The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

• A high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Most people with coronavirus have at least one of these symptoms.

Students have been instructed that if they are displaying symptoms, as per those detailed above, they must not travel to college and instead should self-isolate, informing their personal tutor or area PA by phone.

If students develop symptoms whilst on-site, they will be directed to Student Services where they will be assessed. Those showing Covid-19 symptoms will be isolated until they can be picked up by a parent/guardian.

Students who are self-isolating will receive a letter instructing them that they should arrange to have a Covid test and that they cannot return to college until:

• They can demonstrate they have had a negative Covid test – evidence must be shown to the Student Services department
• They have self-isolated for at least 10 days following a positive test and no longer display symptoms

It is the curriculum department’s responsibility to ensure any learner who is self-isolating is engaging in online learning and tutoring to ensure they do not fall behind. If you feel this is not happening sufficiently please contact the department PA or course tutor. You can phone main reception on 01270 625131 who can direct you if you do not have direct contact details.

The college will notify the Department for Education as soon as we are informed of a positive result from staff or a student who will support the college in taking appropriate action. The measures we have put in place have been effective so far. We have had a low number of positive cases at Reaseheath and have been able to manage the impact of  these cases successfully to minimise the impact on our students.

Your son or daughter will have a timetable of study. Most of this will be based at Reaseheath College, but this year most of our students will also attend lessons online for up to 25% of their timetabled study time each week. This has the dual purpose of helping to reduce the volume of students on campus to support the government’s social distancing guidelines, but will also help students to prepare for work, which in most sectors now includes the need to be able to operate and learn online with confidence.

It is essential that all students attend their timetabled sessions. There is a proven positive link between a student’s attendance and their overall achievement at college.

Students whose access to IT equipment, such as laptops, computers or tablets is limited at home, are offered various means of support and access to equipment in order to remove these barriers. If it is felt this is the case the student or parent/carer can flag this with the student’s Course Manager or our Learning Support Centre at LSC@reaseheath.ac.uk.

It is really important to your son or daughter’s overall achievement that they engage in all aspects of their timetabled study programme.

As a college we follow the government’s Keeping Children Safe in Education (2020) guidelines. Reaseheath College has a highly experienced and dedicated college safeguarding team who are committed to keeping our students safe, both on campus and in all aspects of their study and life linked to college, including online.

Safeguarding students is our number one priority and there are a few basics that every learner can do to help keep themselves and others safe on campus:

• Always wear their ID badge and the correct lanyard – this helps to easily identify who should and shouldn’t be on campus
• Listen carefully to the course induction safeguarding briefing as this explains key information about the college safeguarding rules and processes that keep everyone safe
• Report any concerns about their safety or the safety of another, no matter how small it may seem, to their course manager, a member of the college safeguarding team or any member of staff (i.e. those wearing a grey lanyard). Safeguarding concerns such as bullying can be reported, or suggestions or compliments can be given using the ‘SEE IT SAY IT’ form that that you can find here

We work with our students via our Be Ready programme (see below) to guide them in how to stay safe online, for example with strangers via social media and gaming platforms and the potential for financial or sexual exploitation online. We aim to equip our students with the knowledge and tools to empower them to stay safe, and we encourage them to report any concerns about themselves or a fellow student to their tutor or a member of the college safeguarding team.

If you as a parent or carer have any concerns about your son or daughter then please contact their tutor or the college’s wellbeing team at wellbeing@reaseheath.ac.uk and we will be more than happy to work with you.

To support our students prepare for life and work, we have the Reaseheath College BeReady programme which students study alongside their vocational programme. There are six aspects to the programme:

1. BeAware – supports the safeguarding of our students
2. BeWell – develops and supports the holistic wellbeing of our students
3. BeInvolved – encourages students to engage in college and community projects
4. BeEmployable – supports students with preparation for work placements, careers and progression to further study
5. BeEco – develops knowledge about and support for sustainable living
6. BeDigital – supports students to develop their IT and digital skills for study and work

Further information about this important aspect of studying at Reaseheath can be found on the BeReady page here.

Students will be made aware by their course manager of the PPE that they need for their course. It is vital that students adhere to these requirements as PPE is the kit that will help to keep them safe from injury or harm during practical learning sessions.

This year, a key part of PPE for all students is a face mask. Face masks must be worn at all times on all college bus routes (or students will be refused admission to the bus) and in all corridors and communal areas. This also includes catering areas as they select and pay for food prior to sitting down to eat and in the library. We also strongly recommend that students wear their face covering when in close contact in practical sessions.

Visit our transport page for more information on the safety measures currently in place on our college buses.

The Government has confirmed that no external examinations will take place this summer. Instead, teachers will assess the standard at which students are performing at based on a portfolio of evidence and this portfolio of evidence will form a TAG (teacher assessed grade).

The grades awarded to students must reflect their knowledge, skills and understanding, and schools/colleges can use a range of evidence to inform their judgements

The grades cannot be a prediction based on what students would have achieved under different circumstances or be a measure of a student’s potential.

At Reaseheath we are confident that we have implemented a robust TAG process with rigorous quality assurance systems in place which puts us in a firm position to assign fair and accurate grades for our students.

JCQ guidance says that evidence that will inform judgements may include:

• mock exam results
• coursework
• student work and assessments which have been produced over the duration of the course in response to assessment materials
• substantial class or homework (including those that took place during remote learning)
• assessments that students will complete in the remainder of this academic year.

Following the cancellation of exams by Ofqual, we made a strategic decision to move away from the formal mock exam scenario, to avoid additional, potentially stressful, exam style situations for our students. Instead, students have been completing regular in-class assessments to provide our staff with more evidence of the standard, at which, they are performing during this term. These in-class assessments are carried in controlled conditions and avoid the added pressure that a formal mock exam could bring. The staff will work with the Programme Leaders of both subjects to robustly assess and consider, all the evidence available, to ensure that grades awarded are fair and accurate.

Both teams are placing increased weighting on assessments completed during this rolling programme of assessment, however consideration will be given to all previously collected data. In the event of a situation where, because of circumstances this year, a student does not perform well in final milestones, then we will analyse earlier assessments and make a ‘holistic’ judgement about the student’s grade. Assessments used have been adapted so that they only cover what has been taught in the year and for GCSE maths, a list of topics has been shared with the students.

The grade will be based on evidence we have in the student’s portfolio. However, each student’s portfolio can be tailored to address any anomalies. We have put significant effort into ensuring that students entitled to access arrangements have had these put in place for the recent in-class assessments. If, however, this has not been the case, then this has been recorded and necessary adjustments, according to JCQ regulations will be made. Our rolling programme of assessment finishes at half term after which further opportunities will be provided for those who require them.

Decisions about grades will not be decided by one teacher alone. There will be a thorough quality assurance process in place to ensure there is fairness and consistency in the way grades are awarded for students.

Grades will be reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, at each part of this process. The process includes:

A group of teachers within each subject area studying all the evidence to decide upon the grade which a student is performing at

• The Programme Leader of each subject will review the proposed grade for each student,
• The Curriculum Area Manager of M&E will review the proposed grades of each department
• The exam officer will check the final grades entered for students as they are submitted to the exam board.

Teachers cannot discuss final grades with students this year, or predict outcomes, but are able to discuss the marking of individual elements of the portfolio and will always disclose which assessed pieces will form the portfolio. All discussions of marks and grading are provisional until exam board moderation has taken place, and the results are released on 12th August.

12th August 2021 for GCSE and 10th August for Level 3 Maths.

Further information about the awarding of summer grades and the appeal process can be found in the following document:  JCQ-Guidance-for-Students-and-Parents-on-Summer-2021.pdf 

Functional skills exams have not been cancelled and most students have now had their first sitting which has been a good exam experience for them.

Once results are in, they will be shared with the students. If the students have not passed, there will be several further opportunities for them to re-sit up until the end of term. In lesson time the teachers will work with each student on their areas of weaknesses to best prepare them for the forthcoming exams.