News & Events
What is supported self-study?
What is supported self-study? LearnOnline self-study courses give the learner freedom and flexibility to study the courses of their choice.
Whether studying IGCSE or A level every learner on the programme receives an individual login to the LearnOnline virtual learning education platform. The platform contains their course/s, direct access to their course tutor and additional support modules.
The course itself is developed by a specialist subject tutor, following the awarding body specification to ensure the learner is fully prepared for their exams at the end of their studies. The course is broken down into topics so that it is easy to follow and understand what needs to be studied within each topic. The student will be guided to read sections of their textbook (provided when enrolled), watch or read additional online videos or articles and complete an end of topic assignment. The assignments are marked by the course tutor who gives valuable feedback to ensure the learners know if they are on track or needs to focus on that topic a bit more.
There are not any live lessons with a teacher so there is an expectation to read and research, more so than perhaps in mainstream education, but you are not restricted by deadlines to carry out the work or submit your assignments.
The specialist subject tutor is with the learner for the duration of their study* and can be emailed or messaged via the platform at any time. Tutors are asked to reply to enquiries within 2 days and mark work within 4 days. We of course allow our tutors to take leave and we cannot avoid illness, but this is our standard practice. Anything outside of this we will communicate with the learner.
*We have an amazing retention of staff, but people do move on from time to time. In this case we will ensure the learners affected are still supported with a qualified tutor.
All learners under 18 or require extra support from someone in the home setting will have a mentor. A mentor can be a parent, carer, teacher or private tutor and they will have a separate login to view the learner’s progress, direct access to the course tutor, support modules and will receive administration emails.
LearnOnline provides a support module, which is available to both learners and mentors. The support module includes:
- Help and guidance on how to study independently
- How to write a study timetable
- Stress management
- Mental health and wellbeing links for support
- Safeguarding awareness
- Effective internet searching
- Critical thinking guidance
- Careers advice links
- Revision support and guidance
- Exam support and how to find an exam centre
- UCAS support and guidance
- Information on plagiarism
We are always reviewing and updating the support module and if learners or mentors suggest or ask for additional information, we often take that suggestion on-board and update the support module.
LearnOnline self-study may not be for everyone and we do encourage you contact us prior to enrolling to chat through your reasons for wishing to study in this way. The LearnOnline team are happy to discuss options and the best way to support individuals. We welcome all enquiries.
Contact us: https://online.pembrokeshire.ac.uk/contact-learnonline/
Links to courses that we offer: