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 Sixth Form 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.

Tutorial Sessions and Curriculum

The structure of Tutorial sessions at Varndean Sixth Form College is that students are expected to attend in-person lessons in a group Tutorial setting weekly. 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.

Upcoming Tutorial Curriculum Content and Talk Consent Workshop

Our Tutorial curriculum will soon be focusing on key personal safety issues, including healthy relationships, sexual health, consent, substance use and also online safety. A session on consent and healthy relationships will be delivered in Tutorial sessions in the week beginning 8th December. The topic of sexual health will be supported by the SHAC (Brighton and Hove Sexual Health and Contraception Services), and additional support and information are available to students throughout the week through this external team.

As part of this unit within our Tutorial Curriculum and to ensure all students have access to knowledge and understanding of Consent, we will be providing Consent sessions delivered by the external team Talk Consent. Students will be directly notified of the session they are scheduled to attend through text/email, and should this coincide with a timetabled session, they will be permitted to attend the Consent session on this occasion. These sessions will take place on either the 3rd or 5th December and last for an hour. Students will be able to attend the rest of the scheduled sessions around the allocated session.

This is a session which is highly valuable for all students to attend and continues the development of understanding that would have been started through statutory sessions that would have been provided at secondary school. Having carefully considered the content, if you have any concerns and you do not wish the young person in your care to attend the sessions detailed above, please email information@varndean.ac.uk to notify us of their absence from a particular session in advance.

Safe And Well at School Survey - Brighton and Hove Council

This term, pupils/students across Brighton and Hove in Years 4-6 / 7-11 / 12-13 will participate in the Safe & Well at School Survey. This is an online, anonymous bi-annual city-wide survey for children and young people aged between 7 and 18. The survey asks a range of questions about school/college, health and wellbeing and other experiences. We participate in this survey to help further understand the wider experiences of our young people. Data from all schools and colleges is also collated to provide city-wide information about young people's experiences, and this is used to improve services and support for children and young people through Brighton and Hove Council.

This survey will take place in Tutorial sessions where students will be informed of the reasons for the survey and how the information shared helps to inform the provision in the City for young people. During this time, it is also explained to all that this is a confidential survey and they cannot be identified by the information that is collected. Students are also asked to speak to a member of staff or other trusted adult if participating in the survey makes them feel worried or concerned. If you have any questions regarding this survey and would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Finally, 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 via Parent Portal and access an email address for them on this platform.

Yours sincerely

George Marshall

Director of Pastoral and Safeguarding