Please see the Student email sent out 19.3.20 from Caireen Mitchell, Principal and CEO. Please click here for a downloadable format.
Dear Students
College Closure
The Government has asked all schools and colleges to close at the end of this week for a vast majority of students. This is one of the actions the Government are taking to slow down the coronavirus pandemic and protect those in our society who are most at risk from it.
I know that many of you will find the closure of the college very upsetting and will be concerned about how it will affect your education and indeed your qualification. I need you to know that we are and will continue to do all we can to minimise the impact on your education.
If you are considered a Looked after child, a Year 11 student or have an Education, Health and Care Plan you will still be able to come to the college, we will write to your separately.
Online Lessons
From Monday the 23rd of March, your lessons are going to be taught on line. At your normal timetabled class time your teacher will be available via Moodle to support your continued education. As always our teachers will work hard to support your education and successful attainment of your qualification.
Attached to this letter is a set of detailed instructions for on how to access online learning. Please remember, although you will not be in the same building, your teachers and tutors will very much be available to support you.
Computer Access
As a majority of students will now be taught online, it is very important that we know if you do not have a computer at home. If you do not have a computer you can work from in your home, please complete this survey in Moodle
https://moodle.croydon.ac.uk/mod/feedback/complete.php?id=223042&courseid
This really is important as it will allow us to make alternative arrangements for you to access your work, we have a small number of student laptops and we may be able to provide you with a laptop loan.
Assignment Submission
Please note also that during this period the college will accept handwritten copies of any assessments, posted to us or submitted to the front desk, clearly addressed to the relevant tutor.
Bursary Payments
Students who usually receive bursary payments will continue to do so and the requirements for attendance at college will be removed for the remainder of this term. We will top up the bursary with the monetary equivalent of four Free Meals each week for those students who are eligible. This will be reviewed for the summer term.
Updates
Your tutor and teachers will be able to provide you with updates on when the college campus will open its doors again. Please refer to the college website for updates and further information. On our website you can also find information on support groups for young people and their families.
It is with great sadness that we close out campus, but please do note that we will use our best endeavours to continue to support the education of our students. If you have any concerns, please contact your tutor in the first instance. If the matter is unresolved, then please do feel free to contact me on Principal@croydon.ac.uk. I very much look forward to welcoming all our students back to college as soon as possible, we will miss you.
Wishing you all the best in these troubling times
Caireen
Caireen Mitchell
Principal and CEO
Guidance for learning online from 23rd March 2020.
Teaching and student support staff will be uploading resources and materials relevant to current topics onto the college Moodle pages. Guidelines are set for teaching staff to ensure they are online at the same time as the lesson would have taken place for your young person in order to continue to support their education and students should navigate to the Moodle pages where they would normally upload work or submit assignments. Assignments at present are to be submitted in the usual manner. Please encourage your young person to check their college email address as this will be used for tutors to communicate work expectations to groups. Information given below outlines the following:
- How to access email from home
- How to access Moodle from home
- Instant messenger in Moodle for communicating to teachers
- Continuing learning and submitting work with no IT access.
How to access email from home:
For all instances of the college systems, students should navigate to the college website (www.croydon.ac.uk). From here scrolling to the bottom of the page will show the student email link. Clicking on this will then prompt for the usual login details for username (student ID) and password. These will be the same as if accessing college systems internally.
How to access Moodle from home:
The first stage in this process is navigating to the college website (www.croydon.ac.uk) and then there are two links for Moodle available. There is a link at the bottom of the page as shown I the image above. Alternatively, we have also placed a link at the top of the page in the website header.
From this point the usual login details of username (student ID) and password will remain the same.
Instant messenger in Moodle for communicating to teachers
The easiest day to communicate to teachers is via the Moodle pages. Within Moodle there is an instant messenger facility. This is situated at the top right once an individual has logged into Moodle. Through this facility, students will be able to contact their tutors and should be receiving a quick response to any queries. We are asking teaching staff and support staff to be sure that they are online during their normal teaching hours. The link to the instant messenger facility is shown in the first image below. If accessing via a smart enabled device such as a tablet or smart phone, there is a drop down menu next to the name/ID on top right and within this list, the messenger facility.
