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.

If your DD is struggling socially

When I was at 6th form the below were offered as social things to join. Does her place of education offer anything similar or some other groups that she can join ?

First aid courses like Red Cross or St John's Ambulance

Duke of Edinburghs Award, which included volunteering & team building etc

Charity fund raising

Sport groups

Drama group

Thank you all so very much.
I've not got much time just now, but to answer a few questions...
She is on medication and has ongoing therapy.
She had a "statement" at comp, which was replaced by a Skills and Learning plan when she started college last year. I've just looked at SNAP and see that this should have become an IDP; also that it should have been reviewed every 12 months. It hasn't been.

I'll be back in touch with college tomorrow to ask about this.
I'll respond to other comments later.
Thanks again for all your help.

This is a good response.

Sorry if this has been mentioned but you can request online a telephone appointment with snap Cymru.
Also does your council have a family gateway service (that's what it's called in my part of wales)

Hi OP, your poor daughter and poor you, such a stressful situation. Lots of good advice on here, I hope things improve, sending hugs.

It very much depends on the area/college. My daughter quit at 17 for similar reasons to the OP’s daughter, and no one was remotely interested in helping her.

It's not too late to get into college. My kids go to two different ones and they are still enrolling. Both kids have had people join last week. They will do GCSEs there. Just probably won't be A levels

Speak to the college and LA about the statement of SEN then the LSP after the section 140 assessment transitioning to an IDP. With an IDP EOTAS is a possibility.

Exactly this. Firstly, even if her attendance isn’t great they wouldn’t just chuck her out. Secondly, she’s 17 they would contact you. Thirdly, I’m pretty confident she wouldn’t have to pay. Fourthly, if you were eligible for child benefit you would have to tell them now that she’s not in education.

i think she’s quit but told you that she’s been booted off. If she has been booted out she’s done something serious to warrant it as generally these establishments do what they can to help keep students enrolled.

Why doesn’t she take a year out and reapply for next year. That’s what my son did (for very similar reasons). He spent the year healing, going to counselling and chilling out. He’s gone back and much more focused this time.

They would and did. My very well behaved, high achieving son was kicked out for low attendance. He’s back there now (as per my previous post).

This is my dd. We’ve discovered she’s in autistic burnout. We’ve been fighting for an EHCP since April.

She’s got full pip and is recovering at home. She can do an Accesd course at 19. When she’s out of burnout we will be looking to increase her sociability before her education. We’ve got a MAST meeting which we’ve had to fight for next week to address these issues.

My DD took a year out for similar reasons.

It really helped and she was able to focus on her MH and getting better.

Then she did a 2 day a week catering course (on the grounds that she needed part time first to get used to education again and catering is a useful skill to have).

Then she did a full-time access to uni course in science and is now doing a physics degree.

If your DD is not attending lessons and is doing no work then she is almost certainly not currently mentally well enough to be in education, and her behaviour rather than her verbal statements are telling you that very clearly.

Not after 4 weeks though. And not before contacting parents.

I'm a sendco (known as alnco in Wales I think) and in England if a child has an EHCP it lasts until 25. If the current placement isn't working you can call an annual review and request a change. You can also request what is known as EOTAS (education other than at school) which could be an online course or a training programme at a community project (think hands of learning). There are other options out there but they aren't well publicised. If ask to discuss options.

Our local college offers Prince's Trust programmes for young people who are struggling one way and another. They can be transformative. https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/how-we-can-help/grow-skills-and-confidence

Totally agree with this. Sounds like she just wanders around, not attending classes, and I can’t see how different that would be if she started working or an apprenticeship, where the expectations are higher than a college setting. It’s not fair on her or the college/workplace if she is forced into something she’s clearly not capable of doing.

I worked in an FE college that ran BTEC and A Levels. Everyone who looked like they couldn’t cope was booted out before week 6 as that is when the funding is drawn down. If people leave before then they don’t count as a statistic.

OP, don’t worry about child benefit. It is possible to get an extension fir 6 months and sometimes longer when the interruption to full-time education is due to DC’s SEN/MH.

They really would. Many colleges have a period after enrolment where the students are in sort of probation period. This is to assess the suitability for the course as it can often happen that a student just isn't on the right course, for whatever reason.. it seems very clear here that the OPs daughter isn't suited to the course amd.is unlikely to be able to progress successfully. The system has half worked in that she isn't going to spend a year not turning up for a course that she isn't emotionally in a position to commit to. It's probably too late to enrol onto anything now, but there are perhaps opportunities to build up her mental health and maybe a.part time job and be in a better position next year.

Unfortunately colleges are businesses these days with targets and benchmarks

If a student is removed / leaves within (I think) 42 days then the college faces no financial / data impact for the withdrawal. After 42 days / if the student fails they have to pay back some of the funding allocation

If attendance is below a certain level and the student is allowed to stay and not achieve then the course leader will be impacted.

Staff who don't meet their KPIs don't move up the payscale. KPIs include retention and achievement stats.

Failing courses can be terminated too.

I'm not saying any of these things are morally right but they are true sadly. If they took the hit last year with DDs stats then they've obviously decided they cantagain this year.

I think she said that they are in West Wales. The social stuff is really hard, especially if she is on the autistic spectrum and may find it hard to make connections or read people. 3 hours between classes is a long time to be wondering around and could cause social anxiety in many young people, honestly any of them most likely.
It doesn;t sound like the college have made reasonable adjustments or given her much time to settle. Do they have social groups or enrichment activities that interest her that she could use as a stepping stone to meet others?
What she should do next depends a lot on her, but really important for her to know that lots of youngsters have trouble making this transition and that there's more than one way to skin a cat as it were and she will be able to find a different path to a satisfying future.
Focus on what she likes, what motivates her and like someone else said, take it slowly and give her time - let her know there is time - to change her mind and try things. Both my older two made changes after one year of A Levels and have ended up doing very well.
We let them go at their own pace. Good luck to you. xxx

So sorry you're going through this worry OP. We probably live quite close to one another, and whilst it's very very lovely, it can be quite isolating if you're not an actively social and confident person. Also, there aren't as many options in education, which makes it tough.
Just a suggestion- How about she takes this year and does one A-level online? There are some AQA exam centres in south Wales. I've found that when the education system has exhausted a young person and made them feel hopeless, the ability to learn in their own time and at home can be a really good way of making them feel engaged again, and can get rid of any trace of feeling too stupid or thick.
Good luck to you and your DD x

I hope things worked out for OP's daughter but this thread is from 2023!