COVID-19 update > COVID-19 Update > College Info | King Edward VI College, Stourbridge

COVID-19 update

COVID-19 update

COVID-19 update

Last update: 25 September 2020 13.06 pm

Update : confirmed case of COVID-19

On Friday 25 September 2020, the College was notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the college community. We have been working closely with Public Health England (PHE) to respond as necessary to this situation.

Only people who came into close contact with the individual will be advised to self-isolate and we have contacted the relevant individuals. In line with government and PHE guidance, our approach will seek to balance identifying everyone who has a genuine risk of developing infection while not asking any students or staff to self-isolate unnecessarily.

We have sent a letter to all parents on 25 September, providing more detail. The text of this letter can be found below under the heading COVID-19 student and parent updates.

We are delighted that our students have now joined us on campus to resume their full-time education.

The health, welfare and safety of all members of the college community are of paramount importance; therefore, it is important to acknowledge that these return plans do not constitute ‘business as usual’. We have established a strict protocol for returning to college because of the virus, as detailed below. We aim to ensure our return is achieved safely, with the welfare of all members of the college community driving the measures we have implemented.

Key principles to achieve a safe return to campus

All staff must adhere to social distancing everywhere on campus. Students must adhere to social distancing with all staff and with each other where possible.
All staff and students will be required to wear an appropriate face covering when they enter the campus, when moving around campus and in communal areas, in corridors, stairwells and toilets.
All rooms have been assessed for maximum capacity to minimise the possibility of transmission of the virus. Staff and students will adhere to the maximum capacity allowed in all rooms across the campus, indicated on signage on every door.
Students will be organised in year group ‘student bubbles’ as much as possible, with separate social, study and eating spaces for each year group.
Year 12 students will enter and exit the college via the main entrance on Duke Street. Year 13 must enter and exit the college using the gates on the Lower High Street, next to Cats Protection charity shop.
Visitors to campus will be strictly limited; all proposed visitors must be approved by the Principal prior to their visit.
We have carried out a thorough deep clean of the campus prior to opening and increased cleaning and sanitisation will take during the day.
Protective measures are in place aimed at reducing the risk of transmission.
We all have a responsibility to understand the arrangements and work together to ensure they are effectively implemented.

Please remember that we keep all of our plans, safety and control measures under constant review and, therefore, all of our plans are be subject to change.

Risk assessment for a full re-opening of the College

COVID risk assessment for autumn term 2020 - updated 16 September 2020

Student guidance - updated 28 August 2020 12.00 pm

COVID-19 student information

Guidance for students with COVID symptoms

Advice for those who are clinically vulnerable can be found in the guidance on staying alert and safe (social distancing).

Office for students: Student guide to coronavirus

Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline: this helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline by calling: 0800 046 8687

When should a student arrange a test?

To ensure that those with coronavirus are identified, while avoiding a huge increase in demand for tests from people without coronavirus symptoms, students should only be tested if:

they develop one or more of the main coronavirus symptoms: a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; or the loss or change of their sense of taste or smell; or
they are recommended to get tested by a healthcare provider (e.g. GP or nurse).

If a student develops one or more of the main coronavirus symptoms described above, only they should be tested. There is no need for the entire household to have a test, unless they are also symptomatic.

Students should not book a test if they do not have one of the symptoms detailed above, for example if they feel unwell with a sore throat, stomach upset or a headache. These students don’t need to book a test, although they may need to stay off college and seek medical advice through their GP or pharmacist as usual.

Face coverings

Face coverings will be mandatory on campus from 1 September 2020, as detailed below:

All staff and students will be required to wear an appropriate face covering when they enter the campus, when moving around campus and in communal areas, in corridors, stairwells and toilets.
Face coverings can be removed in classrooms, in offices, in the library and study spaces and in social spaces when people are eating.
We will support staff and students who choose to wear face coverings everywhere are on campus, although this is not required in the spaces detailed in (2) above.
Students with hidden disabilities who are exempt from wearing face coverings may register with Aimie Chatfield, our Medical Welfare Officer. Aimie will provide a Sunflower lanyard so that staff and our security guards are aware you are exempt from wearing a face covering.

Timetable for 2020/21

We have made plans for all students to return to college full-time from 7 September 2020.

To achieve this safely in accordance with government guidance, we have had to prepare a new timetable. This new timetable will entail staggered starts and finishes for each year group. Whilst we will deliver all core qualifications on site, tutorial sessions will be delivered online. Personal tutors (PTs) will conduct regular one-to-one meetings at college in their new office accommodation in Dr Johnson House.

Current timetable 2020/21

Start of autumn term 2020

Year 12 induction will take place on campus 1 - 4 September. All students will be allocated one induction day during this period - please check your emails for your allocated day.
Year 13 students will receive their timetable by email and are expected back on campus on 7 September.
Lessons will begin on Monday 7 September for all students.

Travel to college

College transport will be operating during induction week for year 12s and for all students from 7 September. Further details will be sent in due course. Please be aware that all students using public or college transport will be required to wear face coverings.

Further Guidance

As part of the college response to the pandemic, we have a dedicated section of our website, King Ed's Virtual . Please use this section of the website, if we ever have to move to online learning, for example during a lock-down period.

We will continue to update the archive below, which lists COVID-19 student and parent updates that we send out via email