College Closure & Coronavirus Update 16.04.20

Covid-19 (Coronavirus)

Update 16^th April 2020

Yesterday evening (15^th April) we sent vouchers for £15 per child for a week, redeemable at Tesco, to parent/carer e-mails. Nine parents/carers will receive their vouchers via the post, as requested. They will be sent today.
This is because I was not prepared to wait any longer for e-codes to be issued from the Department for Education voucher scheme run through contractor Edenred as families would not have received any money to cover this week.
This is a serious national problem, and has been widely reported on the media.
We have been accepted on to the DfE scheme, which has a better range of supermarkets, but overload and technical issues have caused repeated delays. We were assured that parents would receive their e-codes on 9^th, 10^th, and 14^th
If the DfE scheme comes through and overlaps with the vouchers we have sent, please be reassured that we will not be asking for repayment !
If the DfE scheme still does not come through, we will issue another week’s worth of vouchers to cover next week.

Clyst Vale site is closed, except our Emergency Childcare Provision (ECP) for children of key workers and vulnerable children (and deliveries, essential contractors, etc) ·
Parents and carers can contact us as normal, although we recommend e-mail
ECP will run daily Monday to Friday 08.30 – 17.00.
ECP has moved to a booking system. Places for the next day can be booked until 9.00 p.m. the night before (including Sunday, for Monday). Or phone the number which has been provided to ECP parents.
Teachers are working from home to set work on the day your child would have their lesson.
We have been accepted for the Government voucher scheme for Free School Meals but e-codes have not yet been issued.
School Transport is suspended. If you are a key worker and would like school transport, please contact on the day before you require transport.
If you have any concerns, please contact the school and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mr Sutton, Mrs Albutt, Miss McConnachie or Mr A Pearce). If this is not possible please contact MASH, The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub: 0345 155 1071.

We are fully committed to maintaining our offer to look after the children of key workers (secondary age group) and vulnerable students
Separate e-mails went to key worker and vulnerable children’s parents on 2^nd April and 14^th April with information about the booking system
ECP will run daily Monday to Friday 08.30 – 17.00. If no children attend, the College will close at 12.00.
Please contact us if you wish to discuss varying these hours (within reason) for individual children.

Detailed guidance was published on 3^rd April, although there are a number of loose ends and details to be confirmed
There are 2 documents:

(Ignore the “maths”: it’s for all subjects).

The Exam Boards are also producing even further guidance. We still await information from the Department of Education or Exam Boards as to how we present the results.

Until the end of April, it is still worth Year 11 students completing NEAs (coursework) and other work to complete the syllabus. Teachers are still taking into account attitude and the likely trajectory of a student’s progress !

We cannot discuss predicted grades with students, parents or carers at any stage.

Very sadly, but very much the right thing to do and no surprise to anyone, neither of the visits to Bude or the Belgian battlefields will be going ahead. Please do not make any more payments.
Parents WILL be refunded in full for payments made for these visits, but it is not clear exactly when this happen, because we are in discussions with the companies and our insurers. Clearly, this is your money, so this is a priority for us and we will keep you posted.

LINKS AND FURTHER INFORMATION

This is the Government’s guidance to parents:

The following link is the government’s advice to schools, last updated 26^th March

The next link is Devon County Council’s dedicated website for parents for Coronavirus advice

Department for Education Coronavirus helpline:

Phone: 0800 046 8687 Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

Email:

Should you have any specific queries regarding Covid-19 and Clyst Vale, please e-mail Mrs Ann Hopkins (College Manager) on .

Kevin Bawn, Principal