Bristol City Council’s ‘Meet the Providers’ Event

The annual ‘Meet the Providers’ event was held at City Hall on the 26th September.  Hosted by Bristol City Council, the event was an opportunity for staff, professionals, parents and carers to meet a range of Post -16 providers and learn more about how to support young people they work with, care for, or support.

With a diverse range of Post -16 education and training options, beyond that of traditional Sixth Form offers,  the ‘Meet the Providers’ event delivered school staff, foster and kinship carers, who are supporting Year 11 students, information about the range of options available. Bristol City Council believes this is important when supporting Year 11 students to make informed Post-16 choices. This is particularly pertinent as young people start to make applications over the coming months.

The event also provided professionals working with young people, who are yet to enrol in a relevant pathway, with up-to-date information. As the coming months are essential in terms of assessing offers and making decisions, the additional support facilitated by the event is invaluable. In addition to this, the event offered a platform to providers who can offer support to young people who are not quite ready to engage in anything full time.

In many cases, young people discover that the Sixth Form provision they opted for is not for them. The ‘Meet the Providers’ event also supported young people to ‘swap, don’t drop’. By supporting young people to transfer to other provision in the city, they avoid becoming ‘NEET’. One way this is done is by including providers that have offers that start throughout the academic year, demonstrating to young people that it’s never too late.

For more information about the diverse range of offers from around the city, take a look the Bristol Post-16 Directory.