Provider Access Policy

Provider Access Legislation

Policy details

• Date created - 05/08/2004
• Next review date - August 2025
• Policy owner - Mr D. Bull

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Access for colleges, training providers, university technical colleges, and all other post 16 providers offering technical, vocational and academic routes and apprenticeships.

This policy statement sets out our academy’s  arrangements for managing the access of education and training providers to students for the purpose of giving them information about the various post 16 routes.

It sets out:

• Procedures in relation to requests for access
• The grounds for granting and refusing requests for access
• Details of premises or facilities to be provided to a person who is given access

Statutory requirements

All academies are required to ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access students in years 8 to 13 for the purposes of informing them about approved technical education, qualifications or apprenticeships. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.

In addition to the Baker Clause, an amendment to the above stipulates that schools must allow colleges and training providers access to every student in years 8 - 13 to discuss non-academic routes that are available to them. It is expected that by doing so this will help address the UK’s productivity challenges and address skills shortages experienced across several sectors of the economy. In line with the updated Provider Access Legislation, from January 2023, all students will have at least six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.

This is broken down into key phases:

1st key phase: Year 8 or 9 two encounters for students that are mandatory for all to attend

2nd key phase: Year 10 or 11 two encounters for students that are mandatory for all to attend

3rd key phase: Year 12 or 13 two encounters that are mandatory for the academy to offer but optional for students to attend

Pupil entitlement (Intended Learning Outcomes)

At Co-op Academy Belle Vue we will use the Gatsby Benchmarks as a framework of best practice  to develop and improve our careers provision to ensure that we not only fulfil legal duties of providing opportunities for a range of education and training providers to access all students in Year 7 to year 11 but to also have CEIAG programs that meet the needs of an ever changing cohort.

With this in mind all of our students are entitled:

• to find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point.
• to hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships.
• to understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

These provider encounters will be scheduled during the main academy hours and there will a minimum expectation that our providers will provide :

• Information about the provider and the approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships they offer.
• Information about the careers to which those technical education qualifications or  apprenticeships might lead i.e career routes.
• Description of what learning or training with the provider is like, including the opportunity to meet staff and students where possible.
• Opportunities for students to ask questions, including our most vulnerable and those with additional learning needs.

Further detail of our CEIAG programme is available here on our website.

Management of provider access requests

A provider wishing to request access should contact Mr D. Bull - Deputy Headteacher on daniel.bull@coopacademies.co.uk

Opportunities for access

Our Academy will offer the four provider encounters required of us by law and a number of additional events, integrated into our careers program. We will offer providers an opportunity to come into our academy to speak to students and/or their parents or carers.

There may be other opportunities added to the CEIAG programme throughout the academic year.

Safeguarding

Our policy on safeguarding, which can be found on our website, sets out our approach to allowing providers into our academy as visitors to talk to our students

Education and training providers are expected to adhere to this policy.

Premises and facilities

Our academy will make rooms available for discussions between the provider and students, as appropriate to the activity.

The academy will also make available AV and other specialist equipment to support provider presentations. This will all be discussed and agreed in advance of the visit with the Careers Leader or a member of their team.

Providers are welcome to leave a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature at reception, from here they will be delivered to the careers section of the library. This facility is available to all students at lunch and break times.

Monitoring arrangements

Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams’ arrangements for managing the access of education and training providers to our students is monitored by Mr D. Bull.

This policy will be reviewed by August 2025. At every review, the policy will be approved by the governing board and Headteacher.