The Bridge Ventures Creating employment Opportunities For Adults With Learning Disabilities In North Lincolnshire

NOCN (National Open College Network) Entry Level Award, Certificate and Diploma in Skills Towards Enabling Progression (Step-UP) – Horticulture Pathway

Level: Entry 3

Course Details

This course is being offered by North Lincolnshire Council Adult Education Service in partnership with ‘The Bridge Ventures’ Community Interest Company to support those with a learning disability to gain skills and experience progress to further study or employment, including voluntary work.

The course is made up of a range of units that support core skills and employability, plus vocational units that make up the horticulture pathway.

Each unit is worth one or more credits and you can gain an Award, Certificate or Diploma based on how many credits you achieve:

3 credits are required to gain an Award
15 credits are required to gain a Certificate
37 credits are required to gain the Diploma

The expected time taken to complete the Award, Certificate or Diploma is:

30 hours of study/activity to achieve the Award,
150 hours of study/activity to achieve the Certificate and
360 hours of study/activity to achieve the Diploma.

Dependant on your hours of attendance you would be able to complete the Award within one term and the Certificate or Diploma within one year. It is expected that candidates will undertake an intial assessment that also meets the requirements of the Introduction to Developing a Personal Learning Programme unit that will result in the achievement of an Award before going on to complete the Certificate or Diploma.

The units, and their credit value, selected as most appropriate for the Horticulture Pathway are:

Core skills units:
Introduction to Personal Development (1) – compulsory unit as part of the Diploma,
but not the Award or Certificate
Introduction to Developing a Personal Learning Programme (3)
Introduction to Skills for Employability (3)
Introduction to Undertaking an Enterprise Project (6)
Vocational skills units:
Developing an Awareness of Soil Types and Garden Habitats (3)
Developing Skills for Sowing and Growing Plants (3)
Developing Skills for Using and Maintaining Garden Tools (3)
Introduction to Cultivating Plant Cuttings (3)
Introduction to Garden Horticulture (3)
Introduction to Garden Maintenance Skills (3)
Introduction to Planting in a Container (3)
Introduction to propagations of Plants (3)

Entry requirements

As this programme has been specifically designed to meet the needs of those with learning disabilities, anyone applying for the course should fall into this category or be deemed through initial assessment as being able to benefit from such a programme.

Course Requirements

‘The Bridge Ventures’ Community Interest Company makes a charge of £10 per day to participate in the programme. You will also need overalls and a pair of steel toe capped Wellingtons or boots.

You should also have up to date tetanus immunization. If you choose not to obtain such protection you will have to sign a disclaimer to this effect.

As the Brigg Adult Education Centre only has a drinks machine (40p/cup) you will need to bring a packed lunch with you.

As the course is designed to prepare you for employment it has been agreed that you should be able to find your own way to the Brigg centre just as anyone would have to do when going to work. However, if this is going to present some difficulty then you can contact the Adult Education office at Brigg (01652 658204) to find out what support could be available.

Progression

As an entry level qualification Step-UP courses provide an ideal training from which to progress onto the Level 1 Step-UP programme or other Level 1 course of interest.

You may also be able to progress onto an employability programme offered through Job Centre Plus or open employment or voluntary work or continue with ‘The Bridge Ventures’ using the personal payments system.

Entry Level	Level 1	Level 2 + Qualifications