COVID-19 Guidance for students

Guidance on COVID-19 procedures for students attending St Brendan's Sixth Form College

Contents • Key staff • Symptoms • Prevention • Maintaining a hygienic environment • Student Absence • Remote Education • COVID-19 symptoms whilst onsite • Getting into college • Arrival at college • Getting around college • Classrooms • Cafes and food • LRC • Mental Health support • Additional Support

Key staff in relation to COVID-19 Marian Curran Principal Kerry Mullinder Head of Learning Development & Safeguarding Laura Howe-Haysom Head of Student Services Paul Connors Premises Manager and Health & Safety Lead Claire Woodhouse Attendance Officer

Symptoms • High temperature • A new continuous cough • Loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

Prevention Wear your face mask

Practise good clothes hygiene

• On public transport, on a College bus, in a shared car, when moving around College and in communal areas where 2m social distancing is difficult

• Wear fresh clothes each day to College

Catch it, Bin it, Kill it • Place your used tissues in the lidded bins provided to stop the spread of germs Practise good hand hygiene • Sanitise your hands as you enter the College and clean your hands more often than usual throughout the day Practise enhanced cleaning • Wipe all personal or College equipment used at College, using the wipes or spray provided

Socially distance • Follow the one way system and maintain a social distance from others, wherever possible Travel safely • Cycle or walk if you can. If you travel by bus, wear a face covering.

Stay at home • Stay at home if you have a COVID 19 symptom (continuous cough, high temperature, loss of sense of smell and/or taste)

Maintaining a hygienic environment • The College buildings will be deep cleaned regularly • Frequently touched surfaces will be cleaned more regularly • Toilets will be cleaned more regularly, with bleach based cleaning products • Good hand hygiene will be promoted. You will be required to sanitise your hands on arrival at the College; sanitise your hands before returning from breaks, when changing rooms; and before and after eating; foot operated hand sanitiser stations will be available in Reception, hand sanitiser stations will be available throughout

the College buildings, hand sanitiser will be available in classrooms and soap and water will be available in all toilets • You will be encouraged to sanitise or wash your hands more often than usual. You should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Paper towels will also be provided.

Please dry your hands on the paper towels provided, and dispose of these in the lidded bins provided • Good respiratory hygiene will be promoted through the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach. Tissues and lidded bins will be provided to support this approach

Student absence Attendance Expectations 2020-2021 From the beginning of the Academic Year 2020 student attendance will be mandatory and the usual rules on attendance will apply, including: • Parents’ duty to ensure that their child 16-18 age attends regularly at the college where the child is a enrolled • Colleges’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up sustained absences • All absences must be reported correctly for more information please see the website https://www.stbrn.ac.uk/ info/report-student-absence/student-absence-line/

Self-isolation due to confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) or symptoms St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will follow the procedures detailed below when students who are required to self-isolate as they have symptoms or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19): • Students who have symptoms should self-isolate and get a test.

• If a student tests negative and if they feel well and no longer have symptoms similar to coronavirus (COVID-19), they can stop self-isolating and return to college.

• If the student remains unwell following the test (such as with a different illness), then they make sure their absences are reported correctly.

• If a student tests positive, they should continue to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of their symptoms.

• They should only return to college if they do not have symptoms other than a cough or loss of sense of smell or taste (anosmia). This is because a cough or anosmia can last for several weeks once the infection has gone.

Symptoms in student’s household St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will follow the procedures detailed below when someone in the student’s household has symptoms: • The household should self-isolate and the member of their household should get a test.

• If the member of the household tests negative, the student can stop self-isolating and can return to college.

• If the household member tests positive, the student should continue self-isolating for the full 14 days from when the member of their household first had symptoms.

• In all cases of self-isolation, St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will ask parents to inform them immediately about the outcome of a test. However, evidence of negative test results or other medical evidence will not be requested before admitting children or welcoming them back after a period of self-isolation.

Close contact with someone who has symptoms or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will follow the procedures detailed below when students may not have symptoms themselves but may be required to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone with coronavirus (COVID-19): • The NHS test and trace guidance states that a person should self-isolate for 14 days if they have had recent close contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

• In the event of a confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) case in the college community, the local health protection team will provide advice on who this applies to, advising them to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with the person that has tested positive when they were infectious.

Students who are required by legislation to self-isolate as part of a period of quarantine • Parents should plan their holidays within college breaks and avoid seeking permission to take their children out of college during term time. • Families should also consider that their child may need to self-isolate following trips overseas that require a period of quarantine.

Protecting vulnerable Students during future local lockdowns Students who are clinically extremely vulnerable in a future local lockdown scenario only: • Shielding advice for all adults and children paused on 1 August 2020. This means that even the small number of students who will remain on the shielded patient list can return to college, as can those who have family members who are shielding.

• If in future, rates of the disease rise in local areas, children still on the shielding list (or family members still on the shielding list) from that area, and that area only, may be contacted by the government and advised to stay at home and shield during the period where rates remain high.

• Families will receive a letter if they are required to shield again that parents will be able to share with St Brendan’s Sixth Form College.

• St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will contact parents of students who are shielding when measures in the local area are lifted and shielding is paused again, to set out the expectation that they can return to college.

Remote Education If a student is not attending St Brendan’s Sixth Form College due to circumstances related to coronavirus (COVID-19), St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will offer them access to remote education (this may be online or via other means). St Brendan’s Sixth Form College will keep a record of, and monitor engagement with this activity and blended learning.

COVID Symptoms whilst onsite If you display any of the COVID- 19 symptoms whilst in College: - a high temperature - a new continuous cough - a loss of, or change in, your sense of taste or smell • You must go to Reception and inform the receptionist who will call a First Aider • You will be asked to wait for the First Aider in the First Aid room next to Reception • The first aider will arrive in full PPE. They will arrange your prompt and safe return home, if you are well enough to return home.

This cannot be on public transport.

• If you are seriously ill, they will call 999

• Once home, you are required to follow the Government‘s guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus infection and to self- isolate for 10 days (members of your household must self-isolate for 14 days from the time you first exhibited your symptom/s) and you should arrange to have a test to see if you have the coronavirus.

COVID Symptoms whilst onsite You must inform the College of the outcome of the Coronavirus test: • If you test positive, so that the College can follow Public Health England local health protection team advice, as appropriate • If you test negative, so that you are able to return to College, at the earliest possible opportunity

Getting to College

• If you can, please walk, cycle or get dropped off at the College by a household member • If you need to use public transport to get to the College, please follow carefully the government guidelines for doing so, including the mandatory wearing of a face covering • If you have passed your driving test, and plan to drive to College, please remember that ideally you should not car share with anybody else outside of your household. If you do need to car share with others outside of your household, please keep the car windows open, and wear a face covering. Permission and permits need to be sought from college before parking your car onsite.

• Whilst using college transport you must wear a face covering and space out as much as possible. Refusal without any valid reason may result in you being refused transport.

Arrival at college • Please enter by the main entrance only, adhering to the social distancing markings, as necessary • We are strongly recommending you wear a face mask in common areas such as corridors and cafés • If you have forgotten to bring a face mask, you can purchase a disposable one for 50p in the LRC • Please sanitise your hands using the hand sanitiser provided (foot operated at the front of every building entrance) • Please sanitise or wash your hands before you return from break, when you change rooms; and before and after eating

Getting around college • A keep left system for movement inside, and between, the College buildings is in place.

• Please follow the keep left system at all times.

• Please try to walk behind others, and maintain a social distance from others, wherever possible.

• Please walk to the left and behind others on stairwells, maintaining a social distance, wherever possible.

• In the event of a fire evacuation, please use the fire exit closest to you, and make your way to your designated safe fire point. At this fire point, please try to maintain a social distance from others, as possible.

• Lockdown procedures will remain the same.

Classrooms • Please sanitise your hands as you enter the classroom • Seating will be arranged so that you sit side by side with your peers, facing forwards.

Please do not rearrange the seating • Your teacher will stay at the front of the classroom and will maintain a 2 metre social distance from you • If your teacher needs to come closer to you than this during a lesson, they will limit any closer contact to a maximum of 15 minutes

• Any social distance will not apply if you have any additional needs which mean that you need close support in a classroom setting. This support can be provided as normal. The member of staff will be wearing protective equipment.

• At the end of the lesson, please wipe down any College resources or equipment, or any of your own resources or equipment, that you have used. Wipes will be provided • Please dispose of the wipes, and any other litter, in the foot pedal bins provided.

Cafés and food • The two cafés are operating a one way system.

• Tables and chairs have been moved to ensure that social distancing is in place - please do not move them.

Learning Resource Centre • The LRC is operating a keep left system.

• There is a booking system to ensure that we have a certain amount of people in that area at one point. Please ensure you use this booking system.

• Some computers stations have been closed to adhere to social distancing.

• Please wipe down work stations with the wipes provided when you have finished and dispose of wipes in the foot pedal bin.

Mental Health Support • All students at St Brendan’s have an Academic Mentor who reviews their progress with them on a 1:1 basis and also sees them for tutorials. You can contact them at any time if you have any concerns.

• The Learning Development Team will support any young person if they have any mental health issues such as self-harm, anxiety, depression etc. They can also arrange for students to see a Counsellor or the Welfare Assistant, or trainee counsellors who work several days a week at the College. We can refer students to external agencies such as Off the Record for counselling or other support if necessary.

Additional Support • Any social distance will not apply if you have learning needs which mean that you need close support in a classroom setting.

• This support can be provided as normal.

• Your Learning Support Assistant will be provided with personal protective equipment.