Information for Students Starting, or Returning, In September 2020

We are really looking forward to welcoming you / welcoming you back to Fareham College.

We are committed to providing you with a high-quality education and are excited to have students back on campus and learning in our outstanding facilities again.

Inevitably, due to COVID-19, you will notice some changes around the College. These have been put in place to ensure the safety of all of our students and staff.

These are the key points you need to be aware of before you start:

Enrolment

We hope you have managed to successfully enrol at the College. If you have not yet enrolled, or if you have any questions regarding your enrolment, please contact info@fareham.ac.uk.

ID Cards and Lanyards

You will have been issued your college lanyard and ID badge when you came into the college to enrol onto your course. If you do not have an ID card you should contact us before coming to college by emailing info@fareham.ac.uk but if that’s not possible please speak with your teacher on your first day.

Now, more than ever, you must wear your lanyard when on the College campuses to ensure the safety of all students and staff.

Your ID card will be used to open external doors on campus as part of our access control measures for security and your ID card is also used to register for each lesson.

On arrival

On your first day, you should go straight to your classroom on arrival. If you don’t know where to go, please don’t worry as there will be college staff available to help you. If you need to speak with someone please go to the reception but please remember to consider social distancing if there is a queue.

Face coverings

From Monday 14 September the College requires students and staff to wear face coverings in all College buildings, in corridors, queues, public areas, and communal spaces and when travelling to the College by public transport. While students and staff are not required to wear face coverings outside, please remember to social distance when waiting outside for public transport.

The news that social gatherings of groups larger than six people will be banned in England highlights concerns about the rising number of cases of Coronavirus in the UK. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has noted recently that cases are rising in the age group 17-21 where they do not practice social distancing.

Our top priority is to ensure that the College is a safe environment for all students, staff and visitors. While at present it has not been made mandatory for individuals to wear face coverings in educational establishments, we believe that wearing face coverings will further enhance the preventative measures we have already put in place to mitigate as far as possible the transmission of COVID-19.

Exceptions to wearing face coverings indoors include:

Face coverings may be removed once students are seated in their classrooms where other mitigating measures are enforced, such as, good ventilation, regular cleaning and students being maintained in their bubbles. Teachers may ask students to put face coverings back on in lessons, for instance where students are asked to move or partially face each other in pairs or small groups, and where a teacher is unable to maintain a 2m distance from students. Should a student study an industry based subject such as hair and beauty, industry guidelines will be followed and the wearing of masks will be mandatory in teaching areas;
When students are eating a meal;
Health conditions should not normally prevent a person wearing a face covering. There is no requirement for your GP to issue letters for patients who are unable to wear face coverings, as the Government have clearly defined the exemptions to this requirement. Should you be exempt from wearing a face covering and you wish to be recognised as being exempt you are able to print your own exemption card if required and these can be accessed, along with further guidance, via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own

Signage

Please pay attention to the new signage around the College campuses, advising you to observe social distancing guidance, to keep left in corridors and encourage the wearing of face coverings in communal areas. Everyone will be advised to observe social distancing guidance in college communal areas such as the canteen, cafes and outdoor spaces.

Travel to and from college

We encourage you to walk or cycle to college if you can. If you travel on public transport please consider that some services may be running on reduced capacity. Please also respect the travel operators’ guidelines on face coverings and social distancing.

Parking on-site is by permit only for staff and students. A permit can be requested from reception but these will be prioritised for students who have the furthest to travel.

The College Day

If you have travelled to college by public transport you must remove your face covering at the college gate. If your covering is disposable it must be placed in the bin provided outside. If your covering is washable, please place it inside a plastic bag and tie it up. Place the bag inside your college bag ready to wear on public transport home.

When on-site you should use a different face covering to the one you travelled in.

Please ensure that you are bringing your own resources (pens, pencils etc) to college with you and that you are not sharing resources.

Hygiene and sanitising

Please bring to college tissues, hand sanitiser, water bottles and face covering.

On arrival at college, you must sanitise your hands. All students will have access to hand sanitiser and hand washing facilities. Handwashing / sanitising will need to be undertaken regularly throughout the day. All students will be given a small bottle of hand sanitiser to put on their lanyard. We strongly encourage students to take responsibility for bringing their own sanitiser.

Food and drink

Please remember to bring a water bottle in with you that can be refilled at one of the water machines. We will be giving out college branded water bottles to all students within the first two weeks of starting college, but in the meantime please bring one in with you.

Hot and cold food will be available but be aware that choices will be limited. Free school meals will be available for those eligible for this.

All payments for food and drink will be cashless by debit card.

Students at the Bishopsfield Road campus will be asked to use either Café 141 or Eat 141, depending on the group they are allocated.

Classrooms

Classrooms have been set up in accordance with the current guidelines provided by the Department for Education. Please respect the space of your teacher and fellow students.

Teachers will try to maintain a social distance of 2m from students, some teachers may wear face visors.

Bubbles

We will be grouping students by subject area and maintaining consistent membership of these groups. These groups are referred to as bubbles. Please ensure that you remain in your allocated colour bubble. This will be clearly identified to you and will also be on your lanyard.

The structure of the day has been created, with staggered start and finish times to avoid mixing of bubbles. Smoking must also take place within the allocated bubble zones.

Each allocated bubble (shown by your colour) will have designated toilets. You must only use the toilets available to your bubble.

Timetable

Your timetable is comprised of a mixture of online, remote learning using the College’s new digital learning platform, Canvas, and learning in college, for us to limit the number of people on-site at any time. If you did not receive your timetable at enrolment, then you will be issued it when you start at the College. Should you have any questions regarding your timetable, please ask your Tutor.

Respect Policy

You will have received a copy of the College’s Respect Policy during your enrolment. Please ensure that you follow these guiding principles. We also expect students to be punctual and ready and equipped for learning, whether online or in the classroom at the College.

Given the concerns over transmission of Covid, we will consider any deliberate coughing at another person or spitting as gross misconduct.

We have taken every possible measure at the College to ensure that we have a safe and clean environment for you to attend and we will continue to monitor and adhere to government guidance.