Update: 27th January 2022
Important Update to Face Coverings

Face Coverings

In line with Government guidance, from 27th January 2022, face coverings are no longer mandatory in social spaces and corridors at College.

We do however recommend that you continue to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces where you are unable to remain socially distanced.

Home Testing

Please continue to test twice weekly before attending College to protect yourself, your family and our College community. Lateral Flow Testing kits can be collected from any reception desk and libraries across all campuses.

Report your LFT results (negative, positive, void) via the Government website here. If your test result is positive, please notify the College immediately and follow the self-isolation guidance below.

Self-Isolation

Students should not attend College if they have Covid-19 symptoms and/or have a positive test result. Please follow the self-isolation guidance, which can be found here.

Vaccines

Vaccines remain the best defence against COVID-19; helping to protect young people and adults and those around them from severe illness. Vaccination also makes people less likely to catch the virus and pass it on. All eligible students are therefore encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccine, including boosters.

Update: 20th January 2022
Important Update to Face Coverings and Self-Isolation

Face Coverings

In line with the recent Government announcement, from 20th January 2022, students are no longer required to wear a face covering in classrooms and workshops, however, it is still compulsory to wear a face covering in social spaces and corridors.

Testing

Please continue to test twice weekly before attending College to protect yourself, your family and our College community. Lateral Flow Testing kits can be collected from any reception desk and libraries across all campuses.

Report your LFT results (negative, positive, void) via the Government website here. If your test result is positive, please notify the College immediately and follow the self-isolation guidance below.

Self-Isolation

Students should not attend College if they have Covid-19 symptoms and/or have a positive test result. Please follow the self-isolation guidance, which can be found here.

Vaccines

Vaccines remain the best defence against COVID-19; helping to protect young people and adults and those around them from severe illness. Vaccination also makes people less likely to catch the virus and pass it on. All eligible students are therefore encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccine, including boosters.

Update: 4th January 2022
Important Update to Face Covering Guidance

Dear students,

On 2nd January 2022, the Government issued guidance which stated that face coverings should now also be worn in classrooms and workshops at College, in addition to being worn in corridors and social spaces. If you are exempt from wearing a face covering, please collect an exemption card from any of the main reception areas across all campuses. This guidance will be reviewed on 26th January 2022.

Please don’t forget to complete a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) in the evening or morning before you return to College and then continue to test twice weekly using lateral flow device (LFD) tests, which are available to collect from reception desks and libraries at all campuses.

Thank you for your support.

Update: 17th December 2021
Letter from the Principal

Please see end of term letters below from the College Principal including important information regarding the Christmas closure and re-opening periods:

• 17th December - Message from the Principal - Student Letter
• 17th December - Message from the Principal - Parent Letter
• College Highlights 2021

Update: 29th November 2021
COVID-19 Measures Following Recent Government Guidance

Following the recent announcement by the Prime Minister on the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, the College has now received new guidance from the Department for Education that reintroduces some temporary measures to help slow down the spread of the new virus strain.

From Tuesday 30th November, face coverings will once again be mandatory for all staff, students, apprentices, and visitors across all our College campuses in communal and public spaces.

The College does currently have a small supply of face coverings and will be issuing them in reception areas; however, we would strongly encourage you to obtain your own.

Students and apprentices should also wear a face covering when travelling on public transport.

In addition to face coverings, in order to further help protect our College community, please continue to test weekly using lateral flow device (LFD) tests, which are available from the libraries at the St Helens Town Centre Campus, Knowsley Main Campus and STEM Centre Campus and from reception at the IAMTech and Kirkby Campuses.

Vaccines remain the best defence against COVID-19; helping to protect young people and adults and those around them from severe illness. Vaccination also makes people less likely to catch the virus and pass it on. All eligible students are therefore encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccine, including boosters.

The safety of students and staff remains our principal concern. We hope that these new measures will only be a short-term intervention, but it is important that we take them seriously to help slow the spread of this new variant.

Thank you for your continued support in helping to keep us all safe and well.

Update: 27th September 2021
16 and 17-year-olds: You can now book your COVID-19 vaccine online!

The Department of Health and Social Care announced on Friday 24 September that all 16 and 17 year olds can now book their first COVID-19 vaccination appointment online.

Young people aged 16 and 17 can:

• book their COVID-19 vaccination appointments online for an appointment at a vaccination centre or pharmacy
• find a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site to get vaccinated without needing an appointment

If students cannot book appointments online, they can call 119 free of charge. They can speak to a translator if they need to. Further information can be found on the NHS website.

Update: 18th June 2021
Reintroduction of Face Coverings in Classrooms and Workspaces for Students

As you may be aware, there has been a significant rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases in both St Helens and the North West in recent weeks, with many being linked to the Delta variant.

The Liverpool City Region, which includes St Helens has been designated as an Enhanced Response Area, as Infection rates are rising rapidly. Many of the new reported cases are amongst young people and children, and evidence from Public Health England and others indicates that this rise will continue.

With the new Delta variant believed to be up to 60 per cent more transmissible, the wearing of face coverings in communal spaces and in classrooms remains crucially important. As a result, we are strongly recommending the wearing of face coverings in classrooms and work spaces, as well as in communal spaces on campus.

You may find the leaflet below useful with information on how you can get the vaccination locally.

• Tap/click here to access the recent Local COVID-19 Measures Leaflet

Update: 14th May 2021
Government's Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions

You will be aware of the Government’s announcements on Monday 10th May 2021 regarding the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions in line with step 3 of the ‘Roadmap’ out of lockdown. These new changes take effect from Monday 17th May with specific changes for educational settings.

The College has carefully considered the changes to the DfE operational guidance for colleges, and from Monday 17th May, the following changes will come into effect:

• Students will not be required to wear face coverings in classrooms and workshops, but can continue to do so if they choose to;
• Students will still be required to wear face coverings elsewhere in College; and,
• The College is recommending that all staff will continue to wear suitable face coverings where they are unable to maintain social distance, including in classrooms and workshops and in social areas and communal spaces.

Study programme students will remain in their bubbles with staggered starts and end times; adult students will continue with their existing blended learning timetables.

The College will review these arrangements at half-term (31st May - 4th June) and in the light of any new guidance from Government.

This is a critical time of the year for many of our students as the June deadline for submission of teacher assessed grades is fast approaching. The College is committed to mitigating any further disruption to your studies, and it is therefore critical that we remain vigilant if we are to avoid major disruption to your studies so close to the end of the academic year.

The College is concerned about the apparent low take-up of testing from students. Whilst we appreciate that you may be testing and not reporting this to the College, the number of students reporting testing results remains low.

Whilst the College cannot mandate testing, we would still strongly encourage all our students to test twice per week to protect your families, your friends and our College community.

We want to understand the barriers to testing and would like to ask that you please take part in the short survey that was issued earlier this week: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8FXYMR2

Update: 6th May 2021
Summer Assessment Arrangements 2021

• Teacher assessed grades (TAGs) are awarded based on marked work from your course. They are an indication of your evidence of achievement and are not a prediction.
• Not all courses will be assessed by TAGs. Your subject tutors will tell you if your course includes assessment using TAGs.
• Your subject tutors will inform you which pieces of work are being used to determine TAGs. This will be a range of your work from this academic year 2020-21.
• Your work will be marked and assessed, and the grades will then go through a moderation process to ensure they are fair, accurate and robust.
• You will be told which pieces of work are being used for the TAG but we are not permitted to inform you of your TAG until results day.
• Results days are 10th August for Level 3 qualifications (including A-Levels), and 12th August for Level 1 & 2 qualifications (including GCSE). More information about the distribution of results will provided by your tutors in due course.
• If you have any queries after you receive your TAG, you will need to see your subject tutor in the first instance. You will also have the right of appeal by submission of an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Please also see the copy of the ‘JCQ Guidance for students, parents and guardians’ regarding Summer Assessment 2021, upon which our procedures are based. Please note that whilst this document focuses on A Level and GCSE courses, the same principles apply to our vocational qualifications.

Tap/click here to view the JCQ Guidance for students, parents and guardians: GCSEs and AS/A Levels in England - Summer 2021.

Update: 16th April 2021
Cluster of COVID-19 Cases in Young People

St Helens Borough Council has recently issued a letter regarding a recent increase of COVID-19 cases, predominantly in school aged children and their families. Please take the time to read the below letter:

Update: 31st March 2021
Return to full face-to-face teaching for all 16-18-year-old students

From week commencing 19th April 2021, all level 3 students aged 16 -18, that have still been following a split teaching model of remote and on-site delivery will return to full-time on-site face-to-face delivery.

Your Tutors will communicate this with you personally, and share any relevant information. Should you have any questions about this, please speak to your Tutors directly.

Update: 30th March 2021
Additional Home Testing Kits

All 16-18 students will be able to collect two additional test kits in their weekly tutorial or from their Progress Coach this week.

All adult students, higher education students and apprentices can collect two additional kits from the College libraries or their Tutor.

The kits received should ensure that students can continue to test twice a week at home throughout the Easter break.

It’s important that students continue to report positive, negative or void results on both the Government reporting portal and the College reporting portal:

• Government Website - www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result
• College Form - Report Your Home Test Result

Update: 22nd March 2021
Home Testing

Following the successful roll-out of our on-site COVID-19 testing programme, with over 3,000 tests administered since 12th March, St Helens College and Knowsley Community College has welcomed the safe return of staff and students to their campuses. As the next phase of the testing programme is for students to self-test at home, we are now ready to distribute the home testing kits.

Collecting Your Home Testing Kits

As mass on-site testing comes to an end, students now need to collect their testing kits from Monday 22nd March. It is advised that students should continue to test themselves twice per week, 3-4 days apart, before coming into College, in order to continue to reduce the spread of the virus and keep our College and wider community as safe as possible.

16-18-Year-Old Students

Home test kits will be made available to you in your weekly tutorial.

Adults, Apprentices and Higher Education Students

Home test kits are available for collection from the following locations:

IAMTech Campus
Home test kits are available for collection from reception.

Kirkby Campus
Home test kits are available for collection from tutors.

The home testing kits contain easy to follow instructions to help you complete a test, and you may find the videos below useful:

• Lateral Flow Home Test Guide Video
• Your Step-by-Step Guide for COVID-19 Self-Testing

Recording Your Results

It is important that students record their test result whether it is negative or positive, via the Government website and College form. Please see links below:

• Government Website - www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result
• College Form - Report Your Home Test Result

A negative result does not guarantee that you are not carrying the virus. Therefore, you should continue to follow social distancing and other measures to reduce transmission such as wearing a face mask, regularly washing your hands and observing social distancing.

If you test positive or anyone in your household/support bubble tests positive, you should self-isolate immediately for 10 days, in line with NHS Test and Trace guidance. You will also need to order a confirmatory PCR test and report your result to both NHS Test and Trace and the College.

On-Site Campus Test Centres

The College will continue to offer ALL students the opportunity to have 3 tests on campus up until Wednesday 31st March 2021 and bookings can be made via the following Eventbrite link:

• Book Your College Lateral Flow Test

After the Easter break, we will maintain two small test centres for those who are unable to perform tests at home.

Student Support

As always, we are here to support you, so should you have any personal concerns about home testing, please raise this with your Tutor or contact our Safeguarding and Wellbeing Team:

• Jeanine Williams
  Safeguarding & Wellbeing Manager
  07545103527 / 01744 623842 / 0151 477 5869
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  
  
• Jackie Campbell
  Safeguarding & Wellbeing Officer
  07540672819 / 0151 477 5869 / 01744 623379
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• Susan Littler
  Safeguarding & Wellbeing Officer
  07814667808 / 01744 623379 / 0151 477 5869
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• Paul Johnson
  Chaplain
  07768745991 / 01744 623336 / 0151 477 5869
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Thank you again for your support. Stay safe and well.

Simon Pierce,
Principal

Exam Results Update: 8th March 2021

• AS and A level Results - Tuesday 10th August 2021
• GCSE Results - Thursday 12th August 2021

More information regarding how you will be able to collect your results, will be provided closer to the time.

Returning to Campus Update: 4th March 2021

Dear Students/ Parents/ Carers,

You will be aware that the Government has now confirmed that schools and colleges can return to face-to-face learning from Monday 8th March. We are delighted by this news and very much look forward to welcoming students back to campus over the coming weeks.

We are required to test returning students for Covid-19 before they join face-to-face classes, and to facilitate the testing process we will be phasing the return of students to campus over the next one to two weeks.

• Younger students aged 16-18 and those aged 19-24 with an EHCP will return to onsite classes from Tuesday 9 March. Until then they should continue to learn remotely.
• Vulnerable students who have already been attending College on Mondays can attend on Monday 8 March.
• Face-to-face classes for adult students are not expected to start until at least week commencing 15 March, however, current arrangements and remote learning will continue until then. We will confirm the return dates for adults in the coming days.
• Exceptionally, practical Higher Education classes can recommence from 9 March and those students will be informed directly by their tutors of the arrangements and will be invited to book a covid testing slot.
• All other Higher Education classes are likely to remain remote until at least after the Easter Break.

COVID-19 Testing Arrangements

We know that younger people may be infected with COVID-19 but not have any symptoms of the disease. This means that they can pass on the virus to their friends and families without knowing that they are infected.

By testing regularly, we can identify 'asymptomatic' students who can then self-isolate at home until it is safe for them to return to College. I trust that you will agree that this will help us to stop the spread of the disease at College and in our communities.

We strongly encourage all our students to be tested before returning to campus and to continue to test themselves regularly at home.  The College has set up testing facilities on all four campuses for students to access, and students will be able to undertake 3 'lateral flow tests' (LFT) in their first two to three weeks back on campus with a period of 3-5 days between each test.  Following this initial period, home testing kits will be provided for students to test themselves twice per week.  We will also retain a small testing facility on our College campuses to test any students who are unable to administer their own tests at home.

Consent for Testing

Students who are over 18 can give their own consent for testing and students who are aged 16 or 17 must have discussed testing with their parent or guardian. The booking process will ask students to confirm they have discussed testing with their parents before they will be able to book a test.

No students will be tested without their consent.

Further information for parents and carers can be found in the our latest Parent/Carer letter available here.

COVID-19 Update: 24th February 2021

The Government has now confirmed that schools and colleges can return to face-to-face learning from 8th March. We are delighted by this news and very much look forward to welcoming our students back to campus.

Schools and colleges are required to test returning students for Covid-19 and we therefore expect that students' return to College will be phased over the first two to three weeks to enable this to happen. We would strongly encourage you to be tested regularly to help protect the College community and your families; however, you will not be tested without providing consent.

We will provide you with more details about the testing processes and your specific return dates once we have completed our planning. It is likely that some adult programmes and higher education courses will continue with remote learning for a short period of time.

Until then, all students should continue to access their classes remotely as per their timetables. Vulnerable students and students whose parents are key workers, who have been attending College during the lockdown, should continue to do so.

The College will operate much as it did before the lockdown, but with some important changes. Until the Easter holidays, face coverings will now be mandatory in all classrooms and communal areas. Students who are exempt should continue to carry and display their exemption cards.

We will update this page as soon as we have more detailed information to share with you. Please keep checking the College website and your email accounts for the latest updates.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your tutors – we’re here to help. Meanwhile, please remember that the national restrictions remain in place and keep yourselves safe and well.

COVID-19 Update: 6th January 2021

Following the Government’s announcement of a national lockdown on 4th January, the College will now deliver all lessons online to all students and apprentices, apart from vulnerable students and students whose parents/carers are critical workers.

Vulnerable Students and Students Whose Parents/Carers Are Critical Workers

From Tuesday 5th January 2021, all vulnerable students can continue to learn in College with support from College staff and we would encourage them to attend.

Students who have already been identified as vulnerable have been contacted by their Tutors to discuss their timetables. If you consider yourself to be a vulnerable student and have not been contacted, please contact your Tutor.

The College can also offer learning in College to students whose parents/carers are critical workers. Should you wish to discuss this option, please contact your Tutor.

January 2021 External Exams and Assessments

Given the rising rates of COVID infections and the restrictions associated with the national lockdown, it is with regret that the College must now take the decision to cancel all BTEC and the majority of other exams planned for the next three weeks.

This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, and we realise that this may be disappointing for students who have put a lot of hard work into preparing for their exams. However, our number one priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of students and staff, many of whom travel to the College using public transport. We have therefore decided not to proceed with the vocational examinations at this time.

We would like to apologise for the late communication of this message. You will appreciate that the Government has only recently announced its position on January exams and we have been reviewing our approach as the guidance emerged.

Pearson have already confirmed that no students will be disadvantaged as a result of not sitting their exams in January. The awarding organisation are working with DfE and Ofqual on the details of how this will work and we will keep you informed as this information becomes available.

Should you have any questions or concerns about your examinations, please contact your Tutor.

College Transport

For students attending face-to-face lessons, bus passes can be issued to support with transportation to college. If you are a student having online lessons, and would normally receive a bus pass at the start of this term, bus passes will be re-issued when the College re-opens.

Support for Students

If you are having difficulty accessing learning from home, please contact your Tutor for support. Alternatively, visit this page for more information on how to access learning platforms and kit/equipment: www.sthelens.ac.uk/home-access.

The College is committed to supporting all our students who currently receive support with college meals. In order to receive support with meals during this lockdown, if you have not yet provided the evidence required to support your bursary claim, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We understand that you may be feeling worried and anxious at this time, but our Personal Tutors and Safeguarding and Wellbeing Team are available to offer you support and guidance.

Please speak to your Personal Tutor, or a member of the Safeguarding and Wellbeing Team if you have any concerns.

• Jeanine Williams
  Safeguarding & Wellbeing Manager
  07545103527 / 01744 623842 / 0151 477 5869
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  
  
• Jackie Campbell
  Safeguarding & Wellbeing Officer
  07540672819 / 0151 477 5869 / 01744 623379
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  
  
• Michelle Matthews
  Safeguarding & Wellbeing Officer
  07814667808 / 01744 623379 / 0151 477 5869
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• Paul Johnson
  Chaplain
  07768745991 / 01744 623336 / 0151 477 5869
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tap to view some useful support resources

Managing and Reporting COVID-19 Symptoms

If you are attending College for face-to-face lessons and experience any symptoms of COVID-19 (a new, continuous cough, high temperature or loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell), we will send you home immediately to self-isolate, in line with Government guidance.

All cases of COVID-19 symptoms while on campus, or having recently been on campus, must be reported to your Tutor immediately.

We encourage students experiencing symptoms to access testing facilities as soon as possible. Please let us know if you are being tested and report the outcome to your Tutor.

Reporting Absence

If you are going to be absent from face-to-face lessons or online lessons, for whatever reason, it is important that you let us know before 8.45am. You can do this by calling us on 01744 623154, emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or clicking/tapping the absence reporting button below.

Tap/click here to Report Absence

Keeping you Informed

Communications will continue to be directed to students' College email accounts. It is therefore essential that you check your College email account frequently.

We will update this page regularly, so please refer back to it for the most up to date information.

Information for Parents and Carers

If you are a parent/carer, please visit the below page for all of the latest updates and information regarding your son or daughter’s progress at College.

Information for Parents and Carers