College has found new ways of learning

As students resume their studies at the huge campus, things will look a little bit different

Students and staff at South Lanarkshire College are taking a new approach to learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is among further education establishments which returned across the country recently, but have had to adapt to new measures and guidelines including blended learning.

A number of practices have been put in place to ensure the safety of all those at the college in an academic year is very different to one ever experienced before.

The blended- learning approach involves a mixture of remote and classroom learning to meet the safety guidelines published by the Scottish Government.

To ensure the student experience remains positive, the college, with health and safety in mind, has adopted a wide range of measures, including absolute adherence to the Scottish Government’s FACTS approach – the wearing of face coverings in social spaces, avoiding crowded places, cleaning hands and hard surfaces regularly, maintaining two metres distance and self-isolating with any symptoms.

Other measures include changes to class layouts to allow physical distancing of two metres for staff and students and adapting some existing spaces, such as the library and bistro area to create additional learning space.

Perspex screens have also been utilised across the campus to create physical barriers and proximity sensors in corridors to open doors.

There are hand sanitisers at key places across the college and in every classroom, and everyone in the building must wear a face covering in social spaces.

Signage and floor markings are now in place and the number of people in the college building has been reduced, with staggered class times to reduce the pressure on key areas. And students are being encouraged to book appointments to access support services including counselling, financial advice or IT support.

College principal Aileen Mckechnie (right), said that staff had made a huge effort to make sure they were as ready as they could be to welcome back students.

She said: “Undoubtedly 2020 has already been quite the unprecedented year – and it’s not over yet.

“Despite the global pandemic, despite the extraordinary public health challenge that we all faced, here at South Lanarkshire College we remain a place of learning and teaching, adopting new approaches to how we worked, how we supported students and staff, how we taught and how we assessed.

“I’m confident that we have put the safety, health and wellbeing of everyone in the college community at the very forefront of our planning. We wish students every success.”

Student association president Gemma Mcclarence (far right) added: “We are engaging with those that are learning online and in the college building via class visits, social media posts and weekly emails.

“We are glad to have students back on campus and are proud that students have been adhering to the social distancing measures and have been respectful of the changes that we have made.”