Students in Year 12 and 13 in GCSE, vocational and A Level subjects at S6C, Salisbury, are being taught online since Tuesday, January 5.
The majority of lessons are live and require students to participate.
S6C Pastoral Lead, Rebecca Anderson, said: “This is a time when we will need to be safe, careful, diligent, flexible, positive, kind and understanding as we navigate this lockdown. These are qualities we have seen in our S6C students and staff – and we are very proud of our S6C community.
“At S6C we are in a favourable position to give live lessons in the normal timetabled slots to provide the best learning experience we can. Our staff are well prepared to deliver high quality engaging experiences, and our Year 13 students had experience of this high quality teaching in the first lockdown in March, 2020. Year 12s have also been prepared to learn online as they experienced it for a week while the Year 13 mock exams took place in November, 2020, which gave students the opportunity to learn the systems and adjust to online teaching.
The College will not be closed, providing a learning hub in the Study Centre for a small group of invited students to follow their lessons online with their laptop and headphones, taking a packed lunch. The college will arrange provision of free school meal entitlement. The hub is open to those who have contact with a social worker, are on an EHCP, young carers, and children of key workers who can demonstrate they would be best-placed working in college. It also includes those students unable to work effectively at home due to IT needs.
Throughout the lockdown, teachers will monitor students’ engagement in online lessons. Parents can discuss concerns at the Parents’ Evenings which will go ahead.
Vice principal, Louise Henderson, said: “The upcoming Year 13 Parents’ Evening will allow us to assure parents our priority for Year 13s is that we are still preparing young people for their progression routes: university, apprenticeships and employment. We continue to teach Year 13 students and we want them to know we’re incredibly proud of them and want them to feel positive about their commitment that they have shown to their courses.”
Some students may struggle with the different demands of working from home and not being in college with their friends. There will be regular posts to students with encouragement and resources to promote mental and physical health and wellbeing, online safety, study skills strategies, and tips for managing lockdowns.
The college will continue its remote Life Skills programme and target it to be relevant for the times.
The counselling service will also continue online.