25 Supporting your Progress

Supporting your progress

your own personal targets for learning.

Work experience All students across College, from ages 16-18 years, will undertake either a 30-hour external work experience placement, a T Level placement or a 90-hour transitional work placement.

The College values developing your formal education and employability skills. By undertaking placements, you will have the opportunity to develop and enhance these skills, regarded as

essential by the majority of employers.

Youth social action projects – Level 1 learners. Level 1 learners will complete work experience within a youth social action project. In a work experience context, social action can take the form of you honing your work-related skills and behaviours to have a positive impact on your community.

If you have a great idea for a youth social action project, discuss it with

your LDM or tutor. Your tutor will lead the project and you may be working with an external employer/ organisation.

External work placement – Level 2 learners and some Level 3 learners not on a T Level Level 2 learners will do an external work placement with an employer. The work placement will link to your chosen curriculum area and you have to complete 30 hours of real-life work experience within the year.

You will be supported throughout your placement by your designated Careers Coach. Your Careers Coach will help you identify placements related to your course and support you in completion of online evidence-based recordings.

T Level industry placements Level 3 learners undertaking a T Level course will complete a 315-hour industry placement with an external employer. The placement will be linked to your course and you will have to complete set aims and objectives.

You will be assessed throughout your placement by your designated Careers Coach or curriculum tutor.

Transition industry placements For those learners preparing to progress onto a T Level, there is a 90hour work placement to be completed with an external employer aligned to the T Level pathway of your choice. Industry placements give students an opportunity to develop their practical

Learner Support – Supporting Successful Students We want you to get the most out of your course and have the best chance of being successful. We aim to give you any support we can with your college work. All learners are able to benefit from Learner Support during their time at Bolton College.

We offer: • Advice on the best way to get help or to help yourself. • Special assessment of your needs. • Structured support plans tailored towards your individual needs. • Technical equipment support. • Communicator support. • Mentor support for your social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing, or any personal support you may require. • Help with English as a second language. • Dyslexia support. • Introduction to and tuition on accessible software that will read resources to you and much more. • Help with English and maths in class; in our drop-in centre, The

Hub@1.35C; or remotely online. • Support with exam access arrangements, such as extra time or

a reader and advice on how to use them. • Support for individual or group work. • Help with planning and organising your work and study skills from our drop in centre, the Hub@1.35C.

If you have an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) please let us know by dropping into AG.18, emailing

studentsupportadmins@boltoncc.

ac.uk or ringing Gillian Lonsdale on 01204 482 579 or Amelia Duckett on

01204 482 668.

Many students need some extra help at some point in their studies. We will try to identify this, but it is helpful if you talk regularly to your individual tutor. In addition you can:

• Indicate your support needs on the college application form. • Ask when you receive guidance, at interview or enrolment. • Ask at the Student Services Centre or reception at other centres. • Ask your tutor to contact Learner

Support at any point in your course.

• Call in to room AG.18 at the Deane

Road Campus to have an informal discussion with experienced staff or ring 01204 482 669 to be directed to the right person to talk to. • The Learner Support team is based in room AG.18 at Deane

Road Campus. Contact the Learner

Support administration team on

01204 482 669/670.

Library and Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) Please bring your ID card with you whenever you visit the LRCs; you will need it to borrow a book, to print, or to log on to a computer.

What you might think of as the library is also called the LRC at Bolton College. We call it the LRC because we provide you with much more than just traditional paper-based books. The LRC team is here to support you, whatever your course and wherever you are based. Remember that opening times vary betweeb each LRC, so make sure that you check the advertised times. These can be found on your student homepage under ‘Library’, and on every LRC door.

LRC on social media

We give you access to all different types of learning resources specific to your course, teamed with friendly, experienced and helpful staff to help you with your learning. Our learning resource provision includes: Talk to us on social media! Get updates on our services, ask for help, get involved with local events and find interesting topics for discussion. /boltoncollegelrc - ‘Like’ our page

• Online eBooks that you can read anywhere. • Paper-based books that you can borrow and take home. • A virtual online library which you can access from home using your college login and your user name and password. • Free access to educational websites recommended for your course by your tutor. • Helpful study-skills tutorials and one-to-one assistance in any LRC. • Specialist magazines for your subject area. • eLearning resources for your subject through the Blended Learning

Consortium.

@BCLRC Tweet and follow us

instagram.com/bclrc - Follow our page

/BCLRC - Find hundreds of course relevant images links and pins

The LRC’s content sharing platforms The LRC creates instructional videos to help students learn how to get the best out of the physical and online learning resources offered by the College. Don't forget to click 'subscribe' to keep up to date with our channel www.bit.ly/LRC-channel

If you like to read and relax then visit our regular blog at www.boltoncc.ac.uk/library It features all the latest news and views to enrich your learning and broaden your horizons. Here you will also find access to a ‘Personal Development Zone’ which aims to help nurture your self-improvement and growth within areas relating to your mental, social, spiritual, emotional, physical, financial, and study needs. We also publish our own magazine called the ‘Librezine’ which is available as both a digital and print based resource. Our back catalogue can be found here: www.bit.ly/librezine

Asking for Help & Support Whether you are a beginner or a confident IT user, the LRC team will be able to help or point you in the right direction. We can support you with everything from accessing your student homepage, printing and saving your work, through to researching for and referencing your assignments. are designed with you and your study needs in mind. They provide safe and comfortable areas for you to study in. If you feel that your study needs are not being met at any point, please talk to a member of staff.

All students are welcome to use any or all of these spaces. Read on to find out which LRC has books relating to

your course subject:

Deane Road Campus – A Block – First Floor LRC – A1.46

• Drop-in access to laptops, PCs and iMacs. • Self-issue machine for checking out, renewing and returning your books. • Headphones for use in the LRC and laptop chargers. • Wide range of wellbeing, graphic novels and fiction books. • Wide collection of subject books and magazines. • Study tables for independent work.

Subjects:

• Beauty Therapy & Nails; Media Makeup; Hairdressing & Barbering. • Health Professions; Social Care;

Midwifery; Complementary

Therapies; Counselling. • Sports; Public Services; Psychology;

Sociology; Criminology. • Early Years; Healthcare Play; Teaching & Education. • Catering & Hospitality. • Science and Maths. • Culture & History; Driving Theory.

Deane Road Campus – A Block – Second Floor LRC – A2.29

• Drop-in access to PC and Apple iMac computers. • Large collection of books and magazines. • Self-issue machine for checking out, renewing and returning your books. • Guillotine and laminator (bring your own pockets). • Headphones for use in the LRC and laptop chargers. • Study tables for independent work.

Subjects:

• Accounting & Book Keeping. • Visual & Performing Arts (Theatre,

Monologues, Screenplays, Animation,

Artists & Techniques, Fashion, Graphic

Design, Textiles). • Business, Administration &

Management; Computing & IT;

Marketing. • ESOL; Easy/Quick Reads; Life in the UK. • English; Languages; IELTS; Sign

Language.

Deane Road Campus – B Block – Arts & Construction LRC – B1.28

• Drop-in access to computers. • Range of subject-specific books. • Self-issue machine for checking out, renewing and returning your books. • Printer/scanner. • Headphones and laptop chargers.

Subjects:

• Brickwork; Carpentry & Joinery;

Plastering. • Engineering; Construction & Building

Services. • Electrical Installation. • Painting & Decorating. • Plumbing & Heating. • Roofing & Tiling. • Mechanics.

Borrowing and renewing books • All books can be borrowed using our self-issue machines located in each

LRC. Just ask a member of staff for help with finding or checking out books. • You can borrow up to six books at a time, 10 if you are a HE student, for three weeks before having to renew. • You can renew your book(s) via several methods: online or through the library catalogue; on a self-issue machine; via email library@boltoncc.ac.uk; via phone 01204 482 176; or at the desk in any LRC. • There is no need to worry about late fines if you go overdue - we will not charge you but just ask that you renew your books on time, so we do not send you a reminder. If you do not bring your books back within 35 days of their due date you will be invoiced for their full cost. The same applies to damaged and lost books.

Reservations If you would like to reserve a book that is out on loan to someone else, you can do this online through the library catalogue or at the desk in any LRC.

REMEMBER: Other students may be waiting for your book to be returned, so please only keep books for as long as you need them.

Student home page and library access

The student home page is the first

page you will see when you log on to

www.boltoncc.ac.uk

It is your personal learning environment - a source of information tailored to you and a gateway to online digital study tools within College.

In the left hand menu you will see a tab called ‘Library’.

Here you can access all the LRC resources; search the digital library catalogue for a book; renew your books; read and download eBooks; access our social media and content sharing platforms; or find general information such as contact details and opening times. subject. Make time to explore and familiarise yourself with the student homepage and Moodle area as this is the backbone to your learning experience at College. Any member of the LRC team can help with queries relating to both of these online areas.

LRC College induction Your tutor may arrange an LRC induction at the beginning of your course. This induction will be a friendly interactive experience which will either be available for you to access in College, or online.

The induction will show you the essential things you need to know to get started on your learning journey. It will include how to log on, use your College email, and activate your Moodle course - plus where and how you can access the LRC digital library for all our eBooks, eJournals and other online resources.

Our inductions will also show you how to access college-wide facilities such as using the printer, laptop cabinets and self-issue machines. If anything is not covered in your LRC induction, you have not had one, or if you need a refresher, then please ask a member of the LRC team who will be more than happy to help.

Moodle (My Courses) Moodle contains an online version of your course and other College services. It can be accessed by clicking the ‘Moodle’ button in the left-hand-side column of your student homepage.

The LRC team works with your tutor to support your Moodle course with resources such as links to websites; and videos and eBooks specific to your