Preparing for January intake

10 Dec 2019 01:43 PM

January intake is a great opportunity for you to help learners who’ve not been in a position to make a decision about their studies at the start of the academic year, and therefore missed the start of a programme.

This may be because a learner originally started on another programme or entered into employment or an apprenticeship, and decided it wasn’t for them.

Whatever the reason for a learner starting their studies in January, it’s vital you provide appropriate advice and guidance for those who start late and therefore need to play catch up to those who started their studies in September.

So, what can you do to support these learners to bring them up to speed and ensure they succeed?

Ensure you deliver a programme that offers entry / exit points at different times of the year, so you have the flexibility to adapt and support learners as they progress, based on their performance. Our nested suite of qualifications can support this, ensuring a strong curriculum for your learners.

Plan your programme so the mandatory units are covered in the latter part of the year so any late starters cover these units in terms 2 and 3.

Have a plan in place for learners to catch up on work for the unit(s) missed from the first term so they have the opportunity to catch up to the full study programme – if not, then learners will only ever complete the smaller size qualifications. This plan could involve set timetabled sessions with lecturers, operating a buddy system to give peer to peer support, or running classes during Easter, May half term or the summer. Also planning some eModules or lessons that learners can do at home or outside of timetabled hours would help support progression. A successful plan will allow all learners to start the second year on the full study programme.

Lastly, meet with your Internal Advice and Guidance (IAG) teams to discuss plans for late start learners. Set a profile for the course so the team is aware of learners they may need to support ahead of time, and they have all the required details to sufficiently and effectively support those who need it, making the transition as smooth as possible for the learner.

NCFE nested suites

We have a range of nested suite qualifications that can support your January intake. To find out more about these qualifications or how we can support you with your curriculum planning, visit our webpages.