Update 19^th June

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you and your families continue to be fit and well.

This week we had a small number of students return to college and I am pleased to be able to tell you that it went very well, all the plans and organisation we have put in place is working well. The students we have in are pleased to be back, as are the staff who are back working in college. Everyone is reporting they feel safe and that the college feels as normal as it can be in the circumstances. We have cleared class spaces to enable social distancing, and a system has been put in place to be able to pass safely when in the corridor. We are of course continuing to provide support for home learning and maintaining contact with our families in an attempt provide all the support we can during these difficult times.

Given how well things have gone so far, it is our intention to increase the numbers of students in college next week and to operate normal working day hours.  Following government guidance, we are limited on the numbers of students we can have in the college in order to maintain social distancing.

At the moment there has been no change in the Governments thinking that parents can choose whether or not they want to send their child to college or not, this remains your choice.

The college will close to all students on the 10^th July 2020 for the summer break

Please contact the college if you need any help, support or advice,

Kind regards and keep safe,

Kim Everton

College Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you and your families are well. We are expecting information about colleges reopening very soon. Can I assure you that we will be looking at these guidelines carefully before we decide what to do at The Hive College.

As a special college we have different challenges to mainstream colleges, and we will need to consider how we will respond to any information. The Hive will not be reopening before we have been able to consider and plan for what is best and safest for our students and staff.

We will be talking to all our parents about reopening and will be listening carefully to your worries and concerns. We will take your views into account when making decisions and will make sure we continue to consult with you as this situation develops.

I hope you enjoy your Bank Holiday and VE Celebrations.

Kind regards, keep safe

Kim Everton

College Principal

We know have our Family Support Hub page live on the website that provides information all in one place that families might find useful, it can found on the top menu called “Help and contact information for families.”

Apologies for the lack of updates, but we have all been flat out working on arrangements to provide the most effective support we can over the last two days.

We have set up Outreach Teams who will be making regular contact with all our families for safe and well checks and to offer any help and advice we can. If you do need help or advice, please contact us by email and we will do everything that we can to support you.

Finally, can I urge you in the strongest terms to follow the instructions we have all been given regarding social isolation and staying at home. Our main aim now must be to help everyone, students, staff and families to stay safe and well.

Take care and stay safe.

For guidance please go to https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Kim Everton

College Principal

There have so far been no cases of coronavirus infection of any staff or students in the college.  

Many parents and carers of our college students have already taken the decision to self-isolate their child due to concerns about the possibility of infection.

We have 9 members of staff in college who are absent due to advice about self-isolation or childcare related problems.

Most of our students have health and medical issues and are at the highest risk according to the Department of Health.  Their safety and health is our priority, we have followed government guidelines and have assessed each student, with the support of the colleges medical staff and have taken the decision to close the college to all students from 3.15pm today.

Learning packs have been collated by the teachers and will be sent home today.  College Key Workers will carry out regular safe and well checks on all students by telephone on a regular basis, whilst the college is closed to students.

All staff who are able to will remain in college, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or need any advice:

business@wsucbpt.co.uk

k.everton@wsucbpt.co.uk

n.cutler@wsucbpt.co.uk        

Please check our website for any further updates www.wsucbpt.co.uk. Please take care and stay safe during this difficult time.

There have so far been no cases of coronavirus infection of any staff or students in the college. The Government announced last night it will be giving advice to vulnerable people in the next few days. This advice will probably have significant impact on any decision regarding the temporary closure of schools and colleges.

With increasing numbers of students being absent and many of our staff being absent due to childcare issues or precautionary advice, we are taking measures to try to continue as normal as much as possible. Increasing absence rates could be another reason we have to consider the closure of our college. In these circumstances, it may be a decision we are forced to make at short notice. I would advise you to consider what you will do in these circumstances.

We are continuing with our hand-washing, cleaning and all the measures as specified by the health authorities. We have been informed by nurses that students with a dry cough and/or temperature in college must go home and will need to be collected by parents.

We are looking at ways we will be able to keep in touch with students who are off college and will be aiming to keep in touch with students and families on a regular basis. We have also started preparing work to be completed at home, if all of this becomes necessary.

I understand this is a very difficult and worrying time for everyone. If you wish to discuss anything regarding the current situation, please contact the college on 0121 306 4800.

Yours faithfully

Kim Everton – College Principal

The Hive College Coronavirus Update

There have so far been no cases of coronavirus infection of any staff or students in college. Wilson Stuart School did prevent a member of staff from coming into school last Thursday and Friday as a precaution because her brother had symptoms. It turned out that he was not infected and there was no risk.

We are continuing with our hand-washing, cleaning and all the measures as specified by the health authorities.

We have been informed by nurses that students with a dry cough and/or temperature in college must go home and will need to be collected by parents.

A few parents have taken the decision not to send students into college because they are concerned about the virus in relation to underlying health issues. We are looking at ways we will be able to keep in touch with students who are off college.

The NHS has stopped testing people with any symptoms of coronavirus and is now telling them to self-isolate. This includes people with colds and sore throats, we have a few members of staff who are currently off college for this reason.

The Government, as you will be aware is considering measures including isolating the elderly and vulnerable, this may include consideration of the need to do this for students who have medical issues and who might be at significant risk if they were to be infected. We will have to wait and see what happens and what decisions are taken. In the event of a college closure we will be providing work to be completed at home and are considering what we will do if any closure may be long-term.

We have taken the decision to cancel work placements and community visits. We have also restricted visitors into college to a minimum and will be increasingly using conference calling meetings.

Due to restrictions on purchasing food items, the tuck shop will now be operating a reduced menu. We will not be having a Friday special and if parents could provide a packed lunch for students, this would be appreciated.

Yours faithfully

Kim Everton

College Principal