College Learners

Induction

Handbook

2013/14

course information: 02082664000 main switchboard: 02082008300

Introduction and Welcome

Principal’s address

Welcome to Barnet and Southgate College, one of the largest Colleges in London and a great place to study or develop new skills. This handbook gives you some key information about the College and our support services. Our staff are here to help you to achieve your goals and aspirations, our expectation of you is that you attend regularly, work hard and make the most of your opportunities at College. We take the views of our learners very seriously so please do feedback to us on what we are doing well, and what we could do better. I hope you enjoy your course. David Byrne Principal and Chief Executive Barnet and Southgate College

Term Dates

Autumn Term: 9th September – 20th December 2013

Half Term: 28th October – 1st November 2013

Spring Term: 6th January – 4th April 2014

Half Term: 17th February – 21st February 2014

Summer Term: 22nd April – 27th June 2014

Half Term: 26th May – 30th May 2014

Respect

Equality & Diversity

Policy Statement

This means we expect our learners to show respect to everyone and never to

bully, discriminate against or harass others. We will not tolerate any racist,

sexist or homophobic behaviour or any disrespectful treatment of people with a

disability or learning difficulty. Breaches of the Equality & Diversity policy

would lead to the college taking disciplinary action.

If you see anybody behaving in a way that contradicts the Equality & Diversity

policy, please tell your tutor or a member of the Learner Services team.

Barnet & Southgate College is committed to achieving equality and diversity

for all of its learners, staff, and the broader community which it serves. We

welcome, celebrate and value the diversity of our learning community and

seek to promote an inclusive learning and working environment where

everyone can achieve to their full potential. We have a zero tolerance of

discrimination, harassment and bullying of any kind.

Code of Conduct

A reminder of a few College rules…

Your College ID badge must be worn at all times and be shown if requested by a member of staff.

You are expected to attend all your classes and to be on time

You should not wear anything that covers your head or face apart from approved safety equipment or for religious reasons.

You should follow instructions for completing assignments and exams without cheating, copying or plagiarising and you should hand in all assignments on time

You should keep mobile phones switched off in all learning areas unless directed otherwise and not to use any facilities on mobile phones, personal stereos or similar equipment to cause trouble or affect another person’s right to privacy.

Unacceptable behaviour includes…

Eating/drinking in classrooms/learning resources centres

Playing loud music from iPods/mobile phones in college buildings

Carrying of any weapons

Bringing drugs or alcohol on to college premises

Spitting

Staff will not tolerate disrespectful or abusive behaviour and will apply the disciplinary procedure when necessary

A full copy of College Code of Conduct will be given to you to sign to show you agree with the rules.

Health, Safety and Security We want to ensure your health and safety while studying at the College and take the security of you and your belongings very seriously.

Security We need you to help us make Barnet and Southgate College a secure, safe and friendly place for all our students, staff and visitors. Please help us to do this by wearing your student ID Card at all times unless you have been asked to remove it for health and safety reasons. Never lend your card to anyone else or swipe someone else in at the turn-stiles using your ID card.

You are responsibility for the safekeeping of your own property (money, phones, bags etc.). Never leave your personal belongings unattended.

Safeguarding What to do if you are worried that someone is at risk of physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect: You can talk to your tutor or any other member of staff. If they are not available and the matter is urgent, speak to a member of the Learner Services team who will contact someone for you to talk to. The information you tell a member of staff is private, we won’t tell anyone else without your permission unless we find that you or someone else are in danger of being harmed. We will be open and honest with you and endeavour to support you through this. Safeguarding Contact : http://www.barnetsouthgate.ac.uk/safeguarding

Looking after our Environment Please help us to keep our campuses clean and tidy by using the litter bins providing around the College. Please do use the recycle bins where they are provided.

Fire and Emergency Evacuation If the fire alarm sounds, leave the building by the safest route possible and follow the instructions of the Fire Warden. If you are away from your classroom or learning area, do not return to collect any of your possessions. Go to the nearest assembly area outside and do not go back into any of the buildings until you have been told it is safe to do so. Please make sure you know what to do in an emergency and if you have any concerns, please report to a member of staff immediately.

First Aid If at any time you think a First Aider is required, please contact the nearest member of staff or reception.

No Smoking Policy

You must use the permitted areas only. This means that:

Smoking or being in possession of lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes is not permitted in any buildings or vehicles used by Barnet and Southgate College staff, students, customers and visitors. (This includes the use of E cigarettes)

Smoking is not permitted immediately outside the entrances or open windows of the College premises.

The College raises awareness of the dangers associated with exposure to tobacco smoke.

Disciplinary action: any student or visitor disregarding this policy may be subject to disciplinary action.

Refectory Opening Days & Times Southgate Term Time: Monday – Thursday 08.30 – 15.00

Holidays: 10.00 – 14.00 Closed over Christmas

Wood Street Term Time: Monday – Thursday 08.15 – 20.15 Friday 08.15 – 15.15 Holidays 10.00 – 14.00 Closed over Christmas

Grahame Park Term Time: Monday – Friday 08.30 – 14.00 Starbucks – Monday – Thursday 09.30 – 20.00 Friday 09.30 – 14.45 Holidays 10.00 – 14.00 (Caterlink only) Closed over Christmas

Functional Skills Functional Skills are qualifications in English, Maths and ICT. They are available for all Full Time students and are very important for student progression. The qualifications are from Entry to Level 2 (GCSE C equivalent). Students who have these classes on their timetable must attend and take the exams. BKSB learning resources are available online to help you make progress and pass. http://www.bksblive.co.uk/bksblive1/BarnetSouthgateCollege/default.aspx Work with your Functional skills teacher and classmates. You can attain these qualifications and make progress.

Support Services

Learner Services

Support for your Studies, Careers & Welfare

The College offers a broad range of support services such as

Learning & Community (L&C) Advisers to help with your course work, Moodle and assignments

Counsellors for help with emotional issues

Student Advisers for help with welfare, housing & health issues

Careers Advisers for help with University applications, courses & CVs

To book an appointment with any member of the team, L&C Adviser, Counsellor, Careers Adviser, Student Adviser, just pop in to your campus Learning Resource Centre and an adviser will be there to make you an appointment.

Alternatively – phone Grahame Park 020 8266 4030 phone Southgate 020 8982 5123 phone Wood Street 020 8275 2832 We offer a professional, friendly and confidential service. These services are accredited by Matrix, an external standard that recognises quality in advice and support services.

Staff will help you to find the help you need to succeed!

Additional Learning Support (ALS)

Learning Support is available to students who require additional help in order

to be successful on their course. Depending on the individual cases and

funding available, this could include:

• 1:1 support with specialist dyslexia, literacy, language or numeracy (additional classes – 1 hour a week)

• In class support • Exam Access Arrangement • Specialist equipment loan service & specialist software • Specialist assessment for dyslexia or dyscalculia • BSL signer/Communicator Support • Mobility support/personal care support • Small group support You can be referred for learning support as a result of a previous history of

support needs or if you need extra English or Maths. Our staff will help to

identify your support needs according to your course demands and put in

place an appropriate individual learning programme.

Please contact one member of the ALS team as below or talk to your personal

tutor

Southgate Campus: Lisa Woollard, Centre for Supported Learning, B4 Graham Park Campus: ALS Staff J107 Wood Street: ALS Staff, EF16 or Patricia Gladstone DG12

Customer Services

Financial Assistance

You may be entitled to financial assistance to help you with the costs of

studying at Barnet and Southgate College. You have to meet certain criteria to

be eligible for the funding and you will need to show evidence of your financial

circumstances. Payment of the funds is contingent on good attendance and

punctuality. Further information, including application forms, is available from

The Customer Services Team on each site or you can download the

information from the College’s website or by clicking on this link.

http://www.barnetsouthgate.ac.uk/learner-support-fund

Oyster Cards

Barnet & Southgate Learners can have their application for an oyster card authorised by applying online http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14308.aspx#tkt-tab-panel-3

Or come with your application to the Fees & Payments Office at each campus, where it will be stamped

Any queries over your application – please contact Stephen Cullimore – Customer services Manager

Support from Tutors

Personal Tutors

During your time at the college, you will have a Personal Tutor. Your Personal

Tutor is there to look after your interests, provide advice and guidance, and

deal with any issues or problems you have and communicate with your subject

teachers and your parents/guardians if you are under 18. Your Personal Tutor

will also be keeping an eye on your attendance, punctuality and conduct at the

college.

Tutorials

As well as your course of study, you will have a Tutorial lesson every week.

Tutorials are where you get the chance to learn about other aspects of life

outside studying. Tutorials are there to help you grow and improve not just as

a student, but as a person. Sometimes there will be guest speakers invited to

your tutorial, trips and visits, group discussions and many other activities.

There are number of ‘themes’ to tutorials which change as the year goes on.

These ‘themes’ focus on your issues that matter to you as a young person in

today’s world. Your tutorials will usually fit into these ‘themes’ with activities,

resources and discussions used that are relevant. Work that you do in tutorials

is also supported by activities and events around the college as a whole. For

example, if the ‘theme’ for a particular term is ‘Staying Safe Online,’ you can

expect there to be lots of activities going on to do with internet safety and

security. The idea is to make you aware of the things that affect you as a

person, not just in your studies, but in the wider world too!

Important news about the college and your courses are also announced in

tutorials. REMEMBER: Tutorials are compulsory and form part of your

attendance at the college.

Individual Learning Plans

Approximately every six weeks or so, you will sit down one to one with your

Personal Tutor and complete an Electronic Individual Learning Plan (EILP).

This is very important; because it will show how you are getting along in your

studies as well as establishing a number of targets that you will be expected to

meet. This is also a good opportunity to discuss any issues or problems that

you might have. You can access your EILP at any time on iLearn to see how

you are getting on and what your teachers are saying about you!

Attendance & Punctuality Attendance Policy

We expect you to attend all your lessons and to be on time. We know from experience that when students miss lessons or turn up late they are less likely to achieve their full potential – every minute of learning counts! You also disrupt other students’ learning if you are late for classes. Your tutors will monitor your attendance and punctuality regularly and, if you are under 18, they will report your attendance to your parent or carer.

Attendance Incentive Scheme Barnet and Southgate will reward students for good attendance. Every week

students who have 100% attendance and punctuality will be entered into a

prize draw with the chance of winning £100. Every month there will be an

opportunity to win £500 for those with 100% attendance and punctuality and at

the end of the year an opportunity to win an iPad.

*This reward scheme applies to full time students only.

Reporting absences & lateness

Lateness or absences due to sickness should be reported to your curriculum office. Your tutors will give you the number.

Get Involved and Have Fun! Enrichment Activities

There are many ways to get involved in college life from playing sport, to social events and being part of shaping the college. More detailed information will be available at your campus through the Learner Services Induction or on iLearn. However, any ideas for activities or events welcome at any time, again speak to a Learner Services Adviser. Examples of previous student led activities: • Organising a games league i.e. table tennis or connect 4 • Film Club • Ladies Only – Girls group meeting to talk about girls stuff • Debating Club – talking about the topics on your mind • Celebrating Black History month with foods from different cultures and

inspiring role models • Charitable events like Children in Need, Red Nose Day

Sport Enrichment Activities A variety of sport, leisure and social clubs are available at College campuses along with workshops and activities to enhance your time here. For more information on sports, and Sports Union membership please refer to the Sports Handbook, available from receptions, the Sports dept. and online as a download on iLearn and the College website. Look out for events, workshops and celebrations in the new Student Hubs, on noticeboards, on iLearn or through your tutor.

Nick Nanikhan

College Sports Maker

Nicholas.Nanikhan@barnetsouthgate.ac.uk

Tel: 02082008300 ext. 6443

I am the College Sports Maker for Barnet and Southgate College. Over the course of the next 5 years I will be targeting our students across all sites to participate in 30minutes exercise a week!

2013/14 is an exciting time in terms of sports and enrichment with many partnerships with local facilities that will enable our students to gain access to some fantastic activities throughout the year. If you are interested in sports & enrichment at college please check our social media pages. (Our timetable continuously changes so please check)

Like us on Facebook!: Barnetsouthgate-sports

Follow us on Twitter!: @bsc_sport

Moodle/iLearn: Sports & Enrichment

All pages provide information on our enrichment timetable, how to contact us, photos of our activities, our sports survey can also be found either on our iLearn page or alongside the college surveys when students first log in. This is a key way to find out what you the students are interested in doing whilst at college. I am available to come and speak to your tutor groups to inform students about the activities on offer at college and welcome any queries from students & staff! The College gym membership scheme is as follows: • £30 per term or £75 for the year. With unlimited access to all our classes

and facilities. • £3.50 for Pay as you go to use the weights and cardio gym. Throughout the year there will be numerous opportunities to access either discounted or free activities. (Please check sports social media pages) In addition, look out for events, workshops and celebrations in the new Student Hubs, on noticeboards, on Moodle or through your tutor. If you have an idea for a club or activity please speak to a member of Learner Services Team in the Learning Resources Centres, the Student Hubs or tweet us.

Learner Voice Learner views on all aspects of college life are important to Barnet and Southgate College. There are many ways in which the College gets the views of its learners. You can help us to this by: • Becoming a Student Rep. Being a Class Rep is an important role, but is

also good fun too.

• Putting yourself forward to be elected on to the new Advisory Council for

the College Corporation

• Participating in Learner Forums, Meet the Principal sessions, Governor

Speed-Dating sessions and Curriculum Area Student Rep meetings or

just simply coming along to chat to a Learner Services Adviser.

• Completing College Surveys

Being a Student Representative looks good on your CV or UCAS form and it can help you develop new skills. Look out for more information at your induction to Learner Services or through your tutor.

The College is governed by the Corporation. This is a group of people from a range of backgrounds who make important decisions about the provision the College makes and how it spends its money. Tharshia Ravindrakumaran is the student Governor who sits on the Corporation and represents the views of the students. Tharshia is a second year student on the BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Business. You can contact her via email on studentgovernor@barnetsouthgate.ac.uk We welcome your views on enrolment. Please give us your feedback by

completing our student survey

Compliments & Complaints

The college welcomes feedback from learners. You will have an opportunity to

give us feedback through surveys, student reps and focus groups throughout

the year. Sometimes things go wrong or you have a concern which is specific

to you. If you do, first try to sort it out informally by talking about it with a

relevant member of staff (usually your tutor or a manager). If this doesn’t solve

the problem the college has a complaints procedure which you can use. The

details are on the college website where there is also on online form you can

use. You can also pick up a complaint form from any reception desk. This

should be sent to the Quality Office.

Using ICT

Use of College Facilities

The College has a range of IT facilities to support you in your studies. We are proud of our IT facilities and to ensure they offer the best possible service, we ask all our students to use the computers responsibly. Please do not use them in any way which may be offensive to others, do not download or forward any abusive material, do not tamper with and misuse equipment or software and only use the software provided by the college. Use of the IT facilities is subject to the Acceptable Use Policy and UK law. Access may be removed and/or disciplinary measures taken if misuse occurs.

The College Network

As soon as you are enrolled, your own personalised user ID is created for you. This is the username you use to log on to the system. Your password is set to your first initial in upper case, the first letter of your surname in lower case and you date of birth in dd/mm/yyyy format. So John Smith born on the 14th January 1983 will have a password of Js14011983. You will then need to change your password to something that you can remember. You should then register to be able to reset your password at any time. NB: You only need to do this the once! The first time you login, you will be presented with the following set of 4 screens. If you follow through and set up your security answers to the questions you will be asked, you will then be able to reset your password at any time and from any computer inside or outside the college without having to contact anyone

.

Click the “Next” button.

Enter your network user id.

Answer the 4 security questions above. This will setup your answers in the system. No one will have access to your answers. If you do not wish to use the real answers – you can put anything you like –but you will need to remember what you put.

Click Next when you have answered all 4 questions.

The final screen to confirm that you have finished.

How to reset your password

Simply go to the following web address from any computer anywhere in the world…

http://passwordreset.barnetsouthgate.ac.uk/

Enter the letters bsc followed by a backslash, followed by your userid e.g. bsc\stccar and follow the prompts. Wait 15 minutes before trying your new password to access any of the Barnet and Southgate facilities.

iLearn

iLearn is our Virtual Learning Environment. It is an online platform where you can access a range of information related directly to your course(s)

You can use iLearn to contact your tutors and peers, submit coursework electronically. You can access your course information, including assignments, handout, participate in online forums and stay up-to-date with any developments related to your course as well as other useful resources.

You will use iLearn regularly and will be able to access this for free from anywhere at anytime, so long as you have an Internet connection. Go to our link here and browse some of the open courses e.g. the online Induction Courses: http://ilearn.barnetsouthgate.ac.uk

As a new learner, you will need to take a look at the following areas but before you do, here’s a quick video on navigating around iLearn: http://youtu.be/ih1oua2lXcw

College Induction information is available online on iLearn under the Tutorial tab. http://tinyurl.com/l9gonwb

Also, see information about Learner Services and Online Help to learn how to access or forward College emails to your mobile phone and how to use iLearn.

Printing Full-time students get £10 free print credit each academic year and part-time students get £4 of free credit.

Pricing Each page printed will be priced differently depending on whether it’s in colour

or in black and white. Colour pages will be charged at 10p, black and white will

be charged at 4p. If you use duplex printing however, printing on both sides of

the paper, charging will be 25% less per printout. For example, a two page

word document printed on both sides in black and white will cost 6p as

opposed to 8p. To print a Word document in duplex (double sided), go to print

and then select “Print on Both Sides” from the settings section.

When you log into a computer system, a pop up window will present itself

showing you your remaining credits. Every time a print job is sent, this value

will decrease.

Papercut Client

After you select a job to print, you will be prompted to select a printer queue.

On all campuses there will be a Colour and Mono queue. The colour queue

will send the print jobs to just the colour printers where your job can be

Remaining

Credits

Check

Usage

released. The mono queue will send the print jobs to both colour and mono

printers where your job can be released. At these printers you will either have

to swipe your id card on the reader or enter in your network username and

password to release your jobs. In addition you may also find local printers on

the list depending on whether the classroom you are currently in has any.

When printing a document, a dialog box will pop up asking you to confirm your

printout. Here you will get the opportunity to view how much the job will cost

and also cancel before sending out the print job.

Confirmation Box

If the job has been sent to the Colour or Mono queue, you will get a notification

stating that it’s been held in a queue and ready to be released.

Topping Up Print Credits If your print credit level starts getting low, you are able to top up via the

learning centres. Here the staff will be able to add funds to your account where

you will be able to use them instantly. You will be able to see your top up

reflected in the Papercut client located on your desktop.

Doc

Name

Print Queue No. Pages

Cost

Check Print Usage - Administration You are able to check your print credit usage at any time by clicking on the

“Details…” link within the Papercut client, or clicking on the PaperCut link on

your desktop. It will ask you to enter in your login credentials to allow access.

When successfully logged in, you will be shown your print summary as well as

being able to see your transaction history, recent print jobs etc.

Papercut Admin Web Interface

Our Campuses

Wood Street Southgate Grahame Park Wood Street High Street Grahame Park Way Barnet Southgate London EN5 4AZ London NW9 5RA N14 6BS Tel: 020 8200 8300 Tel: 020 8982 5050 Tel: 020 8200 8300

Induction Checklist

Use this checklist as a guide to what you should know by the end of Induction.

I know and am clear about…

Where things are in the college Details about the Course Team Leader for my course

How to borrow books and use the LRC

Information about my qualification and how this is assessed

Where to go for information, advice, guidance and welfare support

My weekly timetable and the term/holiday dates on my course

Where to go for Financial help What my course includes, how the course is designed, different modules…

The role of my Tutor Punctuality and attendance – what is expected of me

Where to find information about the enrichment programme

The procedure for reporting lateness and absence from class

How to get additional learning support to help with my studies if I feel I need this

How to access and use iLearn and my college email

The college’s policy on Equality & Diversity

Resources, books and equipment I need for my course

How I must behave in the college My Individual Learning Plan and tutorial schedule

Who to speak to if I have a problem or complaint

The Student Representative system at the college

The college’s policy on keeping students safe

How to print documents

The college Code of Conduct Health & Safety on my course

Good luck on your programme.

We hope you enjoy your time at Barnet and Southgate College.