Schools Transition Portal

A team of staff from Forth Valley College has transformed the way school leavers take the next step in their educational journey by enhancing their Transition Portal tool.

Recent changes to procedures and systems have enhanced successful and sustained transitions of school leavers, as they make the jump from secondary school to further education and particularly to Forth Valley College.

The College acted to re-focus the Portal in order to improve student retention and success rates for school leavers, particularly those from Widening Participation Groups – as it is widely accepted that the transition journey is recognised as a significant, contributing factor to a student’s relative success in their first year at college.

Gaps in an effective transition to college were identified through consultation with staff, students and stakeholders. Through this consultation one critical part of the transition journey was identified as being very important - and that was is the future students’ preparation for college life, with a necessity for particular groups of students to have access to earlier support interventions and pre-enrolment activities that help prepare them for a smoother transition to college.

A multi-stage approach was agreed – mirroring an enhanced extension of the successful ‘Widening Participation Project’ - and is now the driver for the Forth Valley College Transitions Project. The main beneficiaries of these changes are School Leavers, FVC staff and School staff.

The proposed changes aim to provide:

• An improved student experience of starting college for school leavers
• Early interaction with college support services to enable implementation of timely support interventions
• Improved successful and sustained destinations

Laura Geoghegan, FVC Student Support Manager, said: “We are delighted with the positive impact the FVC Portal is already having in supporting learners progressing from school to college. As the first college in Scotland to implement this approach, the portal is creating a more joined-up, proactive transition experience for students, schools and college staff.

“By improving information sharing earlier in the transition journey, school leavers can access support sooner, including Get Ready 2 Learn workshops, orientation tours and Learning Support. They will also receive tailored support to help them stay on track in a learning environment where staff understand their needs and know how best to support them.

“College staff will also have access to relevant information earlier, allowing for better resource allocation and more effective planning for teaching and assessment. This includes targeting Mental Health & Wellbeing and Study Skills Workshops. School staff will also benefit by helping pupils transition successfully and stay on course.”

The photograph shows (From left to right) Mary Fagan FVC Junior Web Developer, Agnieszka Skrzynska FVC Process Improvement Manager and Laura Geoghegan FVC Student Support Manager.