Following advice from Government, Buxton & Leek College will, after today, close its normal operations for the foreseeable future. Our previous plans to re-open on 15th April are now unlikely to be possible. We will continue to provide information to students, parents and other stakeholders whenever anything important changes with our operating plans.
The College is not completely closed during this time and will be providing support for vulnerable students, those with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and in some cases, those students whose parents are considered ‘key workers’ and are not otherwise able to stay and study from home.
The updated information regarding key workers was published on the Government website this morning and can be accessed here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision
Although we will be providing support for the children of key workers, this will not be a drop-in service. Unless a student is unable to remain at home to engage with their learning, we do not expect them to attend College. If a student is unable to remain at home, they should contact their Progress Coach to arrange to attend for supervised remote or online learning at the College. This approach is necessary because we are unable to schedule normal teaching sessions where most staff will also be operating remotely from home.
Our staff will continue to provide remote support in line with the current timetables and, unless they are ill themselves, should be available to support our students to continue their studies via the College’s online communications methods (email, eTrackr, Blackboard, Microsoft Teams, telephone, Smart Assessor, etc.).
Guidance has been issued today about the process for awarding GCSE grades. Our staff are now working to collate the supporting evidence for this and we will be complying with this process fully. Further information can be found here. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced
Those who receive a financial bursary, including free College meals, should receive notification of how this will now be paid via their Unimail account. If you are entitled to these payments and do not receive them, please contact a member of the Financial Support Fund Team as soon as possible E: Financialsupportfund@blc.ac.uk
The health, safety and wellbeing of our students and staff is very important and we are determined to minimise the inevitable impact this global pandemic will have on our students. Our staff are committed to providing as much support and guidance as possible, within the national guidelines provided by Public Health England. By moving to this approach, we hope to continue to support our students with the least disruption possible for as long as it takes for the College operations to return to normal.
If you are worried about what to do to keep yourself or your family as safe as possible, please refer to the latest government guidelines available online. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance
If you have any specific concerns as a student, parent or carer, please contact us via our dedicated email address – phconcerns@blc.ac.uk