Remote Education Offer

This guidance is to inform the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø community – including all of our students and apprentices, their parents and carers and partner employers what to expect from us in periods of national or local restrictions and enforced lockdowns. The impact of COVID-19 resulted in the college having to amend its approach to teaching and learning. The college places great importance on face-to-face delivery and has maintained a safe learning environment, enabling the vast majority of learners to continue attending college, taking part in both theory and practical sessions with their tutors.

In order to provide transparency and clarity, the Department for Education (DfE) requires colleges to publish details of their remote education offer detailed in the following section. 

• what remote education will be made available for different learner cohorts (14 to 16, 16 to 19, apprentices, adult learners) 
• delivery arrangements, such as timetabling, virtual learning environments and assessment arrangements 
• expectations of learners 
• arrangements for learners studying courses that require specialist equipment or facilities 
• support for learners without devices, connectivity or a suitable environment for learning 
• support for learners with SEND 

Remote education available for different learner cohorts 

The college uses the Google Educator Suite as its method of delivery for online learning via Google classroom and associated platforms. Learners are able to access these platforms on the vast majority of electronic devices allowing them access to the information they need. Depending on the nature of their course; the level of qualification; age group of learners, the amount of online delivery will vary with no more than 50% of learning online. 

The college ensures that appropriate materials are provided in order that learners are able to continue with their programme and provide the necessary pastoral support. 

The college provides flexibility, and can deliver programmes remotely; this recognises that remote education is an existing model in FE. Staff and learners receive guidance on the use of appropriate software and platforms to ensure a smooth transfer to remote learning should the need arise. 

Delivery arrangements, such as timetabling, virtual learning environments and assessment arrangements 

Learners timetables have a mixture of face-to-face delivery or via online with timetables indicating the delivery approach for each session. Appropriate online/blended delivery models are selected based on the course and learner requirements. Where online delivery is planned, learners will work remotely in their own home or if they have limited access to an electronic device via the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) at college. Online delivery is planned for day blocks to avoid learners having to travel. Some courses offer alternate weeks of online delivery with a whole week in college followed by a whole week online. Other courses offer a blended approach where some learners work online whilst others are in class. This allows the college to maintain any COVID-19 social distancing requirements. 

Google classroom provides a virtual learning environment for learners which is bespoke to each course with the required resources provided. 

The majority of college courses are assessed via coursework which learners create online and then submit through the Google classroom. Some assessment is carried out using online platforms such as Century Tech which supports maths and English. 

Expectations of Students 

Students are expected to access their lesson online where necessary and this is made clear to learners through their induction process. Students are provided with information about how to keep safe online. Registers are taken for all online learning and failure to attend will result in an absence mark being recorded which will be followed up by their course tutor. 

Students that require specialist equipment or facilities 

Some courses require students to access specialist equipment/facilities in-order for them to complete their course. Where this is required these sessions are delivered face-to face. 

Students without devices, connectivity or a suitable environment for learning 

Unfortunately, some students have limited or no access to devices that will allow them to connect to online learning. The college where possible tries to support these learners through providing them with a device or providing access to devices via our LRCs. 

Students with SEND 

The vast majority of learning for students with SEND is carried out face-to-face. When it is necessary for them to access online delivery, students will often have a learning support assistant to work with them in addition to their teacher.