Truro and Penwith College has revealed how it moved its entire operation to remote working to ensure students can continue their learning in lockdown.

With 6,000 students the college wanted to ensure it could continue operating and has been holding around 1,200 online meetings a day to provide lessons and support.

Martin Tucker, principal designate, said he was “hugely proud” of how staff and students at the college have adapted to the new way of working.

“What we did as soon as the lockdown was announced, we had started to prepare for this, but we moved the whole college operation to a remote operation.

“The main focus was for all the learners to be able to continue so we moved all the learning for 6,000 students online.

“We have delivered the whole college timetable online with actual physical lessons for all students – full lessons that are delivered to the students at home,” he said.

It means that students have had exactly the same lessons as they would have had if the college buildings were open. They have also been able to continue getting tutorial support as well as additional support such as counselling.

Martin said: “We did all we could to make sure that every learner has access to this, there are some inconsistencies with internet connections and laptops have been loaned to students to ensure that they have the infrastructure to engage.

“We have also worked closely with more vulnerable students and the additional support that we offer has continued.”

The college has also continued interviews for new students due to start in September holding them online and on the telephone.

Initially the college continued courses as usual until it was announced that students due to take exams this year would no longer be doing so.

Martin said: “We have had to react to the announcement that there would be no exams and college lecturers would have to produce grades for every student on every course. A huge amount of work has gone into that and the greater majority of grades have now been submitted.

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“With our second year A-level group when they heard their exams would not take place there was a question about levels of engagement, but it has been fantastic we started to prepare students for the next step, particularly for university and lecturers have provided more university-style lectures for them in preparation.”

The college has also faced challenges with more practical courses but even here lecturers have continued to support students.

For catering students, for example, Martin explained that challenges were being set for students to undertake at home such as looking in the fridge and producing a dish based on what they find in there.

Martin said the college had remained open and routine maintenance of campuses has continued and also looking to prepare for September.

In addition the college has been working to help support current Year 11 students at schools in Cornwall who were due to take their GCSEs and start courses in September.

The principal said: “There was a concern about what Year 11 students would be doing between March and September. We have set up with a digital campus work resource for all our subjects and courses that has been made available to every Year 11 student in the county.

“The uptake for that has been fantastic and we have had really good feedback. Several schools have engaged fully with the process and some of the teachers have delivered lessons around the resources.”

The college’s usual open days have also been put on hold but these have also migrated online with new students able to find out what life is like at the college and what to expect in September.

Martin said: “The staff at Truro and Penwith College have been exceptional, both lecturing and support staff.

“It has been incredibly successful. The way that staff and students have adapted so quickly has been absolutely outstanding.

“I am incredibly proud and can’t speak highly enough of the staff and students. Their efforts are just incredible.

“Young people tend to get quite a lot of bad press but I speak so highly of our students.”

Martin said the college was now looking ahead to September and how it might have to operate under social distancing guidelines if they are still in place.

“We are looking at what September will look like. People use the word ‘normal’ but what will normal be?

“We are modelling various proposals but the key thing is for us to follow government guidelines and keep the wellbeing and safety of staff and students at the forefront.”

Cornwall College has also been continuing to provide support for students and apprentices and preparing for reopening.

As the largest college apprenticeship provider in the South West, with close to 2,000 apprentices currently on programme, The Cornwall College Group (TCCG) works with around 4,000 employers.

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Principal and chief executive of TCCG John Evans said it was therefore “essential for us to re-open to continue to support the region’s businesses”.

“We need to ensure the next generation of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, hair dressers, barbers, chefs, farmers and care givers etc are qualified, work ready and part of the South West economic revitalisation,” he continued.

“However, the safety of our learners and staff is of paramount importance, which is why we have worked tirelessly to make our campuses across Devon and Cornwall ready for reopening.”

Every curriculum area across Cornwall College Camborne, Cornwall College St Austell, Cornwall College Newquay, Falmouth Marine School, Duchy College Rosewarne, Duchy College Stoke Climsland, Sisna Park and Bicton College is ready to safely support the achievement of learners.

“Throughout lockdown we have been supporting key workers and NHS staff by 3D printing PPE (personal protective equipment) for care homes, surgeries and pharmacies, etc, so we were determined not use national stock where possible and create our own PPE,” John continued.

There is safeguarding and learning support on all campuses and every subject area has been zoned and ‘bubbled’, limiting contact and potential infection transfer.

“Each learner workspace, classroom or workshop has been completely redesigned so it goes beyond government compliance,” John explained.

“An example of this would be one of our automotive light vehicle workshops, which would normally support 16 to 18 learners, but for now we will be working with three each day. Similar restrictions apply to our catering kitchens, our hair and beauty salons and our gas and electrical training areas.”

Additional measures include one way systems, hand sanitising stations and designated emergency COVID19 isolation rooms in every single area in the event a staff member of learner starts to exhibit symptoms.

All communal social spaces have been temporarily closed and individual areas to do things such as eat lunch have been created. There are new paper-based and online exams rooms created in line with government guidance, with new entry and exit points alongside designated parking. Furthermore, all exams papers are held in isolation for 72 hours before marking to ensure zero infection transfer.

“As you can see, a huge amount of work has gone into facilitating the return of our learners and I couldn’t be prouder of the staff across our colleges,” John said.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming learners back and are looking forward to meeting our new learners in the near future when they can look forward to fantastic facilities and a quality educational experience led by a senior team that boasts four Ofsted inspectors in its ranks.”

School leavers and those looking to return to education can visit Cornwall College’s online portal, My Career College for useful resources.