Maths & English black hole? (Any Adult education specialists?)

[TeenDivided]

If you are y12 or y13 (or y14) you can do Maths & English at college if needed alongside another course.

If you are 19+ you count as adult education and can do Maths & English at college if needed though generally this will be evenings.

If you are 18 and post y13 and not at college it appears you can't do either.
However as soon as you turn 19 you are OK, but face to face courses will have already started.

So the solution seems to be wait for my autumn born to turn 19, then she can enroll in an online course and work through it at her own pace. For the online course, assessment seems to be online too - how does that work with exam concessions and prevention of cheating? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

I'm sure it should be more straightforward than this.

It is more straight forward than that.

Just get hold of the local FE college and sign her up.

She will be turning 19 in the next academic year, there is no problem. I used to teach FE and it was not uncommon to have an 18 or 19 yo in a class. They might try and sign her up for a full course but there will be no problem with Maths or English.

It didn't seem that straightforward when I spoke to someone from the local college. Perhaps I misunderstood, quite possible.

We have an added problem that evening classes wouldn't work for her.

Hopefully she'll pass her Maths resit and we'll only have to worry about English.

Remember you may have been speaking to an under trained apprentice.

Try again, it is possible to get funding for someone turning 19 in the next academic year. Many colleges also offer some daytime classes.

Or go online, it may suit your daughter better.

Can you explain to me (as a bear of little brain) how online courses are examined such that exam concessions can be applied?

To do an exam you have to go to an examination centre, could be a local school or college or could be somewhere in a big town 30 miles away. It varies.

If your DD has SEN have you tried talking to the SEN coordinator at the college? A good one can move mountains.

We had a plan for September which went up in a puff of smoke on Wednesday.
I have spent since then regrouping and am now exploring various options.

DD has just successfully completed 2 years doing Level1 courses at college having missed y11 due to MH. She also has dyslexia and an EHCP but only since y12. She wouldn't currently cope with a full Level 2 course and Maths and English, nor with full time work. Nor would she cope with 'just' Maths & English as she needs something else to keep her motivated ...

Her current (agricultural) college have said she can't do 'just' maths & English with them. (And they don't offer adult maths & English).
So I'm having to look at other colleges that I don't have a prexisting relationship with.

Speak to the SENCO at the local college. The EHCP means she can get funding.

Good luck, as I said a good SENCO can move mountains, a not so good one can be a bit 'computer says no'.

Are you looking for GCSE courses, or Functional/Essential Skills? Also, precisely when is your child’s birthday?
For GCSE, I’m an FE English teacher and, in my college, we do accept late starters up until October. It can be harder for a late starter to catch up, but if your child is 18, and doing the same exam board it shouldn’t be an issue. We have found online GCSEs work for some students, but not for all as it does take a lot of self motivation. Online students still need to attend a physical exam setting to sit exams, and these take place at the same date and time as everyone else.
Please note that, in practically all cases, exam allowances do not just carry on from school and it is more than likely that your child will need to be reassessed by your local college’s ALN team to get their extra time etc.
Functional/Essential Skill are normally offered by Adult Education departments and work on a roll on, roll off basis so, if this is what you want you could wait until your child is 19 and therefore funded.

Sorry @TeenDivided l was distracted in the middle of writing my post so didn’t see you’d already replied with answers to some of the things I was asking!

Incorrect.
AEB funding is for those who are 19 +

Not 19 soon.

It's frustrating but true.

Because DD has an EHCP, this shouldn’t be an issue for you. Funding can be via that. And provision can be provided otherwise than at college if necessary.

Thank you.

We'd be looking at FS L2 for English.

For maths if she doesn't pass the GCSE resit, I want to do whatever gives her the best chance of getting the L2 qualification. It is complicated by the dyslexia so wordy questions are harder, and she's quite good at trig and algebra, but sustaining over 3 exams is hard. I'm tempted to think the FS L2 would be better but I need to look at some papers. (Plus I've promised her no maths until after results day).

Could she take another level 1 alongside maths and english, or life-skills at a fe college?

Other L1 courses she might be interested in are part of the same qualification as she has already done, just a different thread, so not viable. We had found a L2 certificate that would have been good but the environment in which it is taught turns out won't work for her (sensory).

Because of MH reasons she needs a driver to get through the week.

We are looking at work experience in area of interest which she has 2 years training of at college, plus Maths & English 'somehow', plus therapy.

What I'm exploring is the Maths & English 'somehow' bit.

The therapy is sorted (and has had to be less frequent than desired up to now due to bandwidth with attending college).
The work experience is being sought.

The provision needs to be in F then it must be provided. That could be at a college (despite what the college say it is possible) or otherwise than at college (e.g. F2F tuition, online tuition, online school, at an AP).

I don't hold out much confidence in changing the contents of the EHCP.
Just having the EHCP enabled college to be flexible for the last 2 years.

If the LA won’t amend the EHCP you can appeal. Have you requested an early review?

This all only came up on Wednesday, and today is the first day I've been able to think straight about it.
The LA were pretty hopeless when we first got the EHCP 18 months ago. They didn't really seem to listen or communicate at all.

if the only way to get suitable maths/English is via the EHCP then that's what we may have to do. That's what I'm investigating - what options there are.

Whatever the new plan becomes the EHCP will need amending, so I would request an early review ASAP to get the ball rolling with organising a review. IPSEA have a model letter you can use.

They didn't really seem to listen or communicate at all.

This is common, sadly.

Is there another college she could look at?

Or any local authority schemes that would support her? These might only be available in cities I guess.

There honestly isn't another college course that would be suitable.

Believe me we've looked. The best course would be the L2 but she wouldn't cope right now due to stamina and numbers in the classroom, especially not alongside English & Maths too.

So we are looking at work experience plus E&M at a different college / online. Online could work well as she wouldn't have to travel / be in a classroom, and I could help her focus. Though the flip side is it would be 'on me'.

We've also looked at supported internships. We had discounted them due to Plan A which blew up last week. The one at current college is now full. And it wouldn't be 'as good' as something more tailored anyway.

What about F2F home tuition? It wouldn’t have to be online, though if it was you can get a TA/HLTA/mentor/PA to facilitate it rather than you.

That would def need EHCP approval as that would cost extra money!

Her EHCP up to now hasn't really cost anything, but what it did do was give college flexibility when needed and 'visibility' to her needs.

TBH I'd like the path of least resistance to get a decent outcome. So if I can find something suitable within 'normal offer' that is preferable, which is why I'm looking at what colleges offer both under 16-19 and adult.

Whatever you do will need the EHCP amending though. So, yes, F2F tuition will need approving or for you to appeal for it, but so will anything.