CV&CC Update, Thursday 4th June. More questions than answers…….

CoronaVirus & College Closure Update                              

 Update 4^th June 2020

SITUATION UPDATE 

• Revised guidance has been issued to schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/actions-for-education-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020 

• There are still a number of key points which remian unclear from Government guidance:
• The guidance states that schools and colleges should, “ensure [they] have considered the impact on staff and pupils with protected characteristics, including race”. What does “consider” mean?
• When will the final decision be made on whether or not 15 June is the date on which secondary schools and colleges will be asked to open further to Year 10 and 12 students?
• Does the instruction that schools should have no more than a quarter of Year 10 and Year 12 pupils in school at any one time, apply to both year groups together, or each separately?
• The secondary guidance says that mixing between different groups of pupils should be kept to a minimum, but, given the range of subjects taught, ‘some mixing may be unavoidable’. How much is “some” ? Are there examples of the type of mixing that might be permitted?
• Is the government’s expectation that schools should bring in ALL students on a rolling basis, or can they choose to prioritise the physical attendance of students who appear to be struggling most at home ? 

• At CVCC (as nationally) ECP numbers are increasing, and we will open a fourth “Bubble” on Monday. This reduces the capacity for numbers of Year 10 students to return. 

• Revised risk assessments, for ECP and any further limited reopening for students, have been written and are available on the College website 

• Year 12 students and parents/ carers are being surveyed to identify whether they wish to keep their child at home this term, or return to College on a limited basis 

• Parents and carers of Year 10 students are being surveyed to identify whether they wish to keep their child at home this term, or return to College on a limited basis. Responses so far from roughly half of the year group suggest that 60% of parents would like their child to return (this would be around 90 students in total). 

• Members of staff are being surveyed to identify their precise availability

1. SUMMARY OF CURRENT POSITION 

• Until 15^th June at least, there is no change to the existing position.
• Our priority remains ECP for the children of critical workers and vulnerable children. Numbers have risen and are consistently around or above twenty students each day.
• We are “refreshing” remote learning after half-term
• From 8^th June, Year 9 students will be taught in their Year 10 options classes

2. College Closure: Main Points

• Clyst Vale site is closed, except our Emergency Childcare Provision (ECP) for children of key workers and vulnerable children (and deliveries, essential contractors, etc) ·
• If you have any concerns about a student at Clyst Vale, please contact the school and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mr Sutton, Mrs Albutt, Miss McConnachie or Mr A Pearce). If this is not possible please contact MASH, The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub: 0345 155 1071.

3. Emergency Childcare Provision 

• We are fully committed to maintaining our offer to look after the children of key workers (secondary age group) and vulnerable students
• ECP will run daily Monday to Friday 08.30 – 17.00. Please contact us if you wish to discuss varying these hours (within reason) for individual children.

(If no children attend, the College will close at 12.00.)

• ECP has moved to a booking system. Places for the next day can be booked until 9.00 p.m. the night before (including Sunday, for Monday). Or phone the number which has been provided to ECP parents.
• School Transport is suspended. If you are a key worker and would like school transport, please contact on the day before you require transport.

4. Remote Learning 

• Teachers are working from home to set work on the day your child would have their lesson. The activities set should take 2-3 hours in Year 7 rising to 3-4 in Year 10.
• Work will be assigned on Microsoft Teams and notified on students’ College e-mail accounts.

5. Free School Meals 

• We joined the Edenred/Government scheme from 6^th
• If you have any queries about Free School Meals, please contact Racheal Long on .

6. Public Examinations

• We have at last received guidance on vocational qualifications, in our case BTec and CNAA. Essentially, it is exactly the same as GCSE and A-Level. My colleagues make a judgement on all work submitted and all other information as to a likely level and degree (ie Level 1 or 2, Pass, Merit, Distinction)
• Next week (w/b 1^st June) we will start uploading the grades to Exam Boards and Awarding bodies.
• Exam Results Days have been confirmed as Thursday 13^th August for A-Level and AS (and presumably vocational Level 3 courses); Thursday 20^th August for GCSE (and vocational Level 1 & 2 courses).
• We cannot discuss predicted grades with students, parents or carers at any stage. This is prohibited in the guidance.

7. Trips and Visits (Updated 26^th May)

• My colleagues in Finance have worked hard and persistently to secure refunds from some reluctant companies, and have made good progress. Parents WILL be refunded in full for all payments made. Clearly, this is your money !

LINKS AND FURTHER INFORMATION 

This is the Government’s guidance to parents:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

The following link is the government’s advice to schools:

Guidance to Educational Settings About Covid-19

The next link is Devon County Council’s dedicated website for parents for Coronavirus advice

https://www.devon.gov.uk/document/schools-and-families/

Department for Education Coronavirus helpline:

Phone: 0800 046 8687  Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

Email:

There are hundreds of support agencies’ links I could list for mental health and on-line issues. Here are just four, but all are tried and tested.

• kooth.com has a load of information and on-line counselling; mainly mental health
• childline.org.uk 0800 1111 has been around for ages, but is still one of the best helplines
• thinkuknow.org.uk focusses on on-line issues including bullying, or messages that make you uncomfortable
• Young Devon (Google it) is web-based, and points you to a wide range of possible services

Should you have any specific queries regarding Covid-19 and Clyst Vale, please e-mail Mrs Ann Hopkins (College Manager) on .

Kevin Bawn, Principal