Transition - Moving on from Southbrook

All pupils leave Southbrook at the end of Year 11 and move onto a variety of Post 16 providers. Last year’s leavers went onto study at;

• Exeter College
• Bicton College
• Duchy College
• Petroc
• Ellen Tinkham Sixth Form
• Mayfield Sixth Form
• Oakwood Court College
• On-Track

Most of the pupils leave and go into state provided Post 16 education at their local college. They maintain their EHC plan and enter the Foundation Learning tier of the college working up through the accreditation levels where appropriate.

A few pupils enter the independent sector at Post 16 and our two local providers are Oakwood Court College and On-Track. In order to attend one of these colleges there is a set of criteria that must be reached and a lengthy application and consultation process to go through.

If the Local Authority and your local college believe that they can meet your son or daughters educational needs then it is highly unlikely that you will be able to attend an independent specialist college.

What should I be doing as a parent or carer to start this transition process?

•  Start investigating the local colleges and their courses and seeing what options they have. There are some links on our school website with some limited information.

1. Visit your local colleges with your son and daughter so that you feel that you are informed. During Year 11 all pupils will visit colleges and have talks by college staff as part of our school careers programme but it would be advisable for you to go and visit them also.
2. Find out what your son or daughter is interested in and what courses might be more appealing to them. Bicton and Exeter College are very different environments and suit a different type of pupil.
3. Attend the Transition Event in November and use all available services in Devon to make sure that the transition is carefully planned. For example, make yourself aware of the services available from St Loye’s, ROC, CSW, DIAS, YMCA etc.
4. Use the annual review process in Year 10 and 11 to make sure that you are clear of all available options and do not be afraid to ask for help and advice.

Transitions are always daunting and the move from Southbrook School onto college is a big step.

There is lots of help available to you and all pupils will have many taster sessions at a variety of colleges in Year 11.

Please feel free to discuss these next steps at anytime, you can arrange a meeting with me or CSW and we can help plan out the process of transition for your son or daughter.