Parents and Carers
At Hugh Baird College your son, daughter or dependent will be encouraged to reach their full potential and we aim to get them ready for the next stage of their journey.
Supporting your child or dependent
We’re known for the support we provide our students and we’re here to help every step of the way.
We will support your child or dependent to gain the right skills and qualifications and prepare them the next stage of their journey, whether they go on to start their career, go to university or take an apprenticeship.
The success of our learners depends largely on their commitment, their attitude to study and their motivation to succeed. We hope you’ll join us in supporting and encouraging them to take their studies seriously, attend regularly, be punctual and hand work in on time.
Safeguarding
We are committed to doing everything we can to be certain all of our students and staff are kept safe and protected from harm. The College Safeguarding Team offers support and guidance to children, young people and vulnerable adults who are suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.
- We have three designated safeguarding leads, alongside a team of highly trained Safeguarding Officers.
- We have a clear strategy and set of procedures in place to promote the safety of all students, members of staff, volunteers, regular contractors/other visiting professionals.
- We make sure all of our staff working for, or on behalf of the College, are suitable to work with young people by carrying out all relevant checks needed.
- We actively encourage students and staff to raise any concerns they have.
- When concerns are reported, the team will always take appropriate action and work closely with a range of health and wellbeing services and agencies across local authorities to ensure children, young people and vulnerable adults are kept safe at all times.
- We train all of our staff in safeguarding at a level appropriate to their role on an ongoing basis.
- All individuals have a duty and responsibility to report suspected abuse and disclosures from any young person or vulnerable adul
In Conjunction with Merseyside Police, Hugh Baird College is involved in an initiative called Operation Encompass. The Purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in heard or witnessed a domestic abuse incident. Following such an incident, young people can arrive at College distressed, upset worried or unprepared. Operation encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff (called key adults) are made aware early enough to support young people in a way that means they feel safe and included.
At Hugh Baird College our key adult is Chris Thomas.
This is a valuable initiative that means that we can continue to support and help children and families within our community when they need it the most.
You can find out more by visiting www.operationencompass.org or by contacting our key adult, Chris Thomas, on chris.thomas@hughbaird.ac.uk or 0151 353 4532.
- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Neglect
- Bullying - including online/cyber bullying
- Child sexual exploitation
- Domestic violence
- Drugs
- Forced Marriage
- Mental Health
- Preventing radicalisation
- Relationship abuse
We have a duty to protect vulnerable individuals who may be at risk of radicalisation or extremism covering all types of terrorism and radicalised ideologies. This is known as the ‘Prevent Strategy’.
The government currently outline extremism as: 'vocal or active opposition to British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs'. We fully support these values and share this throughout the College. Find out more.
Latest Ofsted Report
Our latest Ofsted inspection report in March 2018 reflected all the hard work our leadership team, teaching staff, and support staff have put into Hugh Baird College, with ‘Good’ results for all our college-based courses. We’ve also been commended on the quality of our teaching, our personal development and support programmes, and the outcomes of our learners.
Careers Advice
When it comes to making career decisions, you're one of the first people your child or dependent will turn to for help.
- How do you spark ideas for their career and explore the routes they could take?
- Do you feel confident in supporting them to make important decisions?
The resources below may help you and your child/dependent explore the options and make an informed decision. If you need further advice, we have dedicated impartial Career Advisors available that are qualified to Level 7.
Need help compiling your child or dependent's CV? Our easy to use Career Coach tool will take you step by step to build comprehensive employment ready CV.
Career Coach will also give you relevant data on wages, employment and training and what jobs are high-paying and growing in our region. Launch Career Coach.
Career Connect
Career Connect is a charity who are passionate about providing high quality independent careers advice, bridging the gap to learning and employment and better life chances for young people and adults. Career Connect provides independent, impartial and inspirational advice and guidance to young people who want to find out more about potential future careers, job searches and self-assessment. Visit Career Connect.
Career Coach
When supporting your child or dependent to choose the right careers path it is important to consider labour market intelligence. Lots of young people get confused about what is a realistic career and what pathway to take. Accessing Career Coach through our website will support you to understand labour market intelligence in relation to your child or dependent chosen career. Launch Career Coach.
National Careers Service
The National Careers Service provides advice and information on a range of topics including careers, education, employment and training / apprenticeships. The National Careers Service free helpline, 0800 100 900, is open from 8am to 10pm every day. The service also has a free online chat, email and text service. In addition to having a wealth of information for you and your child, the website also has a 'Skills Health Check' tool, which is another way for you to support your child to decide which career is right for them. Visit National Careers Service.
Volunteering opportunities can also help your child or dependent gain successful employment, it will also enrich a personal statement.
Volunteering is about giving time to a good cause. It is a fantastic opportunity to develop skills, experience, meet new people and help others. Research shows that 80% of employers value voluntary experience and 58% value it more than paid work experience. Volunteering can help your child or dependent demonstrate motivation and initiative as well as helping them develop skills employers want.
They wouldn't get paid but they have the chance to experience the satisfaction that comes from making a real difference to other people’s lives, as well as their own. Most of all they can have fun and make new friends. Along with roles that are designed to help individuals, some volunteering opportunities will give them the chance to have positive impact on their local community and the environment.
Volunteering opportunities can be short term, long term, part time, full time or one-off. There are even activities they could do from home. Your child or dependent can also volunteer either at school, college or in their own time. If they're aged 16 to 17 you can take part in the National Citizen Service (NCS).
Local volunteer centres:
- Sefton Council for Voluntary Services (CVS)
- Volunteer Centre Liverpool
- Knowsley Community & Voluntary Services (CVS)
- Community Action Wirral
Useful websites:
UCAS is the online application system for anyone in the UK who wants to apply for a full-time University course. If your child or dependent is considering Higher Education, they’ll need to decide what subject, course type, and course provider is right for them. They can use the UCAS Search tool to discover more about each degree program and the different universities available. There are also many useful videos to help guide them through the process from start to finish including how to write an effective personal statement and using the Track system to check the progress of their application and offers. Visit www.ucas.com
The Student Room is the largest student community in the world - over 1.8m members. You can discuss anything - universities, health, lifestyle, relationships and there are also free university application help and revision tools. Visit www.thestudentroom.co.uk
Your child or dependent does not need to pay for their university tuition fees up front - Tuition Fee Loans cover university tuition fees and are paid direct to the university or college, by Student Finance England. They are available to all eligible students regardless of household income. The amount you pay back is dependent on how much you earn. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/student-finance.
Your child or dependent might find they need extra help with money for day-to-day living costs, accommodation, food or course materials. Maintenance loans are usually paid in three instalments, directly into their bank account. (For full time students only). For more information, visit www.gov.uk/student-finance.
The most useful way you can support your child/dependent to make the right careers choices is to help them find reliable information and knowledge. This can be done in a variety of ways, including:
Book a careers appointment
Our Careers Advisors will sit with you and your child/dependent and go through the skills and qualifications needed for different careers, what the current job market looks like in your area and the different ways to enter the chosen careers such as College, University or Apprenticeships. Our advisors are completely impartial and will support your child/dependent to make the right choices for them. To book a careers appointment, email careers@hughbaird.ac.uk
Support them with research
To help your child/dependent be successful in identifying a career that that they will thrive in, it is advisable that they understand what they are good at and what they enjoy, in order to match this to their chosen career. The National Careers Service has a 'Skills Health Check' tool that will enable this. Additionally, our Career Coach tool has an easy-to-use assessment which will support your child/dependent to identify what careers match their skills.
There is great value in using reliable websites and tools to research careers and the labour market. Below is a list of useful websites that you can visit:
What is Labour Market Information and how does it help your child or dependent?
The labour market is a collection of work places across the country. The various places that are available to seek employment from are classed as a labour market. Labour Market Information (LMI) is information about those different work places such as numbers of people who work there, qualification required for specific jobs and the number of job opportunities available in a chosen career field.
LMI helps people to understand job opportunities and understand any changes to their chosen careers in the future. Understanding LMI enables you to support your child or dependent to make good choices in relation to their qualifications that can lead to rewarding careers. For more information on current LMI visit: www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket
The following website also provides you with more localised information on LMI and is very useful when researching specific sectors within Liverpool City Region: www.liverpoollep.org/growth-sectors
British Values
We promote British values by respecting everyone irrespective of age, culture, religious background, gender or sexuality. We follow the governmental principles of British values to ensure that we keep our College a happy, safe environment for staff and students, this includes:
Individual Liberty
Helping students to make the best choice for themselves.
Ensuring all students know their rights, and who they can talk to if they don’t feel these are being met.
Justice
Treating everybody fairly, regardless of gender, age, religious values or sexuality.
Equipping all students with the knowledge of what is expected of them.
Democracy
Believing that all people should have freedom and equality especially when at work/studying.
Each person has a voice and the right to be heard.
Mutual Respect
Respecting other people’s differences, other cultures and ways of life.
Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs
Understanding that other people may have different beliefs to your own and tolerating this.
A safe and supportive environment
At Hugh Baird College, we’re committed to promoting and safeguarding all the characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. Several of these are in respect to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Plus community. We do not tolerate any discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnerships, or gender reassignment. We want Hugh Baird College to be a safe and supportive environment for every individual.
Hugh Baird College emails out regular information to parents and carers around LGBT+ inclusion. If you aren’t receiving these updates and would like to be on the mailing list please email all_student_services_staff@hughbaird.ac.uk.
Report a safeguarding concern
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the answers to some questions that parents and carers often ask us:
In some ways, school and college are similar - attendance is compulsory, deadlines for the submission of work are in place and our learners are expected to behave in a responsible way.
There is no upper age limit at college, we have many adult learners and although most attend courses designed for adults, we welcome them on all our courses. It is possible that there may be adult learners on your child/dependent's course and they are nearly always very committed to their course and work hard, so they set a fantastic example to 16-17 year olds.
There are a range of grants and bursaries for which your child/dependent may be eligible. For further information take a look at our Student Finance section.
You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for a child under 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training). For more information, visit: www.gov.uk/child-benefit/eligibility.
If appropriate, our Student Services team can advise you and put you in touch with the appropriate external agencies.
Our Learner Support team can help with a wide range of difficulties including; physical and learning disabilities, dyslexia, Irlen Syndrome, mental health needs, visual impairment, hearing impairment and emotional support. Our Student Services team can advise you on this support or you can indicate specific needs when you make an application to come to the College.
Please contact their Study Programme Coordinator or a member of our Student Services team.
Yes. Hugh Baird College is a safe environment, confirmed by Ofsted in our last inspection. All staff are trained in Safeguarding and we have a team of dedicated Safeguarding Officers as well as zero tolerance on bullying.
No. We can enrol students from any area in the UK.
Below are links to websites that you may find useful. We do not hold any responsibility for their content:
