College – Making the Right Choice

Updated: 16/05/24

Created: 20/06/2023, Bright Futures @Ruils

Who by? Bright Futures @Ruils

Why might it be of interest?
Choosing the next educational setting for your young person when they finish school is, potentially, a mammoth task! Do you go for a local college, residential college, specialist, mainstream, special needs dept of a mainstream college……

How do you go about finding out about colleges, especially ones a little further afield than your nearest specialist or mainstream college? How do you go about narrowing the list down? What should you be looking for or considering? What questions should you ask when you visit……

There’s a lot to think about. This workshop works through it all from identifying a college through to assessing the college at a visit.

What might influence your choice?

Start early
- At least the year before the final year at school
What is the purpose of going to college? What are you trying to achieve?
- Education for life – living as independently as possible
- Academic qualifications
- Support leading to work
- Social development as a young adult
No wrong answer – just what’s best for your young person
- It may be not continuing in education
Not looking for perfect – the best fit

What are your thoughts behind your choice(s)?

What influenced you? This is what parents have told us:

Funding
Distance / travel time, availability of transport
Size of the setting
What the young person wants to do in the future
Safe spaces available
College attitude, especially around EHCPs
Level of support
Is there a peer group
Accessibility – of the space, the curriculum
Therapies and medical support
Stability of the leadership team
Culture of the college
Is this the right course for my young person
Access to work experience
What does the timetable look like
Combination of provision – can some specialist be combined with mainstream
Resilience / adaptability

What are your priorities and preferences? Keep these in mind at all times!

Narrow it down

Ultimately, you want maybe 3 or 4 options on a short list

Are you looking:

Locally for a day college
Residential or further afield (consider travel time)
Not sure

If you are not sure you are going to have to research more widely at first until you have a clearer idea

Other things to consider

We know our young people
But so do other people – in different settings
- listen and learn to get a fuller picture than you might from family life alone – school, clubs, overnights, etc
What have we heard about colleges
- Consider who or where from – are their priorities your priorities
- Or are they looking for something different
Previous experiences – what’s worked, what hasn’t
- Try not to let a negative experience in the past colour your view of the next steps
- Equally, if all has gone well previously do be aware that it might not be quite so smooth sailing this time
What don’t we know!

Research, Research, Research

How to find a college

Start with websites – you can do a lot from the comfort of home!

Most college websites will tell you a lot about the college and give you contact details

Natspec lists all the specialist colleges across the country
Doesn’t include mainstream with specialist offering
For example, Richmond is not on Natspec
- You can search
  - Geographically – eg nw, sw, london, midlands – or on a map
  - Alphabetically – if you know the name of the college
  - Area of expertise – 21 options
    - eg ASD, LD, mental health, physical, health, communication, challenging behaviour
College websites
- Can usually link directly from their Natspec entry for specialist colleges
- It can be difficult to find the specialist offerings of mainstream colleges
  - Probably best to find a contact name and email and phone
- Look for/search on terms like
  - Inclusive learning
  - Additional learning support
  - Disability support
  - Supported learning
- There’s no single term that all colleges use to describe their department for disabled young people
- Colleges may use similar terms for the support service they provide to students on mainstream courses
Access All Areas – an annual event, usually September or October, from AfC bringing together organisations with an offering for young people aged 16+ – from schools/colleges, local charities, work placement organisations.
Local offer and council websites may not at first glance seem very helpful
- Look for the Preparing for Adulthood section
- Your LA’s local offer website should have info about post 16 education
  - What’s available varies widely
  - Richmond and Kingston’s local offer lists colleges that young people in the borough have attended, for example
- Richmond and Kingston’s local offer has a lot of information – it can feel like too much – but if your local offer seems a little sparse it might be worth looking at this one to help you discover what you should be able to find on your local offer
- Typing ‘further education colleges borough or county’ yields results
  - Can be frustrating, worth trying different search words
Word of mouth – other parents most likely
- Consider how like or otherwise your young people are and what you want from the college placement
- Don’t go for a college on the basis of what another parent says or dismiss for the same reasons
- Consider what YOU are looking for and what your young person wants out of the placement
- Another parent may dismiss a college on the same grounds that you would love it!
Current school
- SENCO, careers advisor
- May be a bit hit and miss

Social worker

- Especially if considering residential as Social Services will be funding the care part of the package
- If not a social worker do you have a Family Support Worker?

University

- Uni websites have a lot of info around student support
- Contact the disability team
- Bright Futures has some excellent information about how to research universities and the Disabled Students Allowance

Look widely

- Even at options that you don’t think will do
- You can learn a lot from what won’t work for your young person
- Don’t assume that the college the LA is recommending is not suitable for your young person
- You must visit any colleges the LA are suggesting
- We’re not looking for perfect – just the best fit
- We’re also not entitled to the best just what is good enough

Choosing potential colleges

Start with the college website and peruse thoroughly
Look widely
Consider different options
- There will be pros and cons to any choice
- Looking widely and even at colleges you don’t think will do can help you work out what is essential and what’s not
- Look at colleges suggested by your LA
- Remember – you can review and choose another option if your choice isn’t working well
  - By doing our research we are aiming to reduce the chance of getting it wrong – but we still may get it wrong sometimes
- Make phone calls, send emails – have some direct contact

Think about what you and your young person want or need out of this placement

To make it successful break those needs/wants down:

Essential
- These are things that have to happen or be available
- The placement won’t work if not
- eg, travel time – is there a maximum time your young person could cope with being in a taxi?
Desirable
- These are things you would like but a single omission wouldn’t be a dealbreaker
- eg you would really like music therapy provided but if it can’t be are there alternatives ways to provide it?
Acceptable (usually with caveats!)
- These are things that are OK, probably with some caveats
- eg ok to eat lunch in the main canteen but would need support or a table in a quiet area
Unworkable
- Whatever else is good about the placement this will be a dealbreaker unless it can be managed
- eg, a young person won’t go up or down open stairs and the college is modern with open stairs everywhere – but could their classes be held in downstairs rooms?
Keep your list of preferences and priorities in mind
Always consider what adjustments might make something workable or acceptable – and if work arounds really change anything?
If you don’t think of these things and the LA does you will be on the back foot
There shouldn’t be too many dealbreakers
- Be careful – you can’t say something is a dealbreaker at one college and ignore it at another
It may be a number of small things that make or break a setting rather than one big issue

Arrange to visit

On open days initially – colleges seem to have lots of open days
- You will want to see the college in action on a typical day
- Once you have it down to 1, 2 or 3 colleges revisit them all
Likely to visit your chosen option a few times
Colleges are reluctant to do 1-1 visits much before 12-18 months before your young person would be starting
- Individual visits take up a lot of time and resources for the college
But attending open days should mostly be possible

Who will visit initially?

With or without your young person
What will create the most positive experience?

This is so individual

You want a positive experience so think it through carefully

Would your young person latch on to one aspect that they like or dislike – whether it’s relevant or not?
It might be better to do initial visits on your own to establish if the setting would be appropriate
- This could help you by not introducing placements that you don’t think will work in the first place
- But also preparing your young person should there be something they don’t like – you have the opportunity to sell it and downplay what they don’t like
Or you may have things you need to tell a potential placement that you don’t want to say in front of your young person
Or it might be that your young person needs to be involved from the very beginning – being left out would be detrimental

It’s not about being underhand in any way but being prepared to manage expectations and deal with potential issues before they become issues.

It helps a setting get a feel for whether they can support your young person if you have some paperwork:
- Current EHCP and recent reports (usually 12 months or less)
- Your own written information

At the Visit – what to look for in the physical environment

Layout

How much indoor or outdoor space
- Which would your young person prefer?
- Do they need space to walk or run?
- Are they more comfortable in a smaller setting?
If part of a mainstream college how is the Supported Learning dept accessed
- Does it have a separate entrance?
- Is it open to or easily accessible from the main college?
  - Is this secure enough for you?

Accessibility

Look at the entrance
Which floor is the department on?
Stairs and lifts
- If on an upper floor how would a disabled person get out in an emergency, for example?
- Not necessarily physical ability to leave but would your young person freeze
- What happens if the lift is out of action one day?
Are classrooms near to each other or spread around?
- How much ground might your young person need to cover in a day?

How busy is the college

Are there a lot of people around in the entrance hall, corridors?
Is it noisy?
- Is this an issue for your young person?
Are there quiet spaces they can access?
- Independently?
- Or does someone have to facilitate?

Other amenities

eg gym facilities
Option for additional activities, clubs, outside of the school day
How would that affect transport (if your young person has transport)?

What else do you want to know?

Lots of information about the programme or course

Range of courses
Are any of the courses of interest to your young person?
Is the course practical and hands-on?
Are maths and english separate modules or integrated into the school day?
Does the course lead to qualifications?
What’s covered on each programme
- What are the modules?
- Do students get a choice about how their course is made up?
Flexibility of the course
- Is it gentle and adaptable or more full on/busy?
- What happens if a young person doesn’t want to do something timetabled?
- What happens if a young person won’t go into the classroom?
  - Can work be brought to them?
- Can a young person access modules from another stream, for example?
  - If your yp is on an SLD programme but cooking, which they like, isn’t on that programme but it is available in other streams, can they have it included?
- What happens if they don’t do well in the mornings?
How are young people supported to make choices?
- Experience of alternative communication – is this embedded in the school day?
How long is the course? 2 years? 3 years?
Options for an additional year

How are courses structured?

In one room – or moving around the college to different rooms and facilities
What does a typical day or week look like?
How many days a week?
- Full time post 16 is 16 hours a week
- Even specialist settings will probably only offer 4 days a week
Length of day/sessions
How much focussed work can your young person manage before needing a break?
- How will this be accommodated?
What happens at breaktimes?
- How are young people supported during the unstructured part of the day?
- Are they left to their own devices?
- Do staff support and encourage socialisation?
- Or is everyone sitting around staring at their phones?

Who is attending the college?

Staff, tutors, LSAs per class
Group sizes
Mix of the cohort
Does the group stay together throughout the day
- Or mix and match
- Is it one class
- Small groups
What support will your young person have?
- How is this organised?
- eg 121; class/subject based
- Around building friendships
Specialist settings do not usually have 121 because their classes are smaller with a higher number of staff
- However it is possible for a young person to have 121 if needed
How does the college manage behaviours?
Does there appear to be a peer group for your young person?
- This can vary year to year so may not be easy to establish
How responsive are the staff team?

There are no right or wrong answers – just answers that would make a setting more or less suitable for your young person

What if you are looking for residential options

Consider carefully what you want to achieve with a residential setting

Likely to be long term aims as well as the immediate benefits of being at a residential college
To get LA agreement there will have to be reasons why a young person can’t be educated locally and live at home (or in supported living)
- While it’s possible it’s very rare for an 18 year old to go into supported living
It’s not right for a lot of – probably most – young people
- If your young person is active and engaged locally consider how being away from home for long stretches would affect friendships and being part of the community
- Bear in mind when they finish at residential – 3 or 4 years down the line – they will be leaving friendships behind

Understand the difference between residential college and a college that offers supported living

It’s all about integration and consistency across settings

Residential is where the school and home part of the day are closely integrated – there may be a head of care and a head of school but there will also be an overall head
A college that offers supported living may be working closely with a care provider but they are not the same organisation and their agendas will be different
At a residential college you would expect a lot of communication between care and school staff and a consistency of approach across all parts of the day
Some of this may happen with supported living but less guaranteed
If you are certain that your young person needs a residential college you may undermine your case if you also put forward colleges with associated supported living

Be familiar with the 24 hour curriculum / waking day curriculum as this is likely to be part of your reasoning for a residential setting

The basis for residential in many instances is that you can’t achieve the same outcomes if a young person stays at home while attending a local college
So, what are the barriers to learning and developing for your young person if they stay at home
- eg, maybe your young person engages well at school but not at home
- Would having a PA support the young person at home with independence skills – or would the young person still not engage
A 24 hour curriculum appreciates that learning is both an educational need and a social need. It allows continuous learning that is consistent, from staff who are fully conversant with the young person in both a structured classroom/workshop setting and the less structured evening/leisure setting.
Ask questions around how the academic part of the day is integrated with the home part of the day
- How do the educational teams and care teams work together
  - Formal process / routine or more casual
  - eg at Lufton the tutor came to the flat for 10 mins or so before the school day started so saw the student at home and the care staff
- What does the school day look like
- What happens in the home hours
  - Activities around the college or in the community
  - Domestic activities
- Who would your yp live with

How will it all be funded

All the same questions as for a day placement
A residential placement will be a combination of education funding and social care funding – unless your young person is on continuing healthcare

Happy to talk through our personal experience and reasons for going for a residential placement

After the visit

Consider ALL the pros and cons

Keep your priorities and preferences in mind
Dealbreakers or dealmakers
- Shouldn’t be too many of either
- Focussed but not inflexible
- Essential, Desirable, Acceptable, Unworkable
Consider the big issues and the small issues
- There may not be a single issue that makes or breaks
- It might be a series of small things
Be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot – go carefully
- You can’t say something is a dealbreaker for one college and then ignore it at another college
- But you may be able to qualify it
  - eg on its own this wouldn’t be a dealbreaker but added to x, y, z
- Something can’t be a dealmaker if there are also a lot of disadvantages
  - You open yourself up to the LA pushing you towards their choice
  - How will you defend your choice
- There’s no such thing as the perfect college
- Our young people are not entitled to ‘the best’ any more than any other young person is

Build your case for your choice

Demonstrate how this placement meets needs**
Demonstrate how other placements don’t**
You must look at what the LA offers – to be prepared

**Although the law says that a local authority must offer your choice of college unless it is deemed unsuitable for your young person’s needs or incompatible with the efficient education of other young people or use of resources it is not enough to name a setting that you believe can meet their needs. Other settings will also say they can meet need so you must to be able to say why they actually can’t.

The thing you need to prove is why your choice of college meets needs the other colleges can’t meet
Why your young person’s education and support won’t be met in the other colleges.
Independent Professionals can help with this and evidence it in their reports if they find it’s the case

A volunteer advocate recommends using the IPSEA website to educate yourself and then you are in a better position to know when you may need a professional report.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/

Transport – a placement is no good if a young person can’t get there

Between the ages of 16-18 the LA has less of a duty upon them to provide transport because while young people have to be in education, employment or training until they are 18 they are beyond statutory school age, which is 16.

Make no assumptions about transport – LAs are always trying to cut this budget so have discussions early and make sure transport is seen as part of the placement
Transport can be provided by social care post 18 – but only if your young person has a social care package
Travel training may be offered – this is not necessarily a bad thing!
LAs will be reluctant to offer transport to your chosen college if they believe that a closer one will meet need – even when they are agreeing to the placement at your chosen college

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/young-people-aged-19-and-over

Evidence – it’s not enough to say a placement can or can’t meet need

Provide evidence of the need
How a college is able to meet that need
How a college is unable to meet that need (even if they are saying they can)

Evidence can come from a variety of sources

Current school reports
Ed psych report – but this will only report on the school day
- Don’t dismiss it, especially if your young person is different at home or in other settings – the comparison can be helpful
- Private reports can be helpful
- Especially if they are holistic, ie see your yp in school, at home, other settings
- Push for the private assessor to make recommendations
Check reports provided that are not commissioned by you for any errors or assumptions
Your own input
In general reports should be dated within the last year
- If older there should be a reason given for why
- eg nothing has changed – but the professional would need to confirm this

Make sure the annual review is scheduled in the autumn term – as early as possible

Make the process work for you

Always be polite

Obvious really
But don’t give anyone any reason not to work with you
Don’t assume you will have to go head to head with the LA

You have to be on top of it all – all of the time

Do not assume that your case worker knows a great deal
- About your young person
- Or that they will always submit documents to the relevant people at the right time
Your case worker has a huge case load
- Not an excuse but a reality for getting things done
Do not be afraid to prompt or ask outright for your caseworker to do something
Your case worker cannot make decisions
- If they recommend placements or agree that you are right – they have no influence so this is their opinion and holds no weight
Decisions are taken by a panel
Do not assume anyone will do what they say they will or at the time they say they will
Don’t be afraid to follow up

Timelines and Process

Understand the timeline and process
- Decisions
- Tribunals
- Know the dates of panels, which panel, when they sit

Be transparent – there is no benefit in not sharing what you are going for and why

Nicely make it clear that you will go all the way if necessary
ie tribunal
Should you share your plan B? If you have one
- Your own judgement here
- If either of two similar placements would be OK with you – then share
- If it’s all or nothing then indicating that you would accept an alternative could potentially undermine your case for your preference
- (you still have to do all your research)

Have a paper trail

We really can’t stress this enough
It won’t be enough to ensure that what someone says actually happens but it is harder to wriggle out when it’s agreed in writing.

After every phone call or meeting send an email:

This is what we discussed
You said you would do this
I said I would do that
When it’s to be done by
This can be helpful for your own record keeping as well

Don’t copy the world in – that gives everyone an out as they will assume someone else will deal with it

It makes it no-one’s responsibility
But fine to copy relevant people
- eg your social worker
- school

Final Points

(we might be repeating ourselves a bit)

Research, research, research

Look widely
Explore the full range of possibilities
Approach with a very open mind
You must explore LA suggestions

You’ve narrowed it down

Visit, visit again
If you visited on an open day, try to revisit when the college is in action
Ask a lot of questions – no question is a stupid question or inappropriate
List pros and cons – and why
Consider the essential, desirable, acceptable and unworkables for each college – it may come down to quite small differences
Be methodical
Try to compare similar things about each college

Who is the expert here?

Rely on yourself
Listen to other people
- Especially school and other settings your young person attends
- Your young person may enjoy things or demonstrate skills elsewhere that you don’t observe
Fine to gather views about colleges from other people but your opinion is the only one that actually matters
- Other people have their own agendas – which may not be the same as yours

Build the case for your choice

Based on benefit and need
- When it comes down to it this is all that matters
Provide evidence
- Your own voice should be heard and taken seriously
- But back up with professional input where possible

Paper trail and written records