New College Swindon Awarded Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark

New College Swindon have officially been awarded the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA). It is the only FE College with a Designated Unit (DU) in Wiltshire and the BDA state that this award is issued only to organisations that have met rigorous quality standards. To be awarded the mark, centres have to demonstrate public recognition that they provide high quality education and practice for dyslexic individuals.

The dedicated team at New College includes eight Dyslexia trained tutors, five of which are also assessors. Many schools and centres work with external staff, who come in to visit, but New College has a dedicated centre and in-house team, who offer constant specialist support during term time. Having a consistent team has given them the chance to grow and develop the centre and support that they offer. Students who do require support have the opportunity to work with the same tutors over a period of time, meaning individual needs are really understood.

The team have spent almost two years gathering evidence of best practice, providing policies and procedures, demonstrating delivery in classroom settings and showing the ways in which elements of support are incorporated into wider classroom settings.

John Bacon, Section Leader of Learning Support said: “I’m overjoyed with the recognition we’ve had from the British Dyslexia Association, it’s fantastic that the work of the Learning Support Tutors is being recognised. To be awarded the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark, we had to meet very particular criteria and provide in-depth, concrete evidence. To achieve this has been a long process, but absolutely worthwhile, hopefully people will recognise what we have to offer.”

Students at New College who are enrolled on a qualification course and require support are given access to drop-in and one-to-one sessions. There are also a number of different screening processes and assessments, meaning students get the exact support that they need. The College work on incorporating assistive tech and tools where possible, such as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), with an aim to prepare students for life after College. The skills that students learn can be carried through into the workplace or higher education, providing them with further confidence and independence.

The team at New College are constantly looking to develop themselves professionally, one member of the team has recently completed a Level 7 Assessor award and another has completed a qualification to specialise in maths support. John said: “The staff here at New College are always looking at ways to develop professionally and work hard to better themselves and improve the support that they offer – it really is inspiring. We cater for all qualification types and offer support to a range of students.”