strategies to reduce students' workload and to give them the skills needed to manage their commitments.

Managing student workload

To design programmes with a reasonable workload, teachers and managers can:

use qualifications of an appropriate size and level, for example, use the range of general studies qualifications at GCSE, AS and A level to meet the needs and capacity of different groups of students
give students a choice between qualifications, for example, a fifth AS or key skills, on the grounds that five AS represents a considerable workload and in most cases represents breadth
enable students who are combining VCE and GCE to take complementary or related subjects, for example, VCE business and AS accounting
look carefully at the balance between year 12 and year 13 programmes and consider, for example, teaching some AS subjects over two years or teaching key skills in year 12 and general studies or critical thinking in year 13.

To use aspects of the curriculum to develop key skills evidence, teachers and managers can:

give students the responsibility for identifying subjects and topics to fulfil key skill requirements, for example, preparing and giving a presentation. They can then choose a convenient time and subject for themselves
use compulsory aspects of the curriculum or the enrichment programme to develop and provide for key skills, for example, religious education, general studies, focus days
use optional aspects of the curriculum in the same way, for example, Young Enterprise, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

To anticipate pressure points, teachers and managers can:

require coordination of work and deadlines between two teachers teaching the same class, for example, by setting work on alternate weeks
map popular subject combinations against the institutional assessment plan to identify pressure points
use external assessment opportunities for subjects such as key skills and general studies at points not used by many other subjects and before the final second-year examinations
produce charts showing when coursework is being set and when it is due. The second term tends to be heavily used for coursework and early identification of potential overload for students taking specific combinations of subjects could lead to negotiation with teachers to solve the problem.

To increase students' capacity to cope, teachers and managers can:

include time-management courses as part of a personal and social education (PSE), tutorial or enrichment programme
introduce new aspects of the core curriculum to year 12 in stages, using the PSE/tutorial programme to explain, for example, key skills, the enrichment programme and general studies, and only then start the teaching or activity
give students the appropriate information to enable them to identify their own pressure points well in advance and provide opportunity for negotiation.

A number of schools and colleges are developing the use of IT for flexible and independent learning. They are investing in facilities to provide easy and constant access to IT and are increasing the use of distance learning.

Part-time work

Many 16- to 19-year-olds have part-time jobs and some find juggling the demands of work and study problematic. Schools and colleges can help in a number of ways. They can:

include advice on part-time work during recruitment and induction periods
ensure that parents are aware of any recommendations about the numbers of hours worked
ask students to agree to a maximum number of hours' paid employment each week during term time
advise that weekend work might be less disruptive to study than weekdays or evenings
monitor the amount of work undertaken by individuals and discuss it with them
use the experience and skills developed at work to provide evidence for key skills
encourage students to see their work as part of their whole learning programme
make large local employers aware of the issues and enlist their support in terms of establishing optimum patterns of work and study, including flexibility during external assessment sessions.

Some large FE colleges can organise the timetable so students who rely on paid employment have whole or half-days during the week to work.

Also see

> Managing assessment

Case studies

> Supporting students