Foundation Learning
Our purpose is to create life-changing opportunities by shaping an exciting future with the best education and collaborations. We will help you reach your personal goals, whether that is to become more independent, gain employment or to continue with your further education study. We are truly committed to widening participation and supporting learners with a wide range of learning difficulties and disabilities and we have high aspirations for all students within the department.
On a course within the Foundation Learning curriculum, you will have access to all of the Yeovil College services, these include careers, work experience and enrichment programmes, with the addition of specialist one-to-one, intervention sessions, support, occupational therapists and speech and language therapy, where identified as a need. These are all set within a dedicated area of the college, to ensure a feeling of safety and familiarisation with their immediate environment.
“Our focus in the Foundation Learning Department is to help our learners develop a range of important skills – social, academic and vocational in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.”
Our teachers are our true strength; they are our superpower. Not only are they experienced professionals, but they genuinely care deeply about their students. Courses are taught by well qualified and experienced lectures who are dedicated to ensuring student success through effective curriculum delivery and high-quality pastoral support.
We work together as one close unit, with parents/guardians, our teaching team, Yeovil College business support professionals, our SENDCo and external industry professionals, working as a team to create the best solutions for and with the student. We are one YC team, all working towards the best individualised plan for the student.
“Yeovil College Learning Companies: Developing employability skills for SEND Learners.”
Yeovil College has created a new ‘employment’ concept to support current SEND learners to develop a range of skills, confidence and independence to support their preparation for employment.
Through Yeovil College Learning Companies, learners experience real-world roles within business support teams at Yeovil College, preparing them for future employment, and ensuring that they acquire skills, behaviours and knowledge that are applicable and relevant within the workforce.
- Skill Development: Focus on developing a range of skills, including academic, social, and life skills, which are essential for the holistic development of SEND learners.
- Building Confidence and Independence: Through targeted support and accommodations, learners can develop a sense of autonomy, empowering them to navigate educational and social challenges more effectively.
- Preparation for Employment: Real-world experiences, preparing SEND learners for future employment. This ensures that they acquire skills that are not only academically relevant but also applicable in the workforce.
- Community Integration: Contribute to the integration of SEND learners into the broader College community and helps promote understanding. Learners are socially integrated into a professional environment to help break down barriers and to create an atmosphere of acceptance and support among students with diverse abilities.
Yeovil College has a number of Learning Companies in operation:
- Reception
- Post and Mail Duties
- Maintenance
- Learning Resource Centre (including Reprographics and printing)
- Cafe
- Administration
- Hair & Beauty Assistant.
Discover even more information with our digital Foundation learning prospectus or our Learning Companies Leaflet. Why not have a flick through.
Personal Development Awards
Life and Living learners have started their journey to gaining key skills to prepare them for their next steps. Every journey will be unique for each learner and their successes will vary depending on their starting point.
Student Activity
Foundation Learning Newsletter:
Why Choose Us?
Exceptional, highly trained staff work closely with employers, local authorities, Discovery and other relevant professionals to triage the correct ongoing support for the student. Students have a dedicated team of people to support them, whilst in the college environment.
Small class-size, high ratios and spacious environments mean our students get focused support and attention.
Our Foundation students receive regular and supported careers, information, advice and guidance, where together they will explore opportunities available to them to support their future educational or work journey. Visit our Foundation Learning – Careers Support page to learn more.
We have regular opportunities in place for our Foundation Learning students to meet our careers teams and work with the team as a small group and on a one-to-one basis. We work with businesses from across the region and our students have the opportunity to access relevant work experience and placement opportunities, where appropriate, with former students accessing apprenticeships or direct employment.
We stay in regular contact with our parents, guardians and other professionals through our students’ time in college, and often long beyond their college years. We regularly communicate through parents’ evenings, parent forums and communication log.
We work closely with local community and business partners, including Discovery, Somerset Education Business Partnership, and Imagine, together with many local employers, including Yeovil District Hospital, Leonardo Helicopters and Thales.
We have a dedicated set of learning environments, which can be flexed and evolve depending upon the nature of the tasks and activities involved, including sensory spaces, social spaces, training kitchens, a working apartment and relaxation areas.
We have high expectations for all students within our Foundation Learning department, and we support them to be the best they can possibly be, no matter what the end goal is. We encourage taster session, careers support, voluntary work and bespoke work placements. Every student receives regular careers support and guidance, enabling them to make positive career decisions, in a supported and tailored way. Students are supported and developed to progress through to their end goal.
Many of our Foundation Learning students progress to a number of further education subjects, including:
- Automotive Engineering: If cars are your passion, then take your foot off the brake, because a career within Automotive Engineering is within easy reach at Yeovil College.
- Construction: Yeovil College offers hands-on training that will equip you to build a great career in one of the many building trades whilst developing strong employability skills for the future.
- Creative Industries: We combine strong practical education with excellence in academic teaching to encourage reflective, critical artists, designers and media specialists.
- Health & Social Care and Early Years Education: Health, Social Care and Education is an incredibly important industry within our county, and this is one of the most exciting times in our history to consider studying Health, Social Care and Education at Yeovil College.
- Hospitality & Catering: The Hospitality and Catering industry is a great place to work. It is people-focused, fast-paced and creative, whether you are creating a meal, a drink, or importantly, a memorable experience.
Facilities & Specialist Services
Foundation Learning is a fantastic and supportive starting point for those who need it, and you can feel confident that as a team, we will work hard, treating you as an individual and in a bespoke way, to ensure that you fulfil the best outcome for you.
Tutorials are used as an opportunity to review our students’ progress. This is where we will provide appropriate support, set next-step targets, keep you on track and ensure you achieve the very best outcome for yourself. You will also learn about how to keep yourself and others safe, which includes Prevent training, safeguarding and information to support the best outcomes and life chances.
Your work and study spaces vary and evolve according to the tasks and activities involved, however you will discover a range of appropriate learning spaces, for example, a working kitchen, an apartment area, sensory spaces, large social and teaching spaces and flexible spaces, which flex for relaxation purposes, practical teaching and structured group work. Students are encouraged to explore the whole campus, but our bridge block is a specific and dedicated place for Foundation Learning students to relax, learn and work.
Feedback is an essential tool used to support our students and we prioritise feedback at the end of every unit, as a minimum. A variety of learning strategies are used to deliver lessons, which helps us to achieve the maximum, positive learning experience for all students.
We offer a huge range of extra-curricular enrichment to our Foundation Learning students, to help and support our core curriculum. Our students will have the opportunity to continue working towards independence, whilst developing skills social skills, self-esteem, self-confidence and self-resilience, all whilst having fun.
We will arrange formal annual reviews of Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) with tutors, carers and professionals that are involved in all aspects of the student’s life.
We work closely with professionals to meet the needs of the learners with therapy provision identified via an EHCP, to integrate support into our curriculum, for example, speech and language therapy.
Transition to College
We know that transitioning to a college can be a difficult process, so we are committed to supporting our students as much as we can.
We work with all incoming students and school partners to plan a smooth transition to college, this involves several visits to college over a sustained period of time to help the young person feel comfortable and confident with their environment, including visits to the Foundation Learning base rooms, curriculum exploration, opportunities to meet the team, library tours and visits to The Food Court. We also visit the young person’s school to share information, engage with the class and work with them in their safe environment.
We operate a ‘buddy’ system for all new students. This enables future students to connect with current students and form a friendship and bond with people who have been in the exact same position, with all the same questions, worries and perhaps confidence issues. Buddies tend to be Yeovil College students from the same school as the young person allowing immediate recognition and commonality.
We have provided a full virtual tour of Yeovil College to further embed comfort and understanding of our college. Explore rooms, environments and classroom layouts, plus engage in video content, taught lessons and presentations.
We thoroughly believe in transition and preparation for next steps, which results in early transition planning and visits, such as visits to Hazelhurst Community Farm, leading to better and more supported outcomes for our learners, which offers a day service for people with learning disabilities, autism and PMLD. Some of our students will be accessing Hazelhurst when they finish Yeovil College, and these visits are the start of the transition work for these students.
Our Study Programmes
A programme to enable you to live independently in supported environments within adult services and community provision. This programme will support all aspects of your needs including health, care, therapeutic interventions, medications, and educational development. We create supportive and stretching learning environments in which learners are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and develop their confidence and independence so they can make progress towards their EHCP outcomes.
This programme provides for the needs of individuals between the age range 16-24, with severe to moderate learning difficulties who want to continue to build on essential skills for living, employment and community.
This programme serves as a steppingstone for you to progress on to further studies and experience the world of work in a supported way. It will help you build confidence and further develop and build your social communication skills by providing opportunities for you to experience vocational and work experience opportunities in a supported environment.
Supported Internships are year-long opportunities with rotations in one or several employers that aim to move you into to paid work. This programme will provide you with the essential employability skills and experience by getting hands-on with an employer. You’ll be given the skills required to be successful in the job application process and build on your self-management and independence skills. You can expect to complete 3-4 days at work and then one day at college.