The Learner Handbook

• To be treated with respect and without discrimination. We will actively challenge any discriminatory behaviour
• A welcoming and safe place to learn
• Clear and impartial advice about learning and learning support
• Experienced and suitably qualified tutors who teach you as an individual, offering a variety of teaching methods
• To develop your skills as an independent learner
• To have regular tutor feedback to help you to improve your skills and understanding
• To provide the essential resources and materials to help you learn
• To have your comments, compliments, concerns and complaints listened to and to know what action has been taken
• To ensure all your personal information is kept confidential and only shared with necessary third parties with your permission

• To let us know if you need to miss a class so that your tutor can plan to help you – regular attendance is important; please avoid taking holidays during your course
• To arrive promptly or to let us know if you can’t be on time
• To make sure we always have your up-to-date contact details, as we may need to contact you urgently
• To talk to your tutor about your progress and anything that may affect your learning
• If you are enrolled on one of our courses with an exam, you will be expected to take your exam in person at one of our centres. To sit your exam, you’ll be required to provide photo ID before it takes place. Please let us know about any previous qualifications, and if you are also studying elsewhere
• To respond to health and safety advice and procedures
• To use all computing and internet access safely and appropriately
• To show consideration to all learners and staff whilst using our car parks and speak to a member of staff if there are any issues
• To take good care of equipment and buildings
• To treat other learners and staff with respect at all times
• To give us feedback to help us to improve what we offer
• To complete set tasks outside of your course sessions as required to aid your learning and development
• To respond to requests for essential information, so we can plan future provision to meet the needs of the community
• To let us know why, if you wish to withdraw from your course

We will make every effort to run all the courses advertised; however, occasionally we will have to cancel, delay or merge a course if not enough people enrol. We will try to give you at least one week’s notice of any changes so please do not buy any materials or equipment for your course until we confirm the course is running.

If a class is cancelled for any reason, such as tutor illness or bad weather, we will contact you to let you know and will make other arrangements wherever possible. This usually involves adding an extra session at the end of the course.

Regular attendance is important to your learning and achievement and you should attend every class. However, we understand that sometimes it may not be possible for you to attend a class. In this case, please contact your tutor or our Business Support Staff as soon as you know that you will not be able to come. If you are absent from your course a lot, you may be withdrawn.

Please note, we can’t usually fund you to study the same qualification at the same level that you have already achieved (Some exceptions apply). Following an assessment, we will do our best to provide an appropriate course. However, where this is not possible, we will try to signpost you to alternative providers.

If you are not a UK national, you may be asked to provide additional proof of eligibility before you will be allowed to join a funded course.

We can fund your course if you are resident in England and do not live in a devolved local authority. We will check your postcode to confirm that you are eligible to do a course with us.

Every effort is taken to ensure any information you provide us with is kept secure and confidential in line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Some of the information you supply will be used by the Department for Education (DfE) to fulfil its statutory functions and they may share your Unique Learner Number (ULN) and Personal Learning Record with other education-related organisations.

We may contact you in the future to let you know about service news, new courses, or for surveys and research if you have given your permission for us to do so. You may change your contact preferences at any time.

Further details of how your information is processed can be found online via our Privacy Notices and Policies page.

Be aware that we don’t normally give refunds except when we have to close/cancel a course due to unforeseen circumstances. We may be able to give you a refund if you withdraw in exceptional circumstances.

Refunds which are issued due to exceptional circumstances, or a personal decision to withdraw, are subject to an administration charge of £10 per course which will be taken out of the amount you are being refunded. The £10 administration charge does not apply to refunds which are the result of cancelled courses.

Resources or examination fees included in the course cost are not refundable under any circumstances.

The process for receiving a refund is as follows:

• If we are issuing a refund within 6 months of taking a payment, we can refund directly to the card used to pay. Cash refunds are also available for payments under £20. This takes roughly 3-5 working days.
• If the payment is older than 6 months, or if it is a cash payment over £20, we will have to arrange a BACS transfer which will require us to ask for proof of your bank details (usually in the form of a statement) and create a request with the County Council’s Finance Department to organise the refund. The BACS process involves several steps to safeguard against fraud, and the full process can take 4-6 weeks to complete.

For more information on refunds, visit our Privacy Notices and Policies page.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funds many of our courses allowing us to offer significantly reduced course fees. The personal data you supply us is used by the DWP to create your Unique Learner Number (ULN), and to create and maintain a Personal Learning Record. This Personal Learning Record will allow you to track your achievements at any college or centre you may attend.

If your course takes place in one of Leicestershire County Council’s SMART Libraries (Loughborough, Coalville, Hinckley and Wigston) you will need a SMART Library Card. If you are not already a library member, we will create a library card for you which you will receive after completing the SMART Libraries induction.

To create a new SMART Library Card, we will need to share some of your personal information with the Library service so you can be registered with them. For existing library members, please check your card is still valid to gain entry to the venue. Please contact us if you have any concerns about the SMART Library registration process.

We are committed to meeting our duties under UK and other equality legislation and actively tackling discrimination in all its forms. The Equality Act 2010 gives people the right not to be treated less favourably by public authorities because of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and/or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

The Human Rights Act 1998 also requires public authorities to uphold and respect the standards set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

If you have a learning difference, disability, or health condition including any mental health issues that might affect your learning, please let us know at enrolment or discuss this in confidence with your tutor. We will do everything we can to offer additional support or adjustments in your class if you need them.

You may be eligible for:

• Additional learning aids or equipment, such as screen readers or hearing loops
• Examination access arrangements, subject to approval by the examination body
• Individual support in your class such as a learning support assistant to help with notetaking or extra instruction, signer etc.
• Help with reading, writing or maths

We also have a wide range of learning aids (pen grips, coloured overlays, reading glasses, etc.) available in centres for you to borrow if needed. Please talk to your tutor in the first instance if you are worried about your progress or are not happy with any aspect of your course. Please note that we will need reasonable notice to put appropriate support in place.

You can find out more about how we can support learning needs by visiting our Additional Learning Support page.

Some of our classes are delivered online. It is important to check the detailed course information prior to enrolment to ensure you have a laptop or desktop computer. We strongly recommend against doing an online course using a smartphone or tablet. You will also need a reliable internet connection to participate in the course. In the unlikely event of a failure of our IT systems, we will take appropriate actions to minimise impact on your learning. Recorded sessions may be shared with Adult Learning staff for quality assurance purposes.

If you do not have access to a computer or a laptop at home, and need one to participate in your online course, please let us know prior to your course starting. In certain cases, we may be able to loan you a laptop for the duration of your course.

Leicestershire Adult Learning Service has an online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which can help you with your learning. If your course is supported by the VLE, your tutor will be able to give you information on how to access your course page. You can also use the VLE to find information on:

• E-Safety and Acceptable Use of Information Technology
• Information, Advice and Guidance
• Safeguarding, including Prevent

Visit our Virtual Learning Environment (Moodle) today to explore.

If you are enrolled on an accredited course, you are expected to take the exam or complete the assessed work. Exams may take place at a different centre, with details shared in advance, and some support with travel costs may be available. If you need extra time or other adjustments to help you to sit an exam, discuss this early in the course with your tutor as evidence and advance approval are required. You must provide photo ID before your exam takes place and keep us informed of any changes to your details. Charges may apply if you miss an exam without prior notice.

Finance should never be a barrier to learning and if you think you would be unable to enrol on one of our courses due to the cost, we have several options to support you.

If you receive Job Seeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit, you could be entitled to join your course for FREE.

If you earn less than £26,800 you may be able to join your course for FREE.

If you do not receive state benefits, but your annual income is below £28,733.50, you may be entitled to pay the reduced cost for your course.

If you need support with the cost of studying you can apply for the Learner Support Fund which is available to all eligible learners and can reimburse the cost of childcare, travel, exam fees and resources.

If you feel that you might struggle to pay your course fee all at once, you are also able to pay in instalments if the total cost of your course is above £50.00.

For more detail on the support we can provide to help with costs visit our Financial Support page.

GoLearn! is regulated and inspected by Ofsted on behalf of the government. Ofsted inspectors may visit your class and speak to you about your learning experience. More information and a copy of our latest Ofsted report is on our website.

GoLearn! managers also visit classes to check the quality of our courses and help us to improve. You may be asked questions about your progress and learning experience course if your class is visited.

We are committed to providing a safe, healthy, supportive and inclusive learning environment for all learners. All teaching staff are DBS checked and trained in health and safety, safeguarding, risk assessment and personal safety. You will be informed about emergency procedures and are expected to follow tutors’ guidance on safe working practices. Everyone is asked to take care on site, including safe driving and parking, to respect disabled parking spaces, and to report any hazards or safety concerns promptly.

Abuse can take many forms: physical, sexual, discriminatory, psychological, emotional, or financial. We want our learners to feel able to discuss their concerns with a member of staff in confidence. If you have concerns about your own safety, or the safety of someone you know, please talk to your tutor or contact us on FREEPHONE 0800 988 0308 and ask to speak to a Safeguarding Officer.

We have a duty to raise awareness of the government Prevent strategy, which aims to stop people becoming drawn into committing violent or criminal acts or supporting extremism or terrorism. If you are worried about someone showing signs of being radicalised, or if you see or hear something that concerns you, please talk to your tutor or contact us on FREEPHONE 0800 988 0308 and ask to speak to a Safeguarding Officer.

‘If you see something, say something’ – your concerns will be taken seriously and treated in confidence.

As an organisation, we believe in and promote the four Fundamental British Values, which are defined as:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, and for those without faith

We believe people of all races and cultures including those with or without faith should behave with mutual respect and tolerance. We are all subject to British civil and criminal law and are proud to be part of a democracy encouraging individual liberty.

We provide access to ICT equipment, the internet and our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to support your learning. You are expected to use these resources responsibly, protect your personal information, save work securely, and use the internet only for course-related activities. Respect for copyright, online safety, and others is essential. Equipment must be handled with care, and access may be removed if the policy is not followed. Support is available from your tutor if you feel unsure or unsafe online.

Information on how to stay safe online can be found on our e-safety page www.leics-als.ac.uk/esafety. We reserve the right to withdraw access to ICT equipment or the internet for individuals who disregard this policy.

Learners taking part in a physical activity course must complete a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ) so that their tutor is aware of any health issues. It is your responsibility to ensure that you let your tutor know of any health issues which may affect your learning.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and encourage all learners to apply for our courses based on personal motivations and ambitions, not on their background or personal circumstances.

Having a criminal record will not automatically stop you from studying with us and under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 you do not have to declare spent convictions. It is, however, a requirement that all learners disclose any unspent criminal convictions, pending convictions or bail conditions as a part of the standard application/enrolment process or if their circumstances change whilst studying with us.

We will consider any information disclosed in a sensitive and confidential manner including the details of the offence, the time elapsed and the nature of the course you wish to study. If we determine that the information disclosed means that your chosen course is not suitable then we will work with you, and potentially other organisations, to discuss alternatives. Failure to reveal information could lead to you being excluded from a course.

If you are in any doubt as to whether you need to disclose anything, please speak to your tutor in confidence or contact us on FREEPHONE 0800 988 0308 and ask to speak to a Safeguarding Officer.

We take all reasonable steps to provide the correct guidance and instructions in relation to the tasks to be performed by participants on our courses. Should any type of loss, injury or damage to you or any third party occur as a result of undertaking any of our courses of learning, we shall not be liable or responsible.

This is true whether or not we or any other party are involved in creating, designing, producing and presenting these courses, including all related instructions, guidance and material. We shall not be liable for any such loss, injury or damage caused to you or any other party because you have not followed the guidance and instructions issued by us. This includes, without limitation, any other direct, indirect or consequential loss whether the loss is financial, economic, damage to property or otherwise.

All feedback is kept confidential and shared only with relevant staff. You can give feedback at any time through:

• the online Learner Voice Survey.
• paper feedback forms within our Learning Centres,
• Learner Voice Forums,
• reflections in Individual Learning Plans during and at the end of courses,
• an Impact Survey sent three months after you finish your course.
• Feedback may be used anonymously in “You said, we did” displays to show service improvements. You may also be invited to take part in voluntary external surveys from organisations such as Ofsted or the Department for Work and Pensions to support service evaluation.

We try to provide the best possible learning experience, however, we recognise that things sometimes do go wrong. If you are not satisfied with with the service you have received, please speak to your tutor or any member of staff to try to resolve your issue.

If this does not resolve the issue, please follow our complaints process.

Put a face-to-a-name and meet our leadership team.

Have a look at the key dates you may need to be aware of for the coming year.

Find details of all our venues, including opening times, maps, travel advice, and accessibility needs.

See the results of our last Ofsted Inspection.

Browse a catalogue of the service’s Privacy Notices and Policies.

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