Buckinghamshire College Group would like to reassure all staff, students, parents and business partners that it is following the Public Health guidance issued by the Government and its agencies.
Update: 29th April 2021
Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
As we prepare for all of our students to return to college for weekly face to face learning, we have carried out a full review of student timetables at all campuses to support a safe return for all students and staff that is in line with the College Risk Assessment. Individual student start times are naturally staggered between 9am to 11am due to the nature of the study programme. We have reviewed the data by campus which has shown that at Amersham and Wycombe, around 65% of students arrive to start lessons at 9am; at Aylesbury, this is slightly lower at 57% with the remaining students starting later in the day. For this reason, we hope that no further changes to start times are required, however, this will require careful monitoring, particularly during the first week to ensure that our campuses remain Covid secure. We will write to you if we feel that further measures should be required for example, additional entrances or changes to arrival times.
To support the full return to College we would like to update you on some key areas to be aware of:
Covid Testing:
Please remember that students and staff should be continuing to home test twice per week with student tests distributed in tutorial sessions by their Course Leaders. We are continuing to offer a small onsite Assisted Testing Centre on each campus. Assisted tests are available for students on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 10am-11am. Students can book in advance into these available slots by visiting the Student Services team at their relevant campus.
Communal Zones:
Zones will still be allocated at each campus; however, these are now joined with their opposite colour. Signage will be in place around the campuses, and both sets of flags will be placed in the outside areas to clearly indicate where the external zones are. Please see the below document for further information. Please ensure that when you are not in the classroom you are in the correct coloured zone during breaktimes. This will help reduce the mixing of students as much as possible, therefore minimising the risk of transmission.
Zones & Lunchtimes
Break times and lunch:
To manage queues at the refectories, an established queuing system is in place that has been working well. Seating zones will be adjusted in line with the communal zones although as the weather improves, we would encourage you to use the outside spaces as much as possible. The peak time for the refectory is lunchtime and therefore additional measures have been put in place:
- For each campus, designated service times have been allocated to each coloured zones. At Amersham and Wycombe campuses, times have been split in two 30-minute sessions, and for Aylesbury there are three 20-minute sessions. There will be signage displayed that clearly shows the allocated times which will also be rotated weekly to ensure fairness for all students. The refectories will be monitored carefully as part of the patrol rota. Please see the attached zones and lunchtimes at each campus.
Staff Patrols:
It is important that the patrol rotas continue to operate effectively with Directors, Curriculum Managers, Duty Managers and other supporting staff visible at the beginning of the day as students arrive and during breaks and lunchtime. Those on patrol will ensure that students are wearing their masks correctly, regularly sanitising their hands and are in their correct coloured zones. Staff will also be asked to feedback on any emerging issues or concerns to ensure that plans can be reviewed and amended as appropriate to promote safety in all of our campuses.
Please speak with your course leader if you have any further questions regarding next week.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Clare Rooney
Vice Principal Learning and Quality
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For further information please refer to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public which is updated daily at 14:00.
