Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

I hope that the young person in your care has settled well into College life and is enjoying all of the opportunities that Varndean College has to offer. As I am sure you are aware, a significant part of College provision is not only focused upon the development of learning but also of personal values and preparation for life outside of College. The Pastoral Curriculum provides a combination of support, skills development, progression mapping and engagement alongside personal safety topics. Personal Tutors support students from a holistic perspective and offer regular 1:1's to help learners set targets and work towards meeting their potential.

The structure of Tutorial session at Varndean College is that students are expected to attend in - person lessons in a group Tutorial setting fortnightly. In these registered sessions, students focus on a set topic and then time is provided for 1:1 meetings with their Personal Tutor. The Pastoral Curriculum is made up of topics which may have been initially introduced through PSHE sessions in School. For example, online safety, Prevent, healthy relationships and British Values. These topics are further developed and discussed with students within our curriculum, in addition to topics regarding substances, addiction, sexual consent and health etc. The opportunity to learn about these subjects and discuss them in a respectful and mature setting ensures all of our young people have a good level of understanding of these significant topics. We have visiting speakers / facilitators from the Brighton and Hove Community to support the delivery of these sessions to further guide our students.

The fortnightly group Tutorial session alternates with an independent Personal Development one. The Personal Development time is allotted to help support students in completing independent tasks and directing them to essential activities involving progression, work experience, target setting etc. Students' timetables will show whether it is a Tutor session or a Personal Development on a weekly basis and they can view this viaMy Varndean. Personal Development tasks are set on Google Classroom and students can speak to their Personal Tutor if they need any help with these.

The young person in your care is directly supported by their Personal Tutor and if you should have any questions or concerns about this letter or College life, more generally, then they are your first point of contact. You will be able to find the details of the assigned Personal Tutor viaParent Portal and access an email address for them on this platform.

Yours sincerely

George Marshall, Director of Student Engagement