Important information for students, parents and carers – including updated Covid-19 advice

K9 Deployment visit to Weymouth College 11 June

Email to students – with copy to parents and carers – 9th May 2021

Email to students – 21st March 2021

Email to students – 7th March 2021

Email to students – 27th February

Email to parents and carers – 27th February

Young people across the country have experienced disruption to their education because of coronavirus. The Government has recognised that young people from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds may be among those who have been most affected and to support this have allocated funds to schools and colleges. Weymouth College will use the 16-19 tuition fund to provide small group tuition to students and groups of students who are in scope for this funding and who require additional teaching or support to get them back on track with their learning this year, scope of fund designation will include the following:

• The fund will be used for small group (less than 5 students) and 1:1 tuition in English, Maths, academic and vocational learning for 16 to 19-year-old learners.
• This tuition will be in addition to the planned study programme hours.
• Tuition Support offered will be based on an individual need’s assessment, the identification of an individual starting point, clear learning goals, expectations and outcomes.

Email to students – 19th January 2021

Email to parents and carers – 19th January 2021

Email to students – 15 January 2021

Email to parents and carers – 15 January 2021

Remote Education Offer at Weymouth College

In view of the fast changing situation regarding future examinations and assessments as a result of Covid-19, Year 1 Parent/Carer Consultations that were scheduled to take place on 13 January 2021 have been postponed. This is to ensure that we have the most up to date information to hand when talking to parents/carers. We will be in contact regarding the revised date in due course however student reports are available on the Parent Portal for parents/carers of students under the age of 18.

If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us at enrolment@weymouth.ac.uk

Email to students – 5 January 2021

Email to parents and carers – 5 January 2021

Email to students – 4 January 2021

Email to parents and carers – 4 January 2021

Email to students – 31 December 2020

Email to parents and carers – 31 December 2020

Email to students – 31 December 2020

Email to parents and carers  – 31 December 2020

As we approach the end of the first term of this very strange year, I want to firstly say thank you to our students, parents, carers, business partners and staff for their patience and support throughout the term.

Our students and staff have worked together tirelessly to ensure that we could continue with learning whilst remaining as safe as government guidelines allowed.

As we move into the winter break there is one bit of news that I wanted to share with you. After 40 years in the education sector – 20 of those teaching A-Level Biology – I am starting my journey to retirement and will step back from the role of College Principal in January 2021.

I am really pleased to say that I will be continuing in my role of Chief Executive Officer so will still be very much around the College and will retain responsibility for our students learning and welfare.

I am also pleased to announce that Julia Howe, who is currently Vice Principal, has been appointed by the College Corporation in the role of Interim Principal from January through to December 2021. Julia has worked in the sector for over 30 years and has worked at Weymouth College for the last 7 years. Julia has a wealth of experience in both the classroom and organisational support roles at both management and strategic levels and is currently a member of the College Senior Leadership Team.

The College has been on an incredibly tough, challenging but hugely positive journey over the last few years and my legacy is to ensure that it continues to do exactly that. The community and employers of Weymouth and Portland truly deserve to have a Good College.

Letter to Parents & Carers

Letter to Students

Weymouth College has been advised by Public Health England of confirmed cases of Covid-19 within the college body. 

In line with Public Health England and DFE advice – students and staff who have been in close contact with the confirmed cases via their ‘class bubbles’ have been contacted and advised to self-isolate for 14 days from the last point of contact. 

We can confirm that the College will continue to support students who need to self-isolate through remote learning.   We have processes in place to contact all parents and carers as well as the wider student population.

We are pleased to see that many of our small group of isolating students are now starting to return following completion of their isolation periods.

The College remains open and we are confident that our established systems of control are sufficiently robust in design to limit the spread of the virus in line with government guidelines. 

It remains vital that students consistently adhere to covid-safe hygiene practices, wear face coverings at all times in common areas and continue to stay in class bubbles, avoid mixing of bubbles and maintain a 2 metre distance from other students in classrooms wherever possible unless additional PPE is used. Students have also been reminded of the importance of complying with the lockdown guidelines currently in place. 

Letter to Parents and Carers – 6th November 2020

Letter to Students – 6th November 2020

Letter to Parents and Carers – 3rd November 2020

Letter to Students – 3rd November 2020

Letter to Parents and Carers 29 October 2020

Letter to Students 29 October 2020

Letter to Parents and Carers 22 October 2020

What we will expect you to do to keep everyone safe when you start on Campus in September

• Maintain social distance

The Government have advised that maintaining a distance between people whilst inside and reducing the amount of time they are in face-to-face to contact lowers the risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). We will ask you to ensure that you maintain the required social distance (2 metres if possible and at least 1 metre) in all corridors and communal areas on campus.

• Ensure you wash your hands

We will ask that you wash your hands more often than usual – on arriving on campus, when changing classroom and after eating for example – and would encourage you to use the hand sanitiser stations situated across campus regularly.

• Follow the ‘one way’ and ‘keep left’ systems in all college buildings

Where possible we have introduced a one-way system across campus. However, some of the building on campus do not easily facilitate this system in corridor areas.  For your safety we will also be asking you to adopt a strict ‘keep left’ policy in all high traffic and communal areas across campus.

• Tell us immediately if you – or anyone you have been in contact with – has symptoms of Covid 19 

If you think you may be experiencing Covid 19 symptoms you must not attend campus and follow Government and NHS guidelines.  If you feel ill whilst on campus we have procedures in place to facilitate returning you home safely.

From Monday 12^th October, we are recommending that face coverings be worn by staff, students and visitors in all communal areas of the college – including corridors, canteen areas, and Reception.

We will … ensure you are made fully aware of all the procedures we have put in place for your safety at induction. You will be encouraged to ask any questions you may have.

Across campus we will:

Create specific course ‘bubbles’ within our individual school cohorts. The concept and practicalities of ‘School Bubbles’ will be fully explained at induction. During breaks and lunch you will be required to remain within your full-time teaching group bubble.

Introduce a ‘keep left’ and – where possible – a ‘one way’ system in all our college buildings.

Ensure a 2 metre line is marked in all teaching areas to help staff and students maintain a 2 metre distance.

Make sure furniture has been arranged wherever possible to avoid face-to-face situations.

Make hand sanitiser available near all classrooms and workshops.

Actively encourage good respiratory hygiene and continue to support the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach.

Enhance cleaning of all frequently touched surfaces such as door handles across campus.

Stagger lunches and breaks to reduce overcrowding at specific crunch points across campus. You will be encouraged to bring refreshments with you although a limited food service will be available in the College Refectory and at our Café outlets.

Ask all students and staff to ideally maintain a 2 metre distance from each other. We will ask that face-to-face contact is avoided and time spent closer than 1 metre must be minimised.

Ensure that all students have access to our Virtual Learning Environment to support their study programme.

Introduce an online booking system for Pcs and Laptops in both the Library and Learning Gateway – all PCs and laptops will be cleaned between bookings.

Operate an online Reservation and Click and Collect service for all library books. Students will be able to access the campus Library although numbers will be limited and students will be asked to sanitise hands before and after browsing books and magazines.

Click here for our Covid 19 Risk Assessment

Functional Skills English, Maths and ICT – Summer 2020 Exams

We understand that these past few months have been unsettling for you, and with the announcement that the college has had exams for this summer cancelled you may be uncertain how you will achieve your Functional Skills qualifications. The government has been working with exam boards to produce a system which is fair for all and ensures everyone achieves the qualification they deserve this year.

If you were expecting to take a Functional Skills exam between 20 March and 31 July, it means that your grade will be predicted by your lecturer. Processes in place will ensure you are treated as fairly as possible and can get a result and progress onto the next stage of your education or in your work as planned.

How will my grade be calculated?

For each of the different elements of your Functional Skills assessment, e.g. reading, writing, speaking, listening & communicating, mathematics or ICT, the college will be required to submit to City & Guilds (our exam board), the grade that we believe you would have been most likely to achieve if teaching, learning and assessment had continued under normal circumstances. This will be based upon what we know about you, along with your work, achievements and attendance on your course so far. Your lecturers are the ones who know you the best, and are best placed to make an accurate, professional judgement about your level of achievement.

In order to determine your grade, your Functional Skills lecturers have been asked to take into consideration a range of activities such as practice or mock exams, partially or fully completed assignments, your performance in homework or other set work and tasks as well as general progress on your course. Your grade will be approved by the college Principal before it is submitted to the exam board.

City & Guilds will then undertake a process of rigorous quality assurance to check the grades we have submitted and how they have been calculated and use a range of other measures and statistics to make sure everyone is treated as fairly as possible.

Can I see the grades my school or college submits for me?

Unfortunately, you cannot see the grade we have submitted. We have been asked to keep this information confidential until City & Guilds has completed its quality assurance checks and is able to confirm and release final results to your learning provider.

Please don’t ask your lecturers or anyone else at the college to tell you the grades they will be submitting to City & Guilds.

When will I get my results?

Results will be released at the end of July and the college will notify you once they are available.

Please be reassured that, should you be awarded a pass this summer, it will have equal status with those issued at any other time and will have the same value with colleges, universities and employers.

What if I don’t agree with my results?

Due to the sheer volume of results being processed in this unprecedented time, there will not be any appeals of results and the only way to gain a pass would be to take an exam once these become available.

In view of the latest Government advice in relation to COVID-19, the Weymouth College Interview Evening on 9 June 2020 has been cancelled. We will continue to review the situation as regards future face to face interview dates but in the meantime, we are making alternative arrangements to conduct interviews. We will be in touch with any student that has recently applied or been allocated an interview date in due course. Students should monitor the email contact details that they have supplied to us.

Please be reassured that any alternative method of conducting interviews will not jeopardise the opportunity for students to enrol with us. Students should also continue to apply online in the usual way.

In view of the latest Government advice in relation to COVID-19, the Weymouth College Interview Evening on 13 May 2020 has been cancelled. We will continue to review the situation as regards future face to face interview dates but in the meantime, we are making alternative arrangements to conduct interviews. We will be in touch with any student that has recently applied or been allocated an interview date in due course. Students should monitor the email contact details that they have supplied to us.

Please be reassured that any alternative method of conducting interviews will not jeopardise the opportunity for students to enrol with us. Students should also continue to apply online in the usual way.

Given the decision by the UK Government to continue in the delay phase of combating the Covid-19 virus, all face-to-face teaching and delivery remains suspended. All students will be contacted and updates posted on this website when this changes.

Online teaching resources have been made available for students wherever possible and students are receiving ongoing guidance from their tutors.

Click here to view our Q&A page about the the awarding of GCSE, AS and A level grades for Summer 2020

In view of the latest Government advice in relation to COVID-19, the Weymouth College Interview Evening on 23 April 2020 has been cancelled. We will continue to review the situation as regards future interview dates and be in touch with any student that has been allocated an interview date in due course. Students should monitor the email contact details that they have supplied to us.

Please be reassured that this will not jeopardise the opportunity for students to enrol with us as we will make alternative arrangements to conduct interviews, such as by phone. If we do decide to conduct interviews by phone, students will be advised of this in advance. Students should also continue to apply online in the usual way.

Given the decision by the UK Government to move into the delay phase of combating the Covid-19 virus, we have decided to suspend face to face teaching and delivery from Monday 23rd March until the end of term (Friday 3rd April). Online teaching resources will be made available for students wherever possible and students will be given guidance from their tutors.

We are keeping up-to-date on the latest government advice regarding Coronavirus and at present Weymouth College remains open as normal.

Should we need to make alternative arrangements we will ensure all staff, students and parents/guardians are notified.

We are following guidance and instruction from Public Health England and the Local Authority regarding COVID-19/Coronavirus.

Below you will find the current advice for places of education from Public Health England:

There will be a maximum number of students allocated to a classroom; this is dependent upon the physical size of the classroom.

• All our classrooms have been reviewed and unnecessary furniture removed to create free space
• Desk layout has been reviewed so we can seat students side by side and facing forwards, rather than face-to-face or side on
• All teaching rooms will be marked with a 2-metre mark to visually provide staff and students a guide during lessons
• In line with current guidance, staff will maintain a 2 metre separation from students where this is possible and students will be maintained in social bubbles

Lecturers will establish walking routes around the classroom where movement is an essential part of the session.

Classrooms will be cleaned on a regular basis, but we will encourage all our staff and students to be extra vigilant and to clean desks before and after the lesson.

Hand sanitiser stations are available in all classrooms and across the college so regular and thorough hand cleaning will be mandatory when you :

• arrive on campus
• return from breaks,
• change rooms
• before and after eating

Where possible you will be required to come dressed for the activity you are taking part in. At the end of the lesson or activity you will be reminded to leave quickly and follow social

Distancing guidelines.

Our lecturers – leading a classroom – will not be wearing a mask when teaching the lesson.

However, a Lecturer may choose to wear a visor in class. Lecturers may – of course – also choose to wear a mask when they are not leading a class.

All students will be encouraged to bring their own electronic device for completing work (e.g. a laptop or smart tablet) as this will significantly reduce the need to share computers on campus.

We will discuss your access to an electronic device    at your enrolment interview and will support all students in accessing a suitable device

When a member of staff or a student are using a shared computer they will be asked to clean the keyboard and screen before the lesson, and at the end of the lesson.

Yes, cleaning materials will be provided to clean down equipment at the start and the end of lessons/labs.

You should ensure that you sanitise your hands before and after use of any photocopiers in College. Sanitising stations are available at each photocopying point.

Where possible, staff will look at alternative teaching and assessment methods to avoid the need to share equipment.

Students in certain subject areas will be able to purchase their own kits to use during lessons.

If anyone on the college site becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), they will be sent home (avoiding public transport) and advised to follow guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

If you become ill (with Covid 19 symptoms)  you will be placed, if possible, in a room where you can be isolated behind a closed door – with appropriate adult supervision if required – whilst awaiting collection.

Anyone who displays symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) must get a test. We will be asking all students and staff to inform the College immediately of the results of a test – whether positive or negative.

Weymouth College Lateral Flow Testing – Privacy Policy