Please help. Daughter booted from A level college, after only 4 weeks. What now?

[GroanWoman]

DD(17) has been asked to give up her A level course after 3.5 weeks.
She has anxiety, depression, ASD. She wasn't going to many lessons or doing work.
Staff worried about her wandering around campus. So fair enough, I guess: she just can't do it.

But what now? She's 17, so is meant to be in education. She wants to do A levels, but it's already well into term, so she won't be able to go anywhere else. There are online courses, but they all have exams in central and southern England and we're in West Wales. Also, she failed GCSE Maths, so many places wouldn't let her onto a course anyway (she was redoing it in college alongside her A levels).

The other problem is that the online courses are expensive. Surely she should have free education at 17?

No idea what we're supposed to do or if we're supposed to log her having left her course with anyone.

Can anyone advise? I'm so distressed now.

Thanks.

Are there any other local colleges you could try and approach - DS says people are still starting at his - we have option of sixth form or one college or travel to next city so your options may be limited.

I think online options would be you paying - where I am they doesn't seem to be the option of evening p/t a-levels is all in daytime - though there are some other courses at different sites that do evening classes - but maybe worth checking where you are.

Even though she doesn't want to leave education it may be the best thing for her right now.

Is there a reason as to why she was wandering the corridors? To escape the class?

i agree with pp about finding out what support college had put in place for her.

What is her long term plan? What does she want to "do"?
It sounds like college simply isn't for her.
She doesn't "have" to be in education - that is churned out all the time and it's wrong.
What does she enjoy doing? Could she do some volunteering instead? Get her out the house and into a routine but less formal and not so much pressure.
Or would she prefer a more hands on education? Something physical where she is "doing" rather than academic.
I thought I wanted to do A-levels at that age. I told myself I was one of those bookworm type people. I wasn't. I completely wasn't. If I had my time over again I wish I had done something like (this is just one example) furniture restoration.

Thank you @ittakes2 , but we're in South West Wales.

Yes that’s right, age 16-18 (in UK) you must be either in full time education, an apprenticeship/traineeship, or a min of 20 hours work/volunteering plus part time education. Evening classes wouldn’t work x

@Mrsttcno1 sorry but not in Scotland ( you can leave at 16 it is not encouraged to just leave but it's legal) or Wales it is true for England and I'm not sure about Northern Ireland

Is there an option for the college to look at her timetable and switch around classes/ subjects so that there isn’t the big gap in her timetable? Or of all the classes could be mornings? Then she could go home after.

The OP is in Wales, so this rule doesn't apply. Kids in Wales can still leave education at 16. It's only England where you can't.

Yes that’s right, age 16-18 (in UK) you must be either in full time education, an apprenticeship/traineeship, or a min of 20 hours work/volunteering plus part time education. Evening classes wouldn’t work x

@Mrsttcno1 NO it's 16 still in Wales.

https://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school#:~:text=Wales,that%20school%20year's%20summer%20holidays.
Wales
You can leave school on the last Friday in June, as long as you’ll be 16 by the end of that school year’s summer holidays.

It appears it's just England for the 18 years - education is a devolved matter and it apparently hits the leaving age as well.

Though in practise I don't know many that do leaves at 16 even in Wales and it's clearly not what Op or her DD actually want to do.

Thanks again all. I'll be reading through everything more thoroughly later as I'm just beside myself now. And I have to walk the dog.

Yes, realistically another in person college situation is unlikely to work if this one didn't.
But no compulsory post -16 education in Wales means we'll likely get less help with a new course, too.

Ah apologies. In that case it is arguably worse for OP & DD, as if you were having issues with college/sixth form in England they do really try to make it work if possible, and suggest alternatives as there is that requirement to be in full time education until 18 here. If in Wales you can leave at 16 then I suppose there isn’t as great of a need to make it work because it doesn’t actually have to be done.

I think Open Study Colleges is meant to be pretty good, one of my friends did an extra A Level through them for Business Studies and that was all online but of course the actual exam is in person. Might be an option for DD but you would have to pay for that

https://careerswales.gov.wales/courses-and-training/wales-post-16-education-and-training-provision

These may be worth a look to help you track down all the possibilities - I think they have an office in our city so perhaps there may near you.

She's adamant she wants to do A Levels and is more than capable, but it's hard for her to go into college and be amongst others.

Could you speak to the college and possibly have her do the work at home?

It may be possible for them to live stream the lessons (which would save the teachers doing extra work) or email her the content and what assignments she has to do.
Obviously she will have to go in for exams and catch up with her course tutors.

I would ask if they’re willing to do this for the next 4 weeks as a trail to see how she gets on.

I was kicked out of sixth form college at the start of my A levels, at a point when there was absolutely no pastoral care on offer. I now know that I have autism, but in less enlightened times I was just seen as difficult and disengaged.
Things have changed so much now that I would be surprised if there wasn’t a whole department who would be actively working towards keeping your daughter at college and trying to help her achieve her eduacational goals. Please speak to them and ask them what they can do to help her.
Obviously it might be the case that she just isn’t able to do her A levels now, but I would definitely try to find a way to keep her engaged with education.
I can trace back pretty much all of my current difficulties in life to the pivotal point of being chucked out of school, so I really hope you find a way to keep her involved in some kind of training or activity.

Can you work backwards from what she wants to do. She might think she needs A levels but there’s more than one way to skin a cat usually.
A levels are demanding there may be a better fit option for her.
Some local councils offer apprenticeships for school leavers with disabilities or autism.
Maybe look into that.

Call now, make an appointment and go in and have a face to face meeting with Head of department.

You need to stress that this difficulty engaging was down to her disabilities and you want the college to apply for an EHCP to support your daughter to access education.

You need to reframe this because it's likely to be her extreme anxiety and ASD that are barriers to learning.

All an EHCP does is give the opportunity for the disadvantaged to access education.

Please try to read on IPSEAs website, they are a charity supporting parents needing an EHCP for their child. You can also get a telephone slot for free legal advice.

If you can fight this and gather evidence you have a good chance your daughter can attend with support.

The college sound useless.

For me, the classes and work were not the problem. My difficulty was in dealing with the social aspect of being in a new college, finding people to sit with at lunchtime, feeling very awkward and conspicuous all the time that I wasn’t doing the actual work in the lessons. I found it completely overwhelming and started missing classes because I would hide in the toilets or the college grounds rather than have to deal with people.
I wonder if there is a way to find out whether the social aspect of it is most difficult for her, and look at ways to help her with that if necessary, rather than assuming she just isn’t cut out for A levels.

@GroanWoman and I bet they only did that after they secured funding for her to be there. Definitely look into it. Sounds very fishy on their part. Also, is she being bullied? Was rife at one of the further education colleges I went to.

I agree with this. There is something here that isn't the full story. She shouldn't sign up for any other courses until this is addressed - there's absolutely no point and if she can't cope second time around it could seriously affect her ability to move on.

You definitely need to try to talk to someone at the College, even by phone, to try to get the full picture before making other plans.

Does she have an EHCP, or have you applied for one? It sounds as if she would more than qualify, and it can be in place till she is 25.

@GroanWoman ask her to leave college I meant.

If she's good at working by herself, she can do it as an external candidate with no tuition. You can get the exam syllabus, past papers etc. from the local exam board.

Part-time or voluntary work would be useful for practice dealing with other people.

Good luck