Boston College Skirbeck Road

Boston Lincolnshire

PE21 6JF

01205 365701

www.boston.ac.uk

2013/2014

M O T O R V E H I C L E 2013 - 2014

Welcome We welcome your employee to Boston College, but in particular to the Engineering/ Motor Vehicle Programme Area. We are very glad they have chosen to study at Boston College and hope they will enjoy their time with us. We are committed to providing high quality teaching and effective management of learning as you will see from our mission statement and vision below:

Mission Raising aspirations Meeting skills needs

Delivering high quality education and training

Vision ‘To be a brilliant college that transforms people’s lives and makes an outstanding contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of Lincolnshire’. The College’s Values are; T Trust O Openness R Respect C Challenge H Honesty E Excellence These are the values we will work to promote and instil on our learners during their studies and as they prepare for further training or employment and would ask for your support with this.

Candidate Evidence

To allow your employee to complete the NVQ qualification they will be required to collect evidence of carrying out specific jobs in your workplace. There are certain criteria that have to be met to fulfil this obligation: Observation: the employee will be observed by a college approved assessor carrying out tasks which link to their NVQ qualification. These observations will occur at the normal place of work, the candidate will carry out the task as per a routine job whilst the assessor is looking on. It is vital that the observations are carried out throughout the year to gain sufficient evidence to meet the qualification criteria. Evidence: to prove that the employee is carrying out required tasks throughout the duration of the course they are required to collect evidence. This evidence must come from jobs that the candidate has carried out on their own and in the normal place of work. All the evidence collected must be counter signed by a workplace mentor to confirm it is authentic. Witness testimony: this piece of evidence is signed by a credible witness from the place of work to confirm that the candidate has carried out certain tasks during their normal working day. The witness is normally a senior member of the workplace. Contact sheet: this is a list of names and signatures of staff who will act as a workplace mentor for the candidate. Any evidence signed by a workplace member of staff must link to a sample signature of that person on the contact sheet.

Your cooperation in prompting your employee to complete all paperwork on time will assist in the

completion of the qualification.

COLLEGE CALENDAR 2013-14

2013 September 2nd Autumn term starts. Learner Services Induction week September 3rd Spalding Enrolment September 26th Higher Education Fair at BCUC October 3rd HE Parents’ Briefing ’Going to University’ BCUC October 8th Spalding College in Action October 10th Boston College in Action October 16th Volunteer Fair at BCUC October 21st-25th Half term October 29th HE Open Event October 30th & 31st Parents’ evenings November 5th School Taster day November 7th Boston College in Action November 14th Spalding College in Action November 15th Closing date for UCAS applications (internal) December 19th End of Autumn term 2014 January 6th Spring term starts January 23rd HE Open Event February 6th Boston College in Action February 11th Spalding College in Action February 17th-21st Half term for learners March 3rd-7th Careers week March 4th & 5th Parents’ evenings April 4th End of Spring term April 22nd Summer term starts May 5th Bank Holiday May26th Bank Holiday June 10th Spalding Open Event (Information) June 12th Boston Open Evening (Information) June 26th Summer term ends Note Any learner taking holidays outside of holiday periods will be considered absent from the course. Learners receiving support from the College Bursary Fund need to be aware that they will not be paid for holiday periods taken outside the academic breaks.

The Learning Experience Ensuring the quality of teaching and learning is obviously central to our purpose and we take it extremely seriously. All classes have a personal tutor who is responsible for the day-to-day management and the welfare of learners in it. All full-time courses lead to a qualification, which is validated by a recognised external awarding body. Learners in this programme area will be studying one of the following courses;

Institute of the Motor Industry Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship Institute of the Motor Industry Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Boston College provides high quality further education to thousands of learners aged of 14 and over. We have learners:

both male and female who are high achievers who live quite close in nearby towns and villages, together with

International learners from across the world of different ages who are straight, gay or bi-sexual of different nationalities and religions. with learning disabilities / difficulties

Boston College celebrates and welcomes this diversity and we want to make sure everyone is treated fairly and have the same opportunities to aspire and achieve. We are committed to maintaining a College free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation in which individual differences are valued. You can expect equality of opportunity for all who learn, work and visit Boston College.

Safeguarding Statement

Boston College places a high priority on the safety and wellbeing

of our learners. We are committed to creating and maintaining a friendly,

welcoming and safe working environment for all young people and

vulnerable adults, whether learning is taking place on or off College

premises. We have a duty to safeguard learners, and we will respond

immediately if there is a concern that a learner might be the victim of

bullying, harassment, abuse or neglect. Health and safety procedures are tightly managed to ensure the safety and welfare of all learners, staff and visitors. All staff are trained in safeguarding and there is a designated specialist Safeguarding Team to support safeguarding referrals. If you need to contact a member of the College Safeguarding Team please contact the main reception. If your concern is urgent and you are unable to contact the Safeguarding team please contact one of the following; Children's Social Care 01522 782225 Children’s Social Care (out of hours) 01522 782333 A key part of our safeguarding strategy is that all learners, staff and visitors are expected to display an ID badge at all times when on the premises. We would ask for your support in ensuring your employee understands the importance of bringing their ID badge to College, which they will also need to access some of our College services.

At Boston College we emphasise the importance of respecting other

people within the College community. We also emphasise respect for

personal property and for the facilities of the College. We ask employers

to work with us to create an environment where

everyone feels safe and valued and where all

learners can work successfully to achieve their

full potential.

Appeal If the learner is less than eighteen years of age the parent or guardian will be informed of any procedures after the White Card. If over eighteen years of age a person of the learner’s choice may accompany them to the interview, letters are not normally sent to parents.

Personal Property The following guidance is given to all learners at College, we would ask that employers encourage similar practice in the workplace. Learners are strongly advised to keep valuable belongings on or with them at all times. The College cannot accept responsibility for the loss of, or damage to, learners’ personal property. Learners are advised not to leave their coats, handbags, sports gear, calculators, etc. in unlocked classrooms, cloakrooms or locker rooms. If items of property go missing, then learners should report it immediately to the College Reception. If learners find items belonging to other people, they should hand them into the College Reception as soon as possible. Learners could help themselves by: Leaving mobile telephone, valuable coats and jewellery at home Naming and post coding equipment Carrying only the money they need for the day Insuring expensive items of equipment Note: Mobile phones must be turned off before lessons and handed in to the member of staff taking the lesson. All phones will be stored safely until the end of the lesson

Attendance Good levels of attendance are very important and there is a direct correla-tion between attendance and achievement i.e. the better the attendance record, the better the chance of achieving the qualification / high grades. Individual attendance records will be closely monitored and learners will be expected to meet minimum level of attendance of 93%. Having a disciplined approach to attendance is also good preparation for learners’ future working life and future employers often ask to see evidence of attendance when seeking references for employees. Should your employee be unable to attend for any reason, please contact the College directly using any of the following methods as soon as possible on the morning of absence (ideally by 9.30am) Phone – 01205 365701 (and choose option “2”) Email - absent@boston.ac.uk

Text – Please text BCABSENT to 88020

If you or your employee fails to do this you may be phoned by the Attendance Monitor whose task it is to track non attendance. It would be appreciated if any non-essential personal appointments could be booked around the learner’s timetable. Thank you for your help in this matter.

Disciplinary Procedure Learners whose behaviour is persistently or seriously disruptive or who in some other way behave in an offensive, socially unacceptable, careless or irresponsible manner will find themselves subject to the College disciplinary procedure. First Verbal Warning Tutor or other appropriate member of staff Green Card issued for Support with work White Card issued by Course Tutor Yellow Card issued by Programme Area Manager If no improvement Red Card issued by Head of Curriculum If no improve-ment The case will be heard before the Academic Board

How we communicate with Employers There are several opportunities throughout the year for you to give or receive feedback about your employee’s progress. 1. Employer Surveys – these are issued at various stages throughout the year depending on the length of qualification. We value your comments and feedback and are committed to further improving our service.

2. Visiting employers – depending on your employee’s mode of study it is likely that part of their studies will include college staff visiting them in the work place to observe the progress they are making and to conduct assessments and reviews. Whenever possible the assessor will speak with the employer to discuss the progress of the employee and to address any questions or concerns that may arise.

3. Award evenings – these are held in the summer term and parents, family and employers are invited to attend. It is a chance for learners to showcase their skills and for those who have made outstanding progress to be acknowledged with the presentation of programme area awards.

In addition you are very welcome to contact the College at any time should you have concerns or questions. We suggest you initially contact the main reception at the college who will be pleased to help with your enquiries, or will be able to help you to get in touch with an individual tutor or member of the course team, as shown below.

Contact Information

Main reception at Boston College Tel: (01205) 365701 Richard Chambers Head of Curriculum Email: richardc@boston.ac.uk

Wayne Smith Employer Engagement Co-ordinator Email: wayne-s@boston.ac.uk

Lee Crisp Programme Area Manager - Engineering Email: lee-c@boston.ac.uk

Induction During the first week at College your employee will have received the following:

Health and Safety Training/Fire safety

Timetables and Rotas

Tour of all College Facilities

Overview of Learner Services

Various Team Building Events

Induction on the maintenance of the workbooks applicable to their

course

Health and Safety We intend to provide your employee with a safe and healthy learning environment. Your employee will receive health and safety information as part of their induction to the course. They will not undertake any task which could affect their health and safety or the health and safety of other learners, staff and visitors to the College. Failing to follow health and safety regulations, or College health and safety procedures, is regarded very seriously. All areas of the College are subject to regular health and safety audits. Staff receive training on health and safety awareness. Wherever required, staff receive training on the health and safety aspects of the equipment, processes and materials which are employed in teaching and learning. The College has qualified first aiders on call and it is vital that we have an emergency contact number for your employee in the case of emergency.

Health and Safety cont. Matters regarding health and safety are of great importance in the Automotive industry and good practice will be rigidly enforced as listed in the code of practice below. We would ask for your support with ensuring your employee continues to adhere to this practice while in the workplace.

Specific Workshop Safety Points Learners must wear foot protection & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during all workshop activities, no learner will be allowed in the workshop without their PPE which was highlighted in the ‘offer letter’ sent & discussed at Interview. The workshop ‘safety code of practice’ must be followed at all

times. PPE relevant to the task being carried out must be worn at all

times. Malicious use of equipment, destruction of facilities, contravention

of the H&S Act, or general misbehaviour will result in loss of workshop facilities. We operate a ‘No Tolerance’ policy with regards to workshop

H&S. No learner shall leave the workshop classes until indicated by the lecturer in charge. MOBILE PHONES must be locked away (switched off or on silent)

in classrooms and workshops. Eating, drinking and the use of personal stereos are not allowed in

classrooms or workshops.