Boston College Skirbeck Road

Boston Lincolnshire

PE21 6JF

01205 365701

www.boston.ac.uk

2013/2014

BTEC SCIENCE

2013 - 2014

Welcome We welcome your son/daughter/ward to Boston College, but in particular to the Science and Small Animal Care 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.

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 rec-ognised external awarding body. Learners in this programme area will be studying one of the following courses; - BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma Applied Science (Medical) - BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma Applied Science (Forensics) - BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma Applied Science (Medical) - BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma Applied Science (Forensics) - BTEC Level 2 Diploma Applied Science

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.

Educational Visits During the academic year we plan various trips and activities. This year we plan to include visits to Bateman’s Brewery (Science), The Science Museum (London).

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.

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 all learners, and we will respond

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

bullying, harassment, abuse or neglect. All staff are trained in safeguarding and there is a designated specialist Safeguarding Team to help with any concerns you might have about your own or someone else’s safety. If you need to contact the Safeguarding Team please go to:-

Main reception

Learner Services

The ‘Stay Safe’ button on Moodle

E-mail staysafe@boston.ac.uk If you need to contact someone out of College hours about safeguarding contact:-

Children’s Social Care on 01522 782333

In an emergency situation dial 999 and call the police An important part of safeguarding is making sure only authorised people are on our College premises. Please help us with this by carrying your ID badge at all times and showing it if asked by a member of College staff.

At Boston College we respect everyone within

the College community. We also emphasise

respect for personal property and for the

facilities of the College. We therefore, expect

learners to work with us to create an

environment where everyone feels safe and

valued and can work to achieve their full

potential.

How we communicate with Parents There are several opportunities throughout the year for you to give or receive feedback about your son / daughter / ward’s progress.

1. Parents Discussion evenings – Parents will be invited to evening discussions in October and March. We require your attendance with your son/daughter’s tutor to discuss your role/support in their learning year. Information collated from learners’ individual learning plan will be available to give you a full overview of attendance, commitment,

progress and achievement,

2. Parent Surveys – these are issued twice a year, normally in November

and March. We value your comments and feedback and are committed to further improving our service.

3. Award evenings – these are held in the summer term and parents and family 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

Michelle Hoole Head of Curriculum Email: michelle@boston.ac.uk

Vicky Booth Programme Area Manager Email: Vicky-b@boston.ac.uk

Jenny Blackburn Lecturer - Science - Email: Jenny-b@boston.ac.uk

Adam Sellars Lecturer - Science - Email: Adam-s@boston.ac.uk

Stephen Crozier Lecturer - Science - Email: Stephenc@boston.ac.uk

Edwin Mohammed Lecturer - Science - Email: Edwin-m@boston.ac.uk

Andrew Cocks Lecturer - Science - Email: Andrew-c@boston.ac.uk

Stuart Judd Science Technician - Email: Stuart-j@boston.ac.uk

Kevin Griffin Science Technician - Email: Kevin-g@boston.ac.uk

Science and Small Animal Staff Room: Room 125, Rochford Campus Phone ext 3470

Personal Property 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.

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 improvement The case will be heard before the Academic Board 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

Induction

During the first week at College your son/daughter/ward 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

Health and Safety

We intend to provide your son/daughter/ward with a safe and healthy learning environment. Your son/daughter/ward 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 so you can be contacted if your son/daughter/ward has an accident. Matters regarding health and safety are of great importance in the Science industry and good practice will be rigidly enforced as listed in the code of practice overleaf

Specific Laboratory Safety Points Learners must wear eye protection, suitable footwear and lab coats during experiments (coats and safety glasses are supplied). Gloves and instructions will be provided for use with specific chemicals. Malicious use of equipment, destruction of facilities, contravention of the H&S Act, or general misbehaviour will result in loss of laboratory facilities. No learner shall leave the laboratory until indicated by the lecturer in charge. MOBILE PHONES are not permitted in classrooms or workshops. Eating, drinking and the use of personal stereos are not allowed in classrooms or laboratories.

Attendance Good levels of attendance are very important and there is a direct correlation 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 son/daughter/ward 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 son/daughter/ward fails to do this you may be phoned by the Attendance Monitor whose task it is to inform parents/guardians of learner absences. 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.