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Veteran
Posts: 186
 
Location: Hertfordshire | Hi,
Apologies for not posting recently but life has been particularly hectic. Elena & our daughter, Elizabeth, have now been in the UK for nearly a year. It has been a difficult transition for Elena but she has recently 'joined' a group of Russian speaking mothers in Hemel Hempstead which has, I believe, helped along with the local playgroups that they both attend on a regular basis.
Elena went for an assessment, about a month ago, at the local college for an ESOL and Citizenship course, and was assessed at level 3. Today we went to enrol her in the course only to discover that she would NOT be considered as a 'home student' but as an 'overseas' student, because she hadn't lived in the UK for three years and because she was from country outside of the EU. In essence, the cost of the course is now £1500 as opposed to the original £500. This decision is a very recent one brought in by the Government in relation to the funding that it provides to the college.
I know that I have been away from the forum for some time but has anyone else experienced this? If so, what alternatives do we have for Elena to be 'assisted' in her English and Citizenship studies please?
Kind regards,
Ian. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 379
| Instead of the college, go to your local council (probably county council i.e. Herts) website. Find out about their CSLD (Community Skills & Learning). They might run ESOL+Citizenship courses. The funding arrangement is different to the colleges. You may still have to pay a fee until she meets the various criteria but it shouldn't be anywhere near as much as £1500. I can't remember exactly but for my wife we paid something like £300 for the first term, at which point she qualified for reduced (local) rates and then something like £10 per session which worked out at another £100 plus exam fee. But that was nearly a couple of years ago. Yes, rules have changed but CSLD funding rules are different to colleges and different again to Adult Education.
She will need to be re-assessed by CSLD. (I presume you mean she was assessed at Entry Level 3 and not Level 3 - completely different things.)
If her assessment is Entry Level 3 (or above) then that means that she has to do the LIUK test. In which case you really only need to concentrate on the ESOL side of things if the aim is to help her with her English. And she needs to cram the LIUK book until confident enough to take the test.
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Veteran
Posts: 186
Location: Hertfordshire | Thanks very much for the advice, much appreciated.
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New User
Posts: 4
| I don't understand why the funding rules have changed but it's a pity that people are told to pay £1500 when the courses are also available for a much better price... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 413
Location: Edinburgh/Tula/Bogoroditsk | My wife goes to a whole load of locally run courses in Edinburgh mostly run by Edinburgh Council for ESOL, they also offer free course at a simplier level all over Edinburgh, being a resident seems to be the only requirement. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 500
Location: Midlands | This has been mentioned on a number of occasions before, but why not just take the Life in the UK Test and be done with it?
Total cost £50 (if you pass first time) plus the price of the Red Squirrel Life in the UK test book and your done!
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 401
| Totally agree with Delboy |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 413
Location: Edinburgh/Tula/Bogoroditsk | delboydavid - 2012-08-16 12:54 PM
This has been mentioned on a number of occasions before, but why not just take the Life in the UK Test and be done with it?
Total cost £50 (if you pass first time) plus the price of the Red Squirrel Life in the UK test book and your done!
Agree with this viewpoint, however as the local council courses are very cheap and also an oppertunity for my wife to meet new people, I am happy for her to go. |
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Veteran
Posts: 186
Location: Hertfordshire | UPDATE - I went to enrol my wife the other week and the College have now accepted her as a 'home' student  |
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ESOL & Citizenship course - problems!!
