DD floundering in college, can anyone help?

[QuickFetchTheCoffee]

DD was struggling to do her course, not only the part in college (because it is mainly group work and she is skitty and anxious around groups of people) but also struggled to understand what was expected from homework and how to get what she wants to say organised and into words.

She has asked to change from the Level 3 to a Level 2 course in a different subject (Computing) but to do this she's been asked to do two assignments to assess how good her English skills are and whether she'd be suited to the subject.

Trouble is, she's not invested in this new subject At All, has no knowledge to draw on so has to research what to write... and the whole issue rears it's head again. She doesn't have any idea how to approach the assignment or how much/what detail to include.

She is autistic, dyspraxic and has several hypermobile joints (so not very physically fit, also includes fingers so handwriting illegible), has some hearing impairment, and a bunch of other issues.
But she is also very bright and got good GCSE results so people expect a lot.
During a meeting with her original tutor we decided she should do a Level 2 course plus some extra curricular with support to improve her social skills and confidence, but meeting with the potential new tutor they have said she may not be able to do Level 2 as she doesn’t need to resit English or Maths, as it wouldn't be enough hours.

Can anyone help with a bit of knowledge of her options if we can't find a suitable full time course?

From what I understand three years of college is funded. This alleys students to do a level 2 in one year and then progress to a level 2 over the following two years. If your DD did a level 2 this year she wouldn't get funding to finish the level 3.

It sounds to me as though she needs more support to do a level 3, rather than do a level 2. I think she's been given poor advise re doing a level 2. The issues that she has will still need to be supported when she's doing a level 2, and it's not her lack of academic ability thats she's struggling with.

Why did she consider computing? What course was she doing last year?

Is there a student support department that deals with additional needs?
This sort of thing would be quite common I would think.
Our local college offers level 2 courses in computing and you have to have English and Maths to get on the course.

Your daughter should be able to do the Level 2 this year (1 year course) and progress onto Level 3 (2 year course) next year which will all be funded. Did she have any SEN support at school? I would recommend contacting student support services or SENCO and getting advice on what support she can access for both options to continue L3 or change to L2. It's very early on in course and she may settle.

@LynetteScavo this is her first year in college, she was doing GCSEs last year.

@Woollymonster yes she is supposedly supported by them and they were at the meeting where Level 2 was suggested.

@Thisisourplace2021 yes she's under their wing but advice seems to be very vague.

Part of the problem is there are no other Level 2s or 3s that she's remotely interested in, she's very science, maths and nature orientated and the other available courses she would actively hate (or isn't physically fit enough to do like welding!). Plus whatever course she's on she'll need to do something about her independent learning because it's dire.
She's already behind with coursework/homework for her original (Level 3) course and hasn't been going in for the last week as we've been trying to sort things out.

Did she/you consider A levels? If group work etc is what’s holding her back more traditional study might suit her better?

It sounds as if the pre-task of writing two assignments has done its job of identifying this computing course is not a good fit for your dd. You suggest she has no interest at all in the subject and has no idea about what it entails. For that reason alone, it sounds like a really bad idea. Whether it's level 2 or level 3 surely is irrelevant then.

I'm wondering if she is at the right college for her. My FS had complex special needs. He left his special school after Year 11 with only 2 X GCSE in Science and Food Technology. He wasn't allowed to sitt any more. He's moved to a college. They assessed his ability and interest. He did a level 2 BTEC in Sport and sat GCSE Maths and Functional Skills English level 1. He has last year passed everything and now he's moved on to GCSE English and Level 3 BTEC Sport. He has a 1-1 helper in every lesson in case it's needed but not practical lessons in Sport. With this support he's thriving. Your DD needs some support too. Have you looked at wide range of BTEC's and T levels on offer. Maybe your DD might do better with traditional A levels in subjects she got good GCSE's in.

Thanks for all your answers.

Yes we considered A-Levels, but don't they also demand a lot of independent study? I thought she would be in just the same position, only more so because she has to do three in two years and they would each require separate homework.

@Neolara yes I thought so which is why I was wondering what other (possibly therapy or not course-based) options there are but it seems like none. Also she is very interested to learn coding but not interested to write about the things she's been challenged with.

How did she cope with GCSE homework?

Do you have any other further education colleges in reach with a different set of courses? If she likes science, maybe something environmental or animal based would suit, or food technology could be another thought.

It sounds like the problem is that you need to fulfil a certain number of hours in college to be classes as a full time student and get funding. The other students on level 2 courses will be resitting maths and English to make up the time which your daughter doesn't need to do. Most A levels have some independent work bit inly similar to GCSEs. Some colleges also offer a btec in science which might suit her better.

If she struggles with independent learning then she will struggle with any course. She needs support for this and if the setting she's in isn't helping then I maybe isn't the right place for her.

I would argue that A levels while requiring students to do homework are maybe a better fit as are assessed mainly by exams. What ever setting she's in will need to help with her homework. Can you support this to?

Sorry, I misunderstood abou which year she's in. She doesn't have any idea how to approach the assignment or how much/what detail to include.

She is autistic, dyspraxic and has several hypermobile joints (so not very physically fit, also includes fingers so handwriting illegible), has some hearing impairment, and a bunch of other issues.

She won't have any idea yet about the assignments - if she submits work then she'll be given feedback and can tweak it. College should take into account her autism, dyspraxia hyper mobility etc. The course my DD was on seemed full of bright students who for one reason or another couldn't cope with A'levels. My DD did not once write anything. Everything was typed. She also didn't do any of the course work on college as she couldn't focus there and did it all at home. I read through almost everything she did to make sure she wasn't talking nonsense, which what's sometimes hard as I lad no knowledge of her subject.

What I'm trying to say is that while a level 3 might seem to challenging today, with the right support it sounds more than doable. The issue is finding something she's interested in. I'd be tempted to look at A-levels if she's OK with final exams.

What is her ultimate end goal?

Why wouldn't a level 2 be enough hours? before then DD's old college certainly had people doing Level 2s that didn't need to resit English or Maths. Could they make it 'enough hours' by timetabling in learning support?

I think there is a lot to be said for doing a Level 2 and coming to grips with how the assignments work etc before progressing to Level 3.

Does she have an EHCP?

My DD1 who is dyspraxic also had a lot of trouble working out what was needed for her L3 BTEC. It can help to have the spec for the unit infront of you when doing assignments. Sometimes assignments are vaguely worded whereas looking at the spec can show more clearly what actually needs to be included.

What was her l3 course? Could she do l2 in same and try l3 next year? There is no point doing CS of she has no interest.

@VanCleefArpels she didn't get much homework for GCSE as early doors we realised (school and myself) it caused more stress than it was worth and didn't teach anything. In retrospect she should have been taught homework skills but we were too focused on keeping her in school and in lessons.

@TeenDivided yes this is what I was wondering about learning support. We were thinking the Level 2 would be to get to grips with doing coursework, with supported hours of doing extra curricular stuff to improve social skills (because apparently computing is more ), then next year she would go back to her Forensics class (@LIZS this is what she wanted to do as it's science based) or try something else. She doesn't have an EHCP, she was meeting expectations in school and we were told that if her needs were met without extra funding we wouldn't get one (she was declined for assessment in Year 10).

In answer to Computing not being the right course for her, there is no right course, that's part of the issue! She has had an interest in computing before but it was a little stamped out by Covid when we focused on the essentials (Maths, English and her favourite subjects which were Geography and Science) so there was no time for the Technology work she was sent. She has said she thinks she can get back into it again, has always wanted to try "proper" coding (she has used Scratch but wanted more).

The Level 2 teacher didn't turn up to the meeting, as he said she wouldn't be allowed to do a L2 course as its part time.

@QuickFetchTheCoffee Check the college prospectus re the Level 2 not being enough hours. That really doesn't seem right to me.

What were her science grades at gcse? Could she take Applied Science at l2 plus another?

@LIZS she got 9s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths. It's what she excels at. English she scraped a 4!

I'm thinking on Monday I should contact the other college in our area and ask if they'd be prepared for her to to BTEC double science (rather than triple) or two A- Levels with some other provision to make up the hours.

@TeenDivided I can't find out on their website or anything. I think they said 12 hours at the meeting.

With those grades it seems unfair to expect her to settle for level 2. Do they run any study skills sessions to give support?

With grades like that you would normally expect to do A levels. I know I didn't as struggled with exams so did BTEC science, but that's because I was better at course work. Sounds like she would be better with an exam based course.

Our applied science students at school do Alevels as well but it's a lot of independent study compared to GCSE'S or Alevel. The idea being it's better for weaker students to do more course work. The same would go for T-levels as well, if the college isn't being supportive then I would look elsewhere.

She may do better in a small sixth-form if there is one near you, we have had students who are autistic do very well and get more 1-2-1 teaching as our numbers in class are very low at sixth-form.

I'm not sure @LIZS . The college don't seem to want to discuss beyond switching courses, I am really disappointed with the lack of actual communication beyond showing what courses they have on offer, looking at colleges too far away for her to get to, but nothing in the way of how they can actually support her to do what she's good at.

They even suggested supported internship which she can't do as she doesn't have an EHCP but nobody has suggested helping us apply for an EHCP either, or what extra help she needs that would warrant one.

@MigGirl I think this is the way forward. Unless magically she manages to do these assignments and wants to stay on the Computing course. She is researching at the moment.