CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

Our college campuses are currently closed.

Due to the current and continually evolving challenges and risks associated with Coronavirus COVID-19,  we have taken the decision to pause face-to-face teaching for all learners from the end of this week (Friday 20 March 2020). From Monday 23 March 2020, teaching and learning will move to online provision until further notice.

Learners should continue to access learning via Google Classroom and should check both their personal and college email accounts regularly for learning updates and tasks from tutors. 

Instructions for learners and staff on how to access college systems (including Google Classroom) remotely can be found here: www.bridgend.ac.uk/coronavirus 

We will continue to review advice from Public Health Wales and Welsh Government and will publish all updates at www.bridgend.ac.uk/coronavirus. We will also publish any changes to our current status via the College’s main social media channels and via direct email to our staff and learners.

We have followed all Public Health Wales advice and guidance and communicated regularly with our staff and students. We are working closely with NHS services and Public Health Wales who are taking the lead.

The College’s Senior Management Team is meeting regularly to ensure we have the most up-to-date information to share with our staff and students and to take appropriate action if required.

If you or someone you live with has the recent onset of either a new continuous cough and/or a high temperature, current advice from Public Health Wales is that you should self-isolate.

Full guidance on self-isolation and symptoms can be found here:

https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/

You can also use the NHS Direct Wales symptom checker: 

Click here

Yes. You will still continue to receive EMA whilst college campuses are closed.

All EMA payments have been approved and will be paid into bank accounts on Monday 30 March 2020. For w/c 09/03, register attendance has been used, but for w/c 16/03 we have assumed positive attendance for all learners. This means that if you were self-isolating, it will not affect your attendance.

Yes. WGLG payments will still be made whilst campuses are closed.

Don’t worry – we will be block filling registers in the next few weeks, but we are awaiting further guidance from Welsh Government on this. Please do not worry if your attendance is wrong when you are using MiHub, this is because tutors have been asked not to mark registers.

Your attendance will not be affected and this will be updated in the coming weeks.

You can reset your password using the guide further down this page. If you need support, please complete the IT Support webform which can also be found on this page and a member of the team will get back to you.

If you currently receive a free meal, we will be paying funds directly into your bank account. If we have received your bank details, you will receive the first payment on Wednesday 25 March 2020.

We are still waiting for responses from some learners, so any details received between now and Wednesday 25 March, will have payment made on Friday 27 March 2020.

After this week, payments will be made every Monday, including payments during the Easter break – we hope that this will help to support a little.

Although physical face-to face-teaching has been suspended, the College continues to support all of our learners to achieve their desired learning outcomes. As such, we will not be refunding tuition fees for HE courses.

The College is remaining open during this time and has transitioned towards remote methods of delivery, so that as students you can continue to work towards achieving your qualification and help you be all that you can be. 

Your tuition fee covers a wide range of activities and services, including online teaching sessions, tutorials, virtual learning environment and the supporting infrastructure that make all of this possible. 

If you are paying your tuition fees yourself – or if you are using the Maintenance Loan to pay your fees – it is important that you keep up with payment of fees as per the instalment plan set up at enrolment. Failing to keep up with payments may prevent you from progressing to the next stage of your course or from graduating. 

If however, the coronavirus crisis has caused financial hardship and is affecting your ability to keep up with your tuition fee payments please contact the higher education team for advice by email: heenquiries@bridgend.ac.uk 

If you intend to withhold tuition fees due to the temporary suspension of face to face teaching due to coronavirus you should refer to the Students Complaints Procedure which can be found here:- https://www1.bridgend.ac.uk/about-us/

SLC can confirm that as students you will receive your scheduled or next instalment of your Maintenance Loan at the planned start of the summer term, regardless of whether their university or provider has made alternative arrangements for teaching.

The Student Loans Company has published more information for students here:- 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-current-students

GCSE Exams will not take place this term,  and you will receive a calculated grade based on the evidence you have produced.  We continue to provide online activities to ensure you are building your skills and have all the knowledge you need should you have to resit the exam again at any point in the future. 

A Level Exams will not take place this term,  and you will receive a calculated grade based on the evidence you have produced.  We continue to provide online activities to ensure you are building your skills and have all the knowledge you need should you have to resit the exam again at any point in the future. 

This process is still under consultation with the regulatory body Ofqual. 

Please follow this link to the consultation document. 

Broadly vocational qualifications will fall into 3 categories:

Calculate

Most qualifications that are used to progress to further study will be calculated in the same way as GCSEs and A Levels

Adapt

Some practical/controlled assessments will be adapted so that they can be achieved remotely 

Delay

Many vocational qualifications provide students with a licence to practice in the workplace.  As such we may need to delay the awarding of a qualification until we can safely have students in workshops/practical spaces/work placements where we can fully assess vocational competency 

Each awarding body will have a different approach and we will need to adhere to their guidance as and when we receive it.  So please keep engaging with your tutors via Google Classroom so we can keep preparing you to be ready when that decision is made.

The following link will take you to the Qualifications in Wales FAQ sheet which will provide more detail:

https://www.qualificationswales.org/english/coronavirus—covid-19/frequently-asked-questions/vocational-qualifications/

You should have had a progression discussion with your Personal Tutor during ‘Next Steps’ week in March; you would have then received a conditional offer from us.

Don’t worry if you didn’t – you can either email your Personal Tutor or email our Student Services team at hello@bridgend.ac.uk

We don’t know when campuses will re-open, but we have already started planning our enrolment. Enrolment usually starts from 20th August 2020 (GCSE results day), but we will be in touch with all returning students in July to confirm enrolment details, so please don’t worry!

We advise you to continue to engage in online learning as content covered may be used to inform judgements and will prepare you for your next level of study.

Yes! You can apply online today.

Our Student Services team will be in touch within a few days with more information about your next steps.

We will not be interviewing any applicants for the remainder of this application cycle. Our Student Services team is still working remotely, processing applications and issuing conditional course offers based on your predicted grades.

Sure! We are creating new student resource packs which contain useful resources, reading, links and learning activities.

Simply search for your course area and download your resource pack here: www.bridgend.ac.uk/newstudents 

Don’t worry! We will do all that we can to ensure that you enrol onto the course which is right for your own starting point, based on the grades you have been given.

We don’t know when campuses will re-open, but we have already started planning our enrolment. Enrolment usually starts from 20th August 2020 (GCSE results day), but we will be in touch with all returning students in July to confirm enrolment details, so please don’t worry!

Information about applying for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and the Welsh Government Learning Grant (WGLG) can be found at www.studentfinancewales.co.uk

We are expecting EMA and WGLG application packs to be available at some point during May.

You can view our current college bus routes and find out more about financial support here: www.bridgend.ac.uk/newstudents

If you have any questions, please visit our website live chat or email hello@bridgend.ac.uk 

We have a newly refurbished 100 place day nursery at our Cowbridge Road campus. You can find out more and arrange a visit here: www.bridgendcollegedaynursery.co.uk

You may also be eligible for support from our Financial Contingency Fund (FCF).

You should report your diagnosis to HR and your line Manager.   You can contact HR on ext 350. We will ensure that we maintain confidentiality in line with our legal obligations, however, we will advise any close colleagues who may be particularly vulnerable to the virus so that they can make any appropriate arrangements.

To support us with this, please ensure your contact details are up to date on MyPage.

If you have any queries beyond this, please e mail dl_hr@bridgend.ac.uk and one of our team will come back to you.

We recognise that it may be difficult for colleagues to obtain fit notes to cover their absence beyond 7 days in line with usual procedures, due to the pressures on the NHS. If you find yourself in this situation, you should contact your manager and HR (ext 350) to advise them of the situation.  We would ask that you continue to attempt to obtain a fit note during your absence, but we will maintain sick pay during your absence.

This information applies to permanent, fixed term,casual and hourly paid workers.

If you have any queries beyond this, please e mail dl_hr@bridgend.ac.uk and one of our team will come back to you.

As you are aware, one of our values is a person centred approach.  We understand the needs of our colleagues will change over the coming months and it is therefore impossible to apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach.   This means that some colleagues might feel that they are contributing more than others during this difficult period (as not all colleagues will be able to apply the principles of remote working).  We trust however that everyone will do the very best they can to support our students, our families and each other during these difficult times.

If you have any queries beyond this, please e mail dl_hr@bridgend.ac.uk and one of our team will come back to you.

If you are self-isolating either on the basis of current Government advice, and you are not unwell, you will be classed as working from home working.  Your line manager will agree what this looks like for your particular role.

If you are absent from work due to any type of illness and are unable to work, you will be paid sick in the usual way. 

Please be assured that any sickness absence relating to Coronavirus will not impact a Bradford Factor score.  We will also ensure that you are not financially at a detriment in terms of any sickness absence relating to the coronavirus.

If you have any queries beyond this, please e mail dl_hr@bridgend.ac.uk and one of our team will come back to you.

First and foremost, our commitment is to ensure our learners continue their education throughout this difficult time and as such our activities should be focused on achieving this outcome.

We understand that in some roles, work activity may be more limited and therefore encourage staff to engage with volunteering opportunities.  Maintaining a sense of purpose during this difficult time will contribute to better personal wellbeing and will help those in our community when they are at their most vulnerable.  Volunteering opportunities can be found here. NHS Volunteer Wales  and Bridgend Volunteering Services. 

Additionally here is some information about keeping yourself safe whilst volunteering https://gov.wales/safe-help/volunteering.

Yes, please discuss the opportunity with your line manager in the first instance.  They will look to support you to undertake meaningful work during these challenging times.  We would also like to hear about the difference you are making (as an individual or team) and share this with others across the organisation from time to time.  This will help us all stay connected and will help reinforce the great work we do.

Your contract remains unchanged and you continue to be a member of Bridgend College.

Please note that to engage in any form of paid work with another organisation, or generate money from freelance activities, you must seek permission from your line manager in the first instance.   It is not permissible to receive payment through another means for hours we are already paying you for.

We know that some of you will have plans to travel in the near future, including pre-booked holidays. Certain countries have been identified as having been severely affected by the virus and we would ask that you consider, for your own health reasons, whether your travel is necessary.

If you do travel, please complete the relevant notification form below.  We need to know of the countries you intend to visit so that we can manage your return appropriately. Additionally, please keep yourself up to date on the countries which require self-isolation upon return. If you are a member of staff and would like to cancel any pre-booked annual leave, please speak to your manager.

STUDENT Travel Notification Form

STAFF Travel Notification Form

You can find up to date information on travel via the web links below:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-the-foreign-commonwealth-office-puts-together-travel-advice

Due to current travel advice, we have suspended all overseas visits. We will communicate directly with students affected to discuss next steps.

Your wellbeing is incredibly important to us.  Whilst we might be changing the way we work and starting to work more remotely, we wanted to take the opportunity to signpost you to some helpful guides:

This guide explores how to keep mentally well throughout the Coronavirus outbreak  and has been developed by the mental health charity, Mind. Click here to access further information Coronavirus and your wellbeing 

In addition to your mental health, it is really important to maintain good physical health.  These videos, which have been developed by NHS Wales can be accessed from home. Click here to access  Fitness Videos which will support you to maintain your physical fitness during periods of self isolation.

Additionally we would like to remind staff of our confidential  24/7 counselling service, which is delivered by Carefirst. Please access by clicking on this link Care first Access

As well as all of the above, if you have any queries or concerns about your health in the context of the workplace please contact your line manager or a member of the HR Team (ext 350)