College Reopening Plan FAQs

Yes, it will be safe to reopen for the new academic year, based on the Scottish Government’s guidance. The Scottish Government has planned out how all sectors of Scottish society can begin to move on from lockdown and return to (near) normal life in a planned, phased and safe basis. This guidance is based upon the most up to date information available, including the assessment of the risks surrounding

COVID-19 and the risks associated with living in lockdown. The College is and will continue to follow the official guidance available.

All courses will have an element of remote learning and in many cases the majority of classes will be online for the first few weeks following official guidance.

We are currently working on timetabling for all courses and will confirm this with you as soon as we can.

Once you have been issued with your timetable, we will do our best not to make any changes to it. However, we may need to make changes based on Scottish Government’s guidance. Any changes will be communicated with you directly prior to your course starting. We will also work with you to ensure that any caring responsibilities or commitments are taken into consideration, so that we can support you with your learning.

Your course funding will start from the start date for your course and continue as normal. We will ensure that the updated course dates are incorporated into funding arrangements – so you don’t need to do anything extra.

Travel expenses will only be paid if you are required to travel to College and will be paid as and when you need this.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your funding, please get in touch with the Funding Team who are available online to help you.

We are looking at ways that we can continue to give you the chance to gain valuable work experience as part of your course. For many courses that include a placement we have revised the course structure and are looking to reschedule placements.

Again, to ensure your safety these placements will only take place following the appropriate guidance.

As you would expect, discussions with SQA and other awarding bodies have been focused on students who have been studying this year (2019-20). Discussions are now focusing on students studying with us next year (2020-21) and around the need to recognise the disruption to learning. There are no outcomes from these discussions yet, but we will work together to ensure that appropriate measures are developed to reflect the challenging situation we’re in.

The College is following Scottish Government guidance on arrangements for Test and Support. This guidance doesn’t currently require routine College-based Covid-19 testing as part of our reopening activities, but if this guidance changes then testing will be put in place as needed.

Appropriate PPE will be provided for practical subject areas where risk assessments have shown they are required (such as Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy, Engineering, Science, Hospitality and Construction). Subject specific training will be given to students on Covid-19 and measures put in place in line with the specific guidance for the different industry sectors.

We will be asking all students, staff and visitors to comply with the official guidance on social distancing and handwashing whilst on Campus.

The UK Government has implemented a period of 14 days self-isolation for anyone returning to Scotland from selected countries. If you plan to travel abroad once to one of the countries on the list, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days prior to returning to College Campuses.

The Scottish Government Route Map guidance outlines four phases for moving from lockdown, with lower restrictions and a move towards near normal activities growing with each phase. These guidelines currently anticipate that Phase 1 will start at the beginning of June 2020, with Phase 2 following over the summer, and Phase 3 being reached in August 2020. Phase 4 is estimated at some point over the remained of the current calendar year. Please note though that these timings are subject to change depending upon the scientific evidence and official guidance.

We will continue to keep you updated as and when any changes/updates occur.

College staff are available to support you and answer any questions or talk through any concerns you may have, so please get in touch so we can help.

Wellbeing and Support Teams

Face coverings should be worn within public areas such as corridors, stairways and the library. Face covering will only need to be worn in classrooms during times where social distancing is difficult to maintain or where you may be required to be in close contact for an extended period of time. Your lecturer will be able to advise you if a face covering is recommended for your class. 

A face-covering is a covering of any type (except a face shield) that MUST cover the mouth and nose. It should be made of cloth or another textile and should be two, preferably three layers thick, and through which you can breathe. You can purchase them at many local shops such as chemists and supermarkets. Religious face coverings that cover the mouth and the nose count as face coverings for these purposes. 

Transparent face coverings, i.e. face shields can be worn to assist communication for those who rely on lip-reading and facial expressions, however, these are not as effective for reducing transmission as a full face covering.   

If you are medically exempt from wearing a face covering, please contact our Inclusion team on inclusion-slh@fifecol.onmicrosoft.com and they will supply you with a lanyard (or badge) which will allow people on campus to understand why you are not wearing a face covering. 

Your young person can complete the Fife College Induction course, taking them through the essentials for starting at the College. The course is an overview of the tools they’ll need for their academic induction.

Your student will be using Microsoft Teams to stay connected. Microsoft Teams is an online sharing and communication platform that will be used to host video-chat classes, amongst other things. Click here for our guide to getting started with Teams. You can also take our interactive Teams demo by clicking here!

Students should be added to any Teams groups that they need to be a part of, prior to the beginning of their studies. Once signed-in to Teams, your young person can see what groups they’re part of. If your young person is unsure about how to operate Microsoft Teams, they can take this interactive demo to help. You can also read Microsoft’s guide to Teams for any further information by clicking here!

In order to complete their induction, your young person should have access to a device that can run Microsoft Teams. You can also help them with the Fife College Induction course which helps familiarise them with their Student Portal, iLearn and Microsoft Teams.

Whilst you can’t log-in to take part in your young person’s induction, if they require assistance, you’re more than welcome to sit alongside them as they go through it.