Introduction
At SERC we want to make sure that every student successfully achieves their qualifications while enjoying their time at College by creating a positive and supportive learning environment for all. If you have a disability, long-term medical condition or learning difficulty you may be eligible for additional help and support while you study at SERC.
Every year the Learning Support Team meets and works with over 400 students and provides various types of support to help them achieve their qualifications. Last year, 91% of students with additional learning needs went on to successfully achieve their qualifications.
Who does Learning Support work with?
The Learning Support Team work with students who face additional challenges and who need some extra help, as a result of having a medical diagnosis of one or more of the following:
- Physical Disabilities e.g. eyesight or hearing issues, mobility issues
- Learning Difficulties e.g. dyslexia, Autism
- Long Term Medical Conditions (lasting more than 1 year) eg requires regular kidney dialysis, arthritis, fibromyalgia, or mental health conditions
If you experience one or more of these conditions, you should contact a member of the learning support team who will arrange to meet with you (and your parents, carers or other advocate if applicable) to complete a needs assessment and identify appropriate adjustments to help you while you study and succeed at SERC. However, in every case it is your decision whether you want to avail of any learning support that is offered.
Contact us
If you would like further advice and guidance about Learning Support you can speak to a member of our Learning Support team at any time. The quickest way to arrange this is to email your contact details, and the campus that you are studying at (or planning to study at) to learning-support@serc.ac.uk and one of the team will get back to you as quickly as possible.
If you answer ”yes” to the question on the Learning Support section of the application form, a member of the Learning Support Team will be in contact with you.
How Can Learning Support help you?
To ensure that the help and assistance that you require is arranged promptly, a member of the Learning Support Team will meet you (and your parents, carers or advocate if appropriate) to assess your individual needs. They will work with you to put a support plan in place as quickly as possible. Every case is different, and we always try and make sure that the support we arrange is fully tailored to meeting your individual needs. This may include:
- Additional one to one support with one of our learning support assistants to support you with your studies outside of normal class time.
- Classroom support during class.
- Advising the teaching team on how best to support you. This could be as simple as making them aware of the need to provide you with large print notes if you have a visual impairment or that you might need to lip read if you have a hearing issue.
- Providing you with some extra technology. For example, a laptop with specialist software, a reader pen, or an adjustable height desk.
- Working with the examinations team to ensure that arrangements are in place for extra time or the provision of a scribe or reader if eligible. The Learning Support staff will help you to collect the necessary medical evidence that may be required for this.
- A sign language interpreter.
SERC is delighted to be working with AccessAble to bring their access guides for the various campuses. SERC is confident that all of their students, staff and visitors will benefit from the detailed access guides, which will provide a graphical summary of the campus accessibility using access icons, together with highly detailed information in relation to each of the key features of each campus.
Visit Our AccessAble Organisation Page
Addressing Special Educational Need
SERC complies fully with the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Order (2005) and works to ensure that the College’s services are accessible to all. In doing so the College carries out its SENDO responsibilities in a way that ensures that the dignity and respect of the student is central to process so that barriers to learning are effectively identified and minimised.
Student Stories
Mark’s story
Mark has dyslexia and, with his agreement, SERC provided him access to a support worker who helped him to organise and manage his workload as well as helping him to proofread his work. Mark was also provided with the loan of a lap-top with a specialist software package to help him when completing assignments.
Clare’s story
Clare is on the autistic spectrum and a member of the learning support team met with her and her mum before she finished school to plan her support arrangements so that she did not feel anxious about her transition to SERC. Claire’s teachers were made aware of how best to help her and she was provided with one to one support from a specialist support worker. It did not take long for her motivation and confidence to grow.
Jane’s story
Jane had always struggled at school and left with very few qualifications. She wanted to be a nurse but didn’t think that was possible. Jane was in her 30s when a friend talked to her about the Access Diploma in Foundation Studies at SERC which would enable her to apply to do a nursing degree. Jane was accepted onto the Access course and met with a member of the Learning Support team, and as a result Jane finally got a diagnosis of dyslexia which helped her understand why some things took her longer to do. Jane was given one to one support from a Learning Support Assistant who helped her organise her workload and proofread assignments. Jane was also given a reader pen to use which recorded lectures for her so she didn’t have to worry about writing everything down. Jane passed her Access course and was accepted onto a nursing degree.
Contact Us
Email the Learning Support Team at learning-support@serc.ac.uk and one of the team will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Welcome to SERC SU
Watch this message from our SERC SU teams and explore how they support our students across all campuses.
