Information for Parents
A Parent’s Perspective
We asked Sharon Rutherford, mother of Apprentice Matthew Rutherford, for her perspective on his decision to progress to SERC after A-levels.
Stephen Dunlop shares his thoughts on his daughter Pippa’s experience as a L3 Business student at SERC
Parents Role
Make sure they attend regularly. Missing coursework deadlines or exams can really affect your son or daughter's chance of success. If they are ill, please call or email their personal tutor. Remind them to look after their belongings and leave expensive equipment at home. It may cost you a lot of money to replace items.
The support and encouragement you give your son or daughter at home can make a big difference to their success at College.
Talk to us. You can make an appointment to speak to us. Whether you want to talk to a lecturer, a Training Support Officer or speak to one of our staff members about careers advice or learning support, we are here to help you.
Our Role
SERC has a consistently high student satisfaction rating on the National Student Survey, scoring above the UK benchmark for several consecutive years.
SERC operates a wide range of initiatives and programmes to help students develop personally, socially and academically.
Each student has a personal tutor or training support officer who is responsible for their progress and achievement.
We also provide extensive pastoral care, learning support, health, financial and careers advice, and a dedicated support service for students with caring responsibilities. You can find more details in the Support section of our website.
Call us on 0345 600 7555
The truth about SERC
When speaking to parents, who understandably want the best for their son or daughter, we have found that there are many common misconceptions and myths around college life and vocational qualifications. Here is some factual information that we hope will help you make a more informed decision about your son or daughter applying to college.
Vocational Qualifications
To complete a Level 3 qualification at SERC we ask for 5 GCSEs grade C/GCSE Grade 4 or above including English and Maths.
If your son or daughter has not obtained a Grade C or above at GCSE level in English and/or Maths, we will enrol them on an Essential Skills course. This will be embedded into their timetable as an FE student.
Vocational qualifications are a fantastic route into work and equip students with the essential skills employers are looking for. Throughout the year, we host several talks from industry to broaden students’ horizons, raise their aspirations and inform them of all the career options available in their chosen field. We also organise site visits and work placements to help prepare students for the real world of work.
Level 3 qualifications such as an Extended National Diploma are equivalent to three A-Levels and are worth UCAS points.
You can find out more about the range of qualifications delivered at SERC here.
The Vocational Route to Higher Education
A Level 3 qualification entitles your son or daughter to study a Higher Education course at SERC, such as an HND, Higher Level Apprenticeship, Foundation Degree or Degree with annual fees much lower than at a university.
Alternatively, they can progress to university, which 469 of our students did last year.
Qualified, Experienced Staff
Lecturers at SERC are professionally-experienced in their course area, and are experts in the use of our industry- standard equipment and software, often providing specialist training to industry. In addition to teaching qualifications, SERC staff must also have professional qualifications relevant to their subject area.
High Achievers
Our students are high achievers! We have a 91% achievement rate across courses at all levels.
Education at SERC is rooted in practical, project-based learning and students are encouraged to aim high and participate in skills competitions.
Read some of the student success stories.
Learning Support
We believe that every student should be given an equal opportunity to learn no matter what their capability. We understand that students may suffer from disabilities, learning difficulties and/or medical conditions that could act as a barrier to learning, that’s why we offer students Learning Support.
Learning Support is a college service which can help your son/daughter with their studies and college experience to ensure they get the best from their time at SERC.
Inspire Students
We understand that at one time or another we all experience difficulties that can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes just talking to friends and family can help but other times it may be better to talk to someone trained to listen who can offer support, guidance and a fresh outlook. SERC has teamed up with Inspire Students to offer who provide a 24/7 helpline (0800 098 8816) for all students as well as a face-to-face Counselling Service. These services are free and confidential.
Financial Support
As well as benefiting from pastoral support, SERC FE students may also be able to access financial support such as:
- Travel pass
- Free Meals
- Education Maintenance Allowance
HE students may be eligible for a bursary or for help from the Care to Learn scheme.
Find out more on the Fees and Financial Support section of our website.
Careers Guidance
Choosing which career path to take can be a daunting decision for your son/daughter to make. Through the provision of our award winning Careers Service we will help them make informed decisions about their future.
Whether they want to be a civil engineer, a choreographer, a social worker or a forensic scientist, our award winning Career Advisors can help your child achieve their goal, by providing a service which is focused on their needs.
You as a parent are also very welcome to attend a meeting with your child and our Careers Service team.
Our Careers Service is available to prospective and current students, so even if your son/daughter hasn’t decided to join us yet, they can contact us and make an appointment to discuss their options.
Keeping you informed
What does my child do if they are struggling with their course, is there any additional support available for them?
Yes support is available to all our students who feel they need extra help on their course. The first thing your child should do is speak to their class tutor, to see if they can provide any assistance to them.
If the reason they are struggling cannot be worked out with the tutor your child should contact SERC Extra. A SERC Extra member of staff is located at each of our main campuses, they will talk to them and will be able to signpost them to other services, including learning support, which can provide additional support for them as they study.
Contact with parents, guardians and friendsThe College is committed to ensuring the best support is available to enhance the success of our students and greatly value the contribution of parents, guardians and friends. Due to our obligations towards data protection legislation, we are unable to discuss matters concerning the students unless they have given us permission to do so.
When a student enrols, they are afforded the opportunity to provide the name/contact details of a person they permit us to discuss their progress with. We can only discuss matters with the named person. Students can log into their student account at anytime to provide such contact details if they haven’t previously done so.
We can discuss policies and procedures with you to help you understand how we reach decisions e.g. if a student has not received their EMA payment, the procedure states that payments will not be paid for a week where a student has unauthorised absences. We have made our policies and procedures available to the public via our website – Public Information
Please note, where there is risk to the life, health or welfare of a student, we will not rely on permission. We will contact the ‘next of kin’ and/or other necessary third parties to support the student.
Ready For Work With Skills Employers Needs
With increasing unemployment levels amongst 16 to 25 year olds SERC is dedicated to providing a service, beyond the qualification, which is designed to help your son/daughter to be job ready; to 'Get the Edge'.
We help students to develop their ‘edge’ by giving them as many opportunities as we can to gain better skills and real life experiences.
In addition to their Vocational qualification we also provide them with:
- Personal Development and Enterprise qualifications
- Skills employers need
- Work Placements
- The opportunity to set up their own commercial SERC Student Company
- The opportunity to Volunteer
- The opportunity to work on ‘real life’ industry projects from businesses like Coca Cola and Royal Mail
- This can make all the difference when applying for jobs or higher education courses in the future.
Study Space
To succeed in their course, students will need to study outside of class time and it is recommended that your son/daughter is provided with adequate space to do so.
All students have access to the Learning Resource Centre where they can book PC’s and study rooms.
Work & Holidays
Many students undertake part time jobs while studying; however it is recommended that students should not work for more than eight hours per week as this could interfere with their studies. It is advised that students do not take holidays during term time as this can have an adverse effect on their studies.