Coronavirus response update 24th June 2020

Today saw the reopening of the college for students. Every student I talked to was pleased to be back and appreciated the invitation which was lovely to hear. I also managed to speak to most staff in today; they too were pleased to be back at work and working with students again. Many commented that the college feel a little strange, but after about a bit of time, you get used to it. This is the first step on our recovery and a move towards a more normal way of working. Thank you to all those present today, but also to those who have spent hours planning, organising and implementing the plan to return.

A few updates today:

Please only attend college if you have received an invitation. We cannot allow students onto site if they do not have a booked session as we are required to know who is on site for NHS Track and Trace purposes.

As I’m sure you are aware, Marcus Rashford’s campaign to change the Government’s decision not to provide free school meals vouchers over the summer period was successful. At the time of writing, we have not received guidance from the Department for Education about our eligibility for this scheme. In order to provide some stability and comfort for our free college meals students, we can confirm that we will continue to pay for free college meals over the summer break for those eligible students in the current A1 and Level 2 cohorts. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide free college meals for those students who would have normally left us at the end of this academic year. More information to follow...

And that’s it for this sunny day. We have made progress today which is pleasing to see. Our return has been successful and safe; we look forward to seeing more students over the next few days.

Take care, look after yourself, your families and each other; be patient and stay positive.

Anton