Following the latest announcement by the Prime Minister on Monday 4th January, there will be no face to face delivery on site at Reaseheath College until further notice, except for vulnerable students, those whose parents are key workers and very small number of HE students (who will be contacted directly). The questions below will provide further guidance if you fall into any of these categories.

We are hoping this restriction will be eased by mid-February but this will very much depend on future guidance from the Government and Department of Education.

In the meantime, all FE, HE and Apprenticeship programmes will follow a remote delivery model until the point we are able to ease restrictions and allow face to face delivery to recommence on site. Our staff are all working incredibly hard to ensure the best possible remote learning experience in these challenging times.

Vulnerable students, for whom it is essential for their health, wellbeing and progress, are still able to access the campus for on site learning. Students who may fall into this category will be contacted (including parents and carers) by the College’s Learning Support Team in the coming days to discuss support needs and identify who should still be accessing the campus.

Any student who is identified as needing to still access the site for face to face learning will be able to discuss transport needs, with the college aiming to support students in any way we can

Children of keyworkers can still access on site learning if it is considered essential for their safety and wellbeing, anyone in this category wishing to access the college campus should inform their personal tutor as soon as possible.

Any student who is identified as needing to still access the site for face to face learning will be able to discuss transport needs, with the college aiming to support students in any way we can.

Yes, any students studying at one of our outreach centres, including Croft End and Burrows Lane, will follow the same guidance as is set out above.

If you are due to start an adult learning course with us in January, you should have received direct contact from one of our course team to discuss your options.

College transport routes will not be running for the duration of the lockdown, students who use the service will be informed of appropriate adjustments to bus pass fees after February Half Term. We will notify students as soon as the college bus service is able to resume.

College residential accommodation will be closed for the duration of the lockdown and therefore we will be asking any residential students who have returned to site after Christmas to vacate their rooms by Friday the 8th January 5pm.

We appreciate the inconvenience and stress this may cause students who have returned, the Residential Team will be on hand to support students this week and we are also offering an additional Covid-19 Lateral Flow test to any student who may wish to take one before they return home (Thursday 7th January between 9:30-11:30am). Residential students will be informed of appropriate adjustments to accommodation fees after February Half Term.

There may be some students who feel they have significant extenuating circumstances that mean they will need to continue to reside on site during the lockdown, any students who feel they fall into this category should inform residential services immediately.

All work placements have been temporarily suspended until at least 19th February, but we realise this may be longer. The college has a duty of care to all of its students and your safety and wellbeing is our absolute priority. We are unable to carry out the same high level of monitoring checks with regards to work placements in the current climate. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide a further update when notice of the lockdown end comes.

In the meantime if you have any questions or concerns regarding your work placement please contact Careers and Placement Manager, Kenny Nolan at kenny.nolan@reaseheath.ac.uk.

Did you know, you can use your Xbox or PlayStation to access Microsoft Teams? So even if you don’t have a laptop, you can still access your learning at home during lockdown. Here’s how:

For PlayStation:

• Head to your console’s library and choose the option for games and applications
• Select applications and fire up the PS4 web browser
• Type Microsoft Teams in the browser and then log in to your account via your username and password
• This will give you access to all content online, including live sessions
• Don’t forget your headset if you need to interact!

For Xbox:

1. Go in to my games and apps
2. Find Microsoft Edge and select it
3. Type in ‘Microsoft Teams’ and log in as you would at college
4. You can then access your work through one drive and use key packages including Word,

PowerPoint and Excel Online

5. To move around, use the Xbox controller or plug in a mouse
6. Remember to plug in a headset if you need to interact!

It works best if you can use a USB mouse and keyboard, which should just plug-in to your console.

GCSE exams will not be undertaken this academic year with alternative assessment methods introduced. As soon as we have further details on this we will share another update.

HE assessments are still going ahead and have not been cancelled. Any amendments to any assessments would be communicated to you in advance. If you have any queries, please contact the UCR team.

Exams for the majority of programmes will be postponed or cancelled. This is perhaps the area that will be causing students and apprentices the most concern and we are currently working hard to interpret guidance as it is released, the College has taken the decision to postpone all on site vocational exams for at least the duration of this lockdown.

The Department of Education has indicated that Colleges can make the judgement on whether to run vocational exams or not, the College Executive Team do not believe it is fair or safe to push on with exams under the current restrictions as it would put students and staff under increased risk, particularly due to students travelling from various locations across the UK, this would also disadvantage some students who are unable to travel to College in order to participate in said exams.

Over the coming weeks we will work with awarding bodies to ascertain how we can use alternative assessment methods in order to ensure qualifications can be awarded this year and we are already receiving assurance from awarding bodies that no student will be disadvantaged by this situation. Further information on this matter will be communicated in the coming weeks as we gain clarity from the Department for Education and awarding bodies.

Apprenticeship off site End Point Assessments will still take place where possible. Your Skills Coach will be in contact with you to discuss this in more detail.

Unfortunately in line with Covid restrictions we are unable to hold this event in our usual way. We will however be doing online educational activities from 28th February – 7th March. Please keep an eye on our website for details.