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College Advisory Team
Advice and Guidance: 01244 670504 (Chester) or 01244 670393 (Ellesmere Port)
The College Advisory Team offers impartial, information, advice and guidance to both current and prospective students. You can book an appointment with a College Advisor on 01244 670 504/303 or pop in to have a chat. They will be able to advise and guide you on options related to your course, progression from courses, opportunities for jobs or even personal issues. Please talk to an Advisor if you think you may have chosen the wrong course or are thinking of leaving!! You can e-mail on advisors@west-cheshire.ac.uk, or make an appointment though any of our Customer Service Assistants.
Careers Guidance: 01244 670504 or 01244 670303
The College employs a qualified Careers Adviser who can offer impartial careers advice and guidance. Workshops on Higher Education, job search, applying for jobs and CVs, are also available. There is an up-to-date careers library at the Chester and Ellesmere Port Campuses, with prospectuses, reference books, careers leaflets, careers software and videos. Careers resources are also available in the ‘College Advisory Team’ resource room on FRONTER. The Careers Adviser can also help with personal statement writing and mock interviews for higher education.
Our Careers Adviser and College Advisers will give you advice and guidance on UCAS applications to Higher Education. Here at West Cheshire College our UCAS students use the updated, online version of Apply. This is a secure online application system that has many advantages over the paper-based system. You will be required to register with this system with the help of your Personal Tutor. Once you have obtained your ‘username’, ‘password’ and ‘buzzword’ you will be able to log into the UCAS web site at College, in your own home or at a local centre. The Advisory Team can provide help and advice with online NMAS applications. We also have links with local universities and are currently piloting a mentoring scheme with Cheshire County Council.
Finance and Welfare
Finance & Welfare: 01244 670519 ( Chester) or 01244 670401, 01244 670 307( Ellesmere Port)
The Finance and Welfare Team can offer you information on funding, grants, benefits, student loans, welfare rights and other financial support which may be available through a variety of government schemes and initiatives, charities and trusts.
Learner Support Fund
The College has a Learner Support Fund which is available to students studying for a qualification. This fund may provide contributions towards your travel, equipment, childcare and other costs depending on your financial circumstances.
You are likely to be eligible for help from this fund if you or your parents are in receipt of a means tested benefit (eg. Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Working Tax Credit) or from a low-income family (maximum household income of £23,164gross will be eligible to apply) or lone parents.
Application forms are available from the Finance & Welfare Team, College Advisory Team, or Customer Services.
The deadline for Learner Support applications to be handed into the Finance & Welfare Team is Friday 24th September 2010.
Education Maintenance Allowance
EMA is a weekly payment worth up to £30 for learners who are aged 16 to 18 years old and are planning to continue in Further Education from September 2010. Payments will be made directly into the learner’s bank account.
Learners can get EMA if:
-their household income is £30,810 or below
-their course involves at least 12 hours of guided learning per week (such as lectures & supervised learning)
Your EMA contacts can be found in the Customer Services Areas:
Chester Campus:Joan Armstrong 01244 670519
Chester and Ellesmere Port Campus: Carol Clarke 01244 670307
Ellesmere Port and Capenhurst Campuses: Lisa Taylor 01244 670401
Adult Learning Grant (ALG)
ALG is a means-tested allowance of up to £30 per week payable to adults resident in England studying full time for a first full Level 2 or first full Level 3 qualification.
To be eligible for the Adult Learner Grant learners must be:
-aged over 19
-studying full time a minimum of 450 guided Learning hours (glh) per academic year, so at least 12 hours a week, and attending college regularly
-doing your first Level 2 or first full Level 3 qualification (includes BTEC, NVQ, GCSE and A’ Level)
-earning less than £19,513 if you are single or less than £30,810 if you are a couple
-not receiving out of work benefits or Income Support
Financial Help for Disabled Students
If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Student's Allowance which covers four types of help:
-specialist equipment you need for studying, for example, computer software
-a non-medical helper, such as a note-taker or reader
-extra travel costs you have to pay because of your disability
-other costs, for example tapes or Braille paper
Further information is available at: www.direct.gov.uk/Disabled People
Other Financial Support
There are additional sources of support for students through:
-a variety of charities and trusts
-professional career development loans
-Adult Dependants’ Grant
-Parent Learning Allowance
Further information is available at:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk
www.direct.gov.uk
Entitlement Statement
As a potential learner you can expect to:
- Gain access to information on learning opportunities within the College in order to help you choose the right programme of study for you
- Gain access to impartial advice and guidance on career routes and career planning strategies
- Gain access to information and advice on financing and supporting education and training opportunities and eligibility requirements
- Be treated according to your individual needs and on the basis of equality of opportunity
As a learner enrolled at the College you can expect to:
-Undertake an induction including information on how to access careers advice and guidance
-Have access to impartial careers advice during your programme of study at College. Referrals to one-to-one careers guidance interviews are available as appropriate
-Receive support to successfully achieve your chosen programme and to progress to your next step
-Have access a range of electronic and paper-based careers planning aids
-Have access to career planning workshops and activities
-Obtain support for progression into employment, further education/ higher education
-Be treated according to your individual needs and on the basis of equality of opportunity
Receive a confidential service where information of a personal or sensitive nature is never passed on to a third party without the explicit informed consent of the client (unless specific situations arise – see confidentiality statement).
Confidentiality Statement
West Cheshire College handles data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and all other relevant legislation.
Information of a personal or sensitive nature is never passed on to a third party without the explicit informed consent of the client, unless another piece of legislation says we must e.g. The Children Act 2004 (covering child protection issues).
The College also abides by the “Common Law of Confidence”, this in effect means:
Information given or received in confidence for one purpose may not be used for a different purpose or passed to anyone else without the consent of the provider of the information. While Connexions Staff are able to receive confidential information from young people, they also need to bear in mind that they are still obliged to disclose information where there is an overriding public interest.
Therefore confidentiality can be broken if …
-The disclosure prevents the client from committing a criminal offence that could place others in jeopardy or places a staff member or any other person at risk of collusion
-The client is at risk of significant harm or of harming someone else
-The client needs urgent medical treatment
-If the company is ordered to give information as part of a legal proceeding, usually by order of the Court
- If information is requested by the police to enable them to pursue an investigation. This will only be provided on receipt of a Section 29.3 form
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