Parent and Carers Newsletter June 2024 - Selby College

Parents & Carers Newsletter Parents & Carers Newsletter

Welcome

I am thrilled to welcome you to our brand-new parents' and carers’ newsletter, which is designed to keep you informed and engaged with the latest news, developments and opportunities in our amazing College.

This newsletter also serves the perfect opportunity to introduce myself as the new Local College Director for Selby College. I have been at the organisation for over 17 years and hope to utilise my experience in building strong external relationships, particularly with schools and community groups, and developing the student experience to create an environment where your child/ward truly thrives, both academically and personally. I look forward to developing strong working relationship with students and parents/carers so that we can best support young people in their studies at Selby College.

Last term was certainly a busy and prosperous one, with careers fairs, Sustainability Week and the launch of progression activity with Your Future Week, taking place across the College.

You will also be able to read about our former Sixth Form student’s remarkable journey, which has seen her progress from studying a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Sciences at the University of Oxford to now studying a PhD in Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge.

Summer exams are now in full swing and additional support is available for those sitting their exams. We wish your child/ward the best of luck with their exams!

James Pennington Local College Director

Issue 1 June 2024

Ensuring our students progress

Whether your child/ward has chosen to continue their studies with us or needs further advice on what steps to take next, we will be here to support and advise them.

Students wanting to progress with us are not required to apply using the same process as new students as we are keen to secure places early for our current students. Any offer made by us, whether that be onto a higherlevel course, an Apprenticeship or a Higher Education programme, will be ‘conditional’.

To secure their progression application, students must attend all classes now, including their progress meeting, as well as successfully complete their current programme of study. Attendance is a key factor to success in all subjects and attendance and achievement of each subject including Maths and English, is vital to secure the right progression outcome.

If your child/ward doesn’t currently meet the entry requirements for the course they are interested in, it doesn’t mean they can’t progress. They should talk to us during the progression process as there may be things we can put in place to support them in getting to where they want to be.

We encourage all parents/ carers to track their child/ ward’s attendance and progression via the Parent Portal, using the QR code: Scan here to login to the Parent Portal.

What's been happening

Students experience the Big Apple

40 Art, Design & Media students from the College travelled to New York City for a once-in-a-lifetime trip in March, exploring the city’s most iconic landmarks.

Over their 13 days in New York, the students visited famous art museums such as The Met and the Museum of Modern Art alongside tours through renowned institutes including the Radio City Music Hall and NBC Studios. On their leisure days, the students also had the independence to go sightseeing, visiting the famous Rockefeller Building, the Empire State Building, Central Park and the Statue of Liberty.

The trip was fully funded by the Turing Scheme, which is one of the UK Government’s initiatives to provide funding for international learning opportunities and global mobility projects for colleges and universities.

Students see behind the scenes at Jet2

Level 3 Travel & Tourism students recently got a taste of what it's like to work for one of the UK's largest airlines, as they embarked on a work experience day with Jet2 at its headquarters at Leeds Bradford Airport.

Representatives from Jet2 also visited the College to provide the students with further insight into the company and the exciting opportunities which are available within the Travel & Tourism sector.

Former student lands Head Chef role

Kurtus Auty, a former Hospitality & Catering student from Selby College, has secured his dream role as an Executive Chef at Bonsun’s, in York.

After recently relocating from luxury fine dining restaurant The Cliff, in Barbados, Kurtus is now redefining the restaurant’s menu and dining experience. Kurtus is bringing a world of flavours to York, whilst creatively developing the restaurant’s ethos of fresh, locally sourced produce across its selection of seasonal menus. It’s fantastic to see one of our former students enjoying a successful career in the Hospitality &

Apprentice secures third place in bricklayers competition

Year 2 Bricklaying apprentice at Selby College, Jack Toes, secured third place in the Guild of Bricklayers Competition.

Taking part in the senior section of the competition, Jack competed against bricklayers from the wider East/North Yorkshire region. This is a great achievement for Jack and reflects his hard work and dedication to both his training and his craft over the last year, well done!

Students learn about the Netherlands’ legal system

In March, our Law and Criminology students visited Amsterdam to immerse themselves in a city with a different culture, infrastructure and legal system.

Allowing the students to visit Amsterdam enabled them to experience a whole different perspective on why crimes that are illegal in the UK are socially accepted and decriminalised in the Netherlands. They then drew comparisons between the capital city and York, considering factors of crime rates across both cities.

Students become local radio stars

York Mix Radio paid a visit to the College as part of its roadshow celebrating Selby Residents’ Festival which took place in April.

Broadcasting live on air from the bus, York Mix presenter Victoria Charles, spoke to students about their experience at the College and what they liked about the local area. Karen Ralphs, Head of A Levels, also spoke to Victoria about the College’s vast A Level offer and the exciting progression opportunities our current students have lined up when they finished their qualifications with us this summer.

Celebrating sustainability

During Sustainability Week, we celebrated the best practices and fantastic initiatives our staff and students have been carrying out when it comes to sustainability.

Sport and Public Services collected a significant amount of litter across the campus and Selby town centre as part of their annual ‘plogging’ event. Our Alternative Curriculum students have also been working on a gardening project through the Green Team at Goole at the College’s allotment, as well as carrying out joint sustainable projects with Up for Yorkshire. These are just some of the activities that have been happening across the Group – it’s truly been great to see students putting sustainability at the heart of their activities and really driving forward change. You can read all about these initiatives in our sustainability newsletter, Footprint.

We held a careers fair during ‘Your Future Week’ in March which was attended by more than 264 students across the College. Employers, universities and providers from across the country were on hand to talk to students about their future options and it’s fair to say every student left with valuable information about their next steps.

One external exhibitor commented that it was a great event and that had very good conversations with students who seemed prepared and informed to have conversations about their progression.

If your child/ward is still unsure about their choices, they can contact our supportive Careers Team on 01924 789113 or careers@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk for advice.

We care for our young carers

We also celebrated Young Carers Action Day in March which aims to raise awareness of young carers nationally.

We have signed up to the Young Carers Covenant to help secure fair futures for young carers. We do this by providing support as required for our young carers and making reasonable adjustments to help ensure they can combine their caring with education, providing emotional support and practical advice as necessary.

We also support them in securing their progression options, by giving them careers advice, looking at including the skills developed in their caring roles in CVs and university applications and helping them to find out what support is out there in higher education or in the world of work.

If your child/ward is a young carer and needs support, please don’t hesitate to contact our College’s Young Adult Carer Lead – Carol Price on 01924 789755 or at cprice@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk

Your Future Week Sixth Form alumna shares Oxbridge experience

Emily Morbey, a former Sixth Form student at Selby College, recently returned to the College to speak to students about her experience studying at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

After completing her A Levels in 2019 with three A*s in English Language, Maths and Biology, Emily secured a place at the University of Oxford to study a Bachelors Degree in Human Sciences which she achieved a First Class Honours in.

As part of Careers Week at the College, Emily delivered a talk to current Sixth Form students – giving them the opportunity to hear first-hand what it is like to study at two of the world’s most prestigious institutions.

Emily then progressed on to a Masters degree and is now studying at PhD in Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge. Emily said about her success: “Ultimately, my time at Selby College was instrumental in my academic journey as the flexibility of my A Level options meant I kept many academic doors open and developed both literary and scientific skills. I found this was incredibly important when studying higher levels of academia.”

Helping to Navigate your child’s future

We provide wrap-around support for our students, ensuring that they can successfully progress onto their next steps. One of the ways we do this is through our Navigate programme,

which provides a range of activities and events designed to develop your child/ward’s employability and wider skills. They will get a programme for the year during induction and additional

activities and reminders will be advertised on a weekly basis.

Find out more using the QR code.

Group signs new AoC Mental Health Charter Study for a Degree with us

We have demonstrated our commitment to supporting student and staff mental health and wellbeing by signing up to the Association of College’s new Mental Health Charter.

Developed in partnership with education professionals and senior health leads, the charter has been updated following its creation in 2019 to address the rise in mental health difficulties in young people. Wakefield College originally signed up for the charter in 2019, with the latest version outlining new good practice principles and standards.

Our Student Experience team are a dedicated team who are here to ensure that all students receive the support that they need to make the most of their student experience and studies.

If you are concerned about the mental health or wellbeing of your child/ ward, please contact our Student Wellbeing Team on studentcentral@ heartofyorkshire.ac.uk or by calling in person to Student Central at any of our three Colleges.

Is your child/ward still undecided on their next steps? Did you know, they can progress onto a Higher Education course, right here at Selby College? At the University Centre at the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, we offer over 50 different degree-level programmes ranging from Animal Care to Music to Business.

Our flexible approach to teaching and learning means that your child/ward can study many of our courses part-time around their other commitments. What’s more, our programmes are validated by some of Britain’s

top universities, meaning your child/ward can get the same qualification whilst paying lower course fees.

There’s no age limit on who can do our courses, so you can also study for a degree on your doorstep! To find out more, please contact our Course Information Team on 01924 789111, email courseinfo@ heartofyorkshire.ac.uk or visit www.heartofyorkshire.ac.uk/HE

Putting Safeguarding First Sexual Extortion (Sextortion)

The safety and wellbeing of our students and staff are a top priority at the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group. All staff are trained in safeguarding and child protection and we have an enhanced safeguarding trained team across all three Colleges.

If you have any safeguarding concerns, please contact Carol Price or Michelle Jones by emailing safeguarding@ heartofyorkshire.ac.uk or scan the QR code to report a safeguarding concern.

Contacting Social Care

Safeguarding is everyone’s business, and you should refer to your local social care services if you have concerns that a child is being harmed. You do not have to give your personal details such as your name and address. The number for North Yorkshire is 01609 780780 or visit www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk

Please do check the numbers online for other districts.

A Parental Guidance Booklet

This booklet provides key information and guidance to those parents with young people who have an Autism Spectrum Condition, around safeguarding them from extremist ideologies.

The objective of this resource is to equip parents with the confidence and effective strategies to have meaningful conversations with and develop the resilience of young people going forwards. Consequently, they will hopefully be able to effectively recognise and counter extremist points of view.

Read more using

The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Parternship websites provides a wealth of information for parents and carers. The information related to safeguarding children is relevant up to the young person’s 18th birthday.

Smoothwall Monitor

We use Smoothwall Monitor to help safeguard students in the online space, both in College or when they access IT on College equipment from home.

Smoothwall Monitor has advanced behavioural technology and the human moderation team provides protection 24/7, 365 days a year. The platform also helps designated staff to spot at-risk students who may otherwise go unnoticed, alerting staff in realtime and within minutes of an event being detected. This ensures we can concentrate on supporting and educating students.

All education institutions in the UK have recently been sent information from the National Crime Agency, raising awareness of the recent rise in reporting of financially motivated sexual extortion (a type of online blackmail often known in the media as ‘sextortion’).

This type of crime involves an adult offender (often from an organised crime group based overseas) threatening to release nude or semi-nude images and/or videos of a child or young person (including AI generated images), unless they pay money, or meet another financial demand, such as purchasing a prepaid gift card. Victims of any age and gender can be targets, however, a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged 14-18.

What can I do if this has happened to my child?

If your child tells you that someone is trying to trick, threaten or blackmail them online:

• Don’t pay, do stop contact and block: you may be tempted to pay, but there is no guarantee that this will stop the threats. As the offender’s motive is to get money, once you have shown you can pay, they will likely ask for more and blackmail may continue. If you have paid, don’t panic but don’t pay anything more. Help your child to stop all communication with the offender and block them on any accounts that they have been contacted on.

• Avoid deleting anything: try not to delete anything that could be used as evidence such as messages, images and bank account details. This protects the public from serious and organised crime.

• Report to the police or CEOP: call 101 or 999 if there is an immediate risk of harm to your child. Or you can use the CEOP Safety Centre (www.ceop. police.uk/safety-centre) to report

any online blackmail attempts. Adults who have experienced financially motivated sexual extortion can use the Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (https://stopncii.org) to immediately prevent their content from being shared online across StopNCCI. org’s industry partners. They should also report the incident to the police and the platform or app that the incident has occurred on.

Getting support in a mental health crisis or emergency

A mental health crisis is when a person is currently safe but needs urgent mental health support. They could be feeling like they may seriously harm themselves or others or be suicidal.

What can you do in a mental health crisis?

9 If your child/ward already gets mental health support from the NHS oranother organisation, please contact the service that helps them

9 Book an emergency appointment with your child’s/ward’s GP practice.

9 Contact Night OWLS for free on 03002 003900 or 07984 392700 or chat online at: www.wynightowls.org.uk

9 Call NHS 111 a 24-hour helpline for help and advice

9 If your child/ward doesn’t currently use mental health services, you can contact Single Point Access (SPA) teams on 01977 735865

What's coming up

VISIT OUR NEXT OPEN EVENT

WEDNESDAY 19TH JUNE, 4PM - 6:30PM

If your child is still undecided on their choices or is wanting to progress onto another level or programme, we recommend that they attend our Open Event on Wednesday 19th June, 4pm - 6:30pm

This will allow them to meet their course tutors and potential course mates, as well talk through their options. Register your child's place, using the QR code:

STUDENTS PREPARE FOR FINAL EXHIBITION

THURSDAY 13TH JUNE 2024

Our Art, Design & Media students are preparing to showcase their final pieces of work as part of the department’s End of Year Show on Thursday 13th June. The exhibition will feature artwork including illustrations, textiles, graphic communications, photography and more. Higher Education Art & Design students will also hold their own Degree Show, which will take place at the Town Hall in Selby on Thursday 20th June

Did you know that you can enjoy some delicious food and a range of treatments in our state-of-the-art restaurant and hair and beauty salon?

Providing a total body and mind experience, our hairdressing and beauty therapy salon provides a retreat where you can revitalise. All of our treatments are performed by our students under the supervision of our highly qualified tutors, who are experienced beauty therapists, hair stylists, colour corrective specialists and nail artists.

RELAX, DINE AND UNWIND WITH US…

INTERESTED IN LEARNING SOMETHING NEW OR UPSKILLING?

Our wide range of Online Learning courses are designed to fit around your lifestyle and other commitments, meaning you can gain a new qualification online and from the comfort of your own home.

› FREE of Charge*

Using the finest locally-sourced produce, our training restaurants provides some of the best value for money delicacies in Selby, which are served by students in our award-winning Hospitality and Catering Departments. With a fully licensed bar, the Restaurant is also available to hire for private functions.

› Study from home

› Gain new skills

› Learn at your own pace

› Achieve a nationally recognised qualification

To book a table at one of our restaurants or Hair & Beauty salons, please contact: Aspire Salon – aspire@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk Restaurant – info@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk