Parent/Carers’ Guide to 2019/20 City College Norwich & Paston College Welcome to our College Dear Parents, Carers and Corporate Parents, Welcome to City College Most of all, we want our We ask our students to Norwich and Paston students to enjoy their respect our College and College. I am delighted time with us and achieve to embrace our Ways of that your child has the best possible results Working. These are a set chosen to visit us and to enable them to go on of values which current is considering studying and fulfil their ambitions students and staff strive with us next year. in further learning, to put into practice training or work. each day. Our staff are dedicated to helping students to There are a lot of Our Ways of Working be successful, so please extracurricular activities are a commitment to remind them to ask for to get involved with via behave in a way that is: help if they need it. This our Student’s Union is particularly true in and StartUp Lounge so • Open and Informative their first few days when encourage your child to • Respectful and Fair everything will seem get involved with College • Creative and Positive unfamiliar; it will take life and enrich their time • Collaborative and them some time to settle with us by joining in. Inclusive into the College – remind • Consistent and them not to try and do These activities are Responsible everything at once and fun but also important • Exemplary and to ask for help if there for developing your Tenacious is something they don’t child’s confidence, • Aspirational and understand. sense of self, skills and Entrepreneurial experiences and will help We are very proud of them to become rounded our College, which is an individuals capable of exciting and dynamic dealing with the surprises place to learn. that life throws at them. 2 Parents Guide to City College Norwich & Paston College Current students have explored what each of the Ways of Working means to them and they have agreed ‘yes to’ and ‘no to’ behaviours within their tutor groups. This booklet will provide you with lots of information that you will need to help you Dear Parents, Carers and Corporate Parents, to support your child in making the important decision about where they want to continue their studies in the future. I do hope you find it useful and if you need any further information about our College then please do not hesitate to contact me. Corrienne Peasgood Principal 3 8 reasons for choosing City College Norwich & Paston College: 1 2 3 Brilliant Enterprise and More choices teachers Employability A wide range of As well as being Experience of Work gives qualifications to highly-qualified experts students an opportunity include BTECs, who know their subjects to expand their vocational T Levels (Sept 2020), inside out, our staff are and academic skills A Levels, GCSEs and also warm, friendly through a programme Apprenticeships. and care about your of events. child’s success. All students are given exciting opportunities to enhance their skills through enterprise and employability related activities in their programme of study in the StartUp Lounge. 5 What’s more, many of 4 our courses are designed High standards and constructed with of excellence the active involvement We take great pride in our Exciting futures of local employers so achievements. We attract Many of our students you can be sure that high-calibre students who go on to Higher the skills your child is are drawn to us because Education every year learning are the ones they are assured that our from our Sixth Form that local businesses are reputation for the highest and Level 3 courses looking for in their future levels of teaching is across the College. employees. thoroughly deserved. 4 Parents Guide to City College Norwich & Paston College Support for Wrap around Speak to 6 students support when you us about need it most We are passionate Student loans, Counselling and bursaries and about student success Library wellbeing services charity funding help and providing the best Research & Support teaching and learning. Safeguarding advice, Travel advice The same applies to support and action and money our support services. Through our Student Services team we help students with emotional Student Academic Services YOUR Support and wellbeing issues eg. IAG, eg. Tutorial as well as arranging Wellbeing CHILD Supervisor counselling, help with careers and finances and generally wrap around Careers and Free College Meals support that students can employability / Curriculum access at any time during UCAS applications Support Poor attendance eg. Specialist and how we their course. Support Staff, Adviser, can help The diagram to the right Any course shows how we provide issues or other this support. questions Did you know? We have a team of professional careers advisers that your child can book in 7 8 and see as many times as they need Fantastic facilities Your local college during their course Our superb facilities and We have excellent bus for help with UCAS committed staff enable links and we are just a applications, job us to deliver high quality 15 minute walk from the interviews, CV writing city centre, making us teaching and training in and to discuss their a friendly and supportive readily accessible. Our environment that is Paston campus is in the career options. designed to meet students’ heart of North Walsham. individual needs. 5 Careers advice and guidance What your child can expect from us: Young people need advice and guidance to inspire and motivate them to fulfil their potential. All students at City College Norwich and Paston College have access to impartial careers information and guidance so that they have the tools to make informed decisions about their future as well as being able to fully engage with their current learning. Your child will be able to access a range of careers related activities via their course and through our Student Services department at the College. These include: • Face to face careers guidance • Support in applying to Higher appointments Education including personal • Job/labour market information: statements and UCAS applications: Helping your child to understand the Specific help in how to research options job market, what are growth areas and as well as completing UCAS applications what job sectors have large employers • Mentoring and support for those who in the region need it most and at risk of becoming • Inspiring speakers from local and NEET (Not in education, employment national employers and College alumni: or training) Contact with employers helps to broaden • Working in partnership with external horizons and challenge stereotypical providers to access specialist support thinking or pre-conceived ideas about • Open days different careers. Talks can instil confidence and provide role models which • Understanding self-employment students can relate to, thereby helping to • Access to national skills events and change their perceptions of what they are competitions capable of achieving • Visits to employers and work • Careers, Higher Education and experience placements employer fairs: Giving your child direct • Providing real-life commercial access to employers to find out what they experience. can offer and then different job roles and career paths available • Help with CV writing, application forms City College Norwich holds the matrix and interview preparation standard for our careers information, • Develop job seeking strategies advice and guidance provision. • Financial advice This is the quality framework for • Providing advice on apprenticeships, organisations to assess and measure entrepreneurialism, courses, university their service, which ultimately and other progression options supports individuals in their choice of career, learning, work and life goals. 6 Parents Guide to City College Norwich & Paston College Is your child interested in higher education? City College Norwich is one of eight Further Education Colleges and five universities who, as members of the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (neaco), have made a commitment to raise student aspirations and increase progression to higher education pathways. Neaco have developed the Take Your Place framework to help young people across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to consider their study options after school or college. We work with students aged 13 – 19, who live in areas identified by the Government as having low rates of progression to higher education, to work toward achieving their goals. At college, the Higher • Higher Education Education Advisory team Myth Busting will be working with you Overcoming barriers and your child, if you live to student finance, in a target area for neaco, budgeting and living by delivering the following independently activities throughout the • Excursions next academic year: Facilitating industry, university and college • Introduction to visits to meet staff and Higher Education students. Exploring Higher Education, university If you have any and college life and questions or queries apprenticeships for the neaco Higher • Subject Taster Education Advisory Sessions team please e-mail An opportunity to [email protected] gain an insight into specific subjects For more information • Higher Education about Take Your Masterclass Place please visit Choosing your options takeyourplace.ac.uk and the UCAS application journey 7 What you can do to best help your child at College The change from school to college is sometimes hard to handle, for example not having to be in at 9am every day but getting used to varied start times. Please make sure that you get a copy of your child’s timetable and help them with their time management – to leave home each morning in time to make their first lesson. If your child is under 19 at the start of their course we will contact you if we have concerns about their attendance. We will contact you by text message so please ensure that we have an up to date mobile phone number for you.