Post 16 information for parents | Shropshire Council

GCSEs and funding

It used to be possible for year 12 and 13s to do part time GCSEs at a local college, this is no longer the case. Funding has changed in the last few years. GCSEs (Maths and English only) can only be done in year 12 and 13 if they are enrolled on a full time course (3 days a week), maths and English GCSE or functional skills can be run alongside the full time course. If someone isn’t doing a full time course they cannot do PT functional skills or GCSEs until they are year 14 or 19 years of age whichever comes first – you would need to check exact details with each college as to what courses they are offering.

To do any additional GCSE subjects other than Maths and English in year 12 and 13 the only way of doing this is via online provision – averaging £450 per subject plus addition costs for each exam and travelling to an exam centre often in Birmingham or some other large city. You may also need to factor in the cost of a tutor and the additional issue of finding the tutor in the first place

Foundation level programmes

There used to be Training providers in Shropshire that offered Foundation Level programmes to year 12 and 13s, offering the opportunity to learn in a small centre with small numbers of young people attending. At these centres they could retake Maths and English GCSEs or do functional skills in these subjects plus learn employability skills and attend a work placement on an ongoing basis often leading to employment in that organisation or at least within that sector.

Please be aware these centres/programmes barely exist in Shropshire currently and there is no indication there will be funding in the future for these to return (correct at time of printing April 2024). Training providers are now only based in Wellington. Other centres are based in Telford and Hereford – travel can sometimes be a barrier. Enrolment on these courses is usually September through to February approx.

There are 2 foundation level courses run by colleges (Full time - 3 days a week) – College Ready at Shrewsbury College London Road (flexible enrolment September – February approx.), or The Advance Programme – Full Time Employability Programme, North Shropshire College, Oswestry Campus (September enrolment only). These courses include English and Maths GCSE/functional skills plus employability skills or block tasters of subject courses

Enrolment for most courses, (except the College Ready course mentioned above) is only in September. If someone doesn’t start at this point in the academic year, there will be no other intake for the rest of the academic year. Applications for courses starting in September will start to be received by the college from the December in the previous year through to March/April of the same year. This seems early but an application will ideally be submitted during this time period, any later and there is a risk the courses will be full. A level applications need to be completed in the Dec or January/February, before the September start.

Attendance and building confidence

When a year 11 hasn’t been attending school it may be due to many reasons, including social anxiety, anxiety, depression, bullying, dysregulated behaviour etc. During this period of non-attendance confidence can decrease and social isolation can increase. Often a manageable first step is to attend a smaller place with fewer people e.g. a training provider. These are all now, quite some distance to travel to. Parents and extended family can help prepare their young person by doing some travel training – its worth getting prepared so that in September they are confident enough to travel to the training provider.

If confidence and anxiety are the major barriers it is worth asking the GP about a social prescriber. They will explain the application process. There is a criteria and not all applications meet the threshold to qualify for getting a social prescriber – but its worth asking. A social prescriber (if one is allocated) acts as a 1:1 ‘buddy’ they will visit the young person, chat, listen to their concerns, text, support, encourage the young person to go for a walk locally, build on this to go in to a local café for a drink and a chat, support to use public transport, activity can be guided by other professionals and by parents and the young person if there are particular goals in mind

Voluntary work can be used as work experience and it helps young people build confidence, get into a routine and can be added to CVs. It can act as good preparation for their next step

Often parents are thinking that their son or daughter, who didn’t enjoy school, left early and is not taking any GCSEs, will thrive in an apprenticeship. In general terms this is understandable. The reality now, is that 99% of apprenticeships have entry requirements of grade 4 English and Maths and without these the application will not be considered. This is very different to what apprenticeships were like a few years ago. It is important to be aware of this change.

If young people think they will go for a full-time job they have to be aware they will be competing against adults with years of experience.

If a young person has an EHCP – there are more foundation level courses available to help them gain functional skills in year 12 and 13. Options include several based in Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Oswestry. You will need to liaise with the SEN department within the council or your SEN case worker to discuss and consider options. The earlier these discussions happen within year 11 the better. Consider contacting them now.