News round up: Exeter College supporting the community during the lockdown

Over the last few months, we, as a college, community, and a nation, have experienced a lot of firsts. We’re proud to have stepped up to help, supporting people through these difficult times. Here’s our round up of the most popular stories on our website since the lockdown began. 

WE MOVED TO HOME AND ONLINE LEARNING 

Following the advice from Public Health England, the Government and the NHS, Exeter College sites closed for the majority of learners.

Although the Exeter College site closed, learning never stopped. Thanks to our expert staff, students’ exceptional education continued remotely. 

In a bid to offer further support, we provided our top tips on how to study at home, a guide on how to set up work and learning areas and our Health and wellbeing expert shared his advice on how to look after yourself during the lockdown. 

Find out more about our move to remote learning.

WE OFFERED ACCOMMODATION TO NHS WORKERS

Exeter College has opened the doors of its Clock Tower accommodation to NHS workers in need of a place to stay during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.  

“Staff at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital are working incredibly hard to save lives on the front line. As a community organisation, we felt it’s only right that we offer everything we can to help them and the NHS,”
– Kristyn Woodward, Exeter College Director of Student Experience.

Find out more.  

**WE LAUNCHED FLYING START FOR STUDENTS JOINING US IN SEPTEMBER**

We knew lots of students were keen to get a head start on their College subjects before joining us. So, we developed Flying Start; our suite of pre-enrolment learning content, getting students to think about their new subjects with us. 

“Flying Start provides some small introductory pieces of work, as well as some suggested background reading on subjects,”
– Jade Otty, Exeter College Vice Principal.

Access our Flying Start pre-enrolment work. 

Find out more about Flying Start. 

WE JOINED FORCES WITH PPE4EXETER

In Partnership with PPE4Exeter, a grassroots community project, Exeter College supported the production and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment for community-bases health and care workers.

We have helped PPE4Exeter provide local centres with safety glasses, face masks, gloves and face shields.

Find out more about our partnership with PPE4Exeter. 

WE LINKED UP WITH FOOD4HEROES TO PROVIDE MEALS TO NHS STAFF

We offered our state-of-the-art industrial kitchen facilities to Food4Heroes; a charity that provides free nutritious meals to frontline NHS staff during the Coronavirus pandemic.  

Exeter College’s @34 training kitchens are now in use, providing 200 nutritionally balanced, free meals to NHS staff at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital daily. 

Find out more. 

WE CAUGHT UP WITH OUR STUDENTS

We shared how our students were getting on with their remote learning.

“Despite all the uncertainty with the current situation, the transition to home learning has been smooth. It has been good to have some continuity and a reason to force some structure into what could be empty days,”
– Tom Matthew, FE Student Governor.

We also got in touch with Madeline Crow, an Exeter College student who ended her studies early to join the NHS front line staff in the fight against coronavirus.

Find out more about how our students have found remote learning.

WE MOVED OUR OPEN EVENTS ONLINE

We wanted to offer people the chance to discover everything our Ofsted Outstanding further education provider has to offer, from the comfort of their own home.

With our Apprenticeship Online Open Event and our Online Showcase being a success, we will soon be rolling out our Adult Online Open Event for anyone who wants to learn a new skill or further their career.

Applications are open now to study at Ofsted Outstanding Exeter College in September 2020.

Exeter College links up with Food4Heroes to provide meals for NHS staff

Exeter College has offered its state-of-the-art industrial kitchen facilities to Food4Heroes; a charity that provides free nutritious meals to frontline NHS staff during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The College’s @34 training kitchens will now be in use, providing nutritionally balanced, free meals to NHS staff. These meals will include a vegetarian and a meat option and allergens will be listed on the dishes provided. Meals distributed to Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital will be in microwavable containers for NHS staff to take home.

Food4Heroes launched in response to the Coronavirus crisis when footage emerged of NHS workers finishing long shifts and finding limited stocks available in their local supermarket. Since then, Food4Heroes has worked around the country with NHS Trusts to set up initiatives to support frontline NHS staff with nutritious microwaveable meals.

The @34 kitchens have the facilities to provide up to 200 meals a day, and Food4Heroes will be working with the NHS Trust to make sure they’re producing the correct volume of food to meet demand. Food4Heroes will also be working with other local, certified suppliers with a minimum 4* food hygiene rating to support catering, if required.

How you can help

For the Exeter College kitchen to operate successfully as part of this effort, Food4Heroes is now looking for volunteers with a minimum of a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate to help prepare the food in the kitchen. Ideally, chefs would be able to commit to producing two meals a week. However, this could alter depending on how many volunteers and businesses come forward to support Food4Heroes.

Details and support for chefs will be available once the process is finalised.

To help with Food4Heroes at Exeter College, contact Steve Tipping on steve@food4heroes.co.uk for further details.

Donate to Food4Heroes

To keep this free for all frontline NHS staff, Food4Heroes is seeking donations to cover the costs of ingredients, travel and other unavoidable expenses. Donations can be made to specific regions, ensuring that local money is spent on local NHS support. You can find additional details on the Food4Heroes website. Donations for the South West are being raised on Crowdfunder here.

Supporting the NHS

Exeter College is helping to support those working in the NHS with PPE equipment distributed from the College’s Maths and Science Centre. The production of face shields is also underway in association with PPE4Exeter, a community organisation leading on the creation and distribution of vital PPE equipment to community-based health and care workers.

Accommodation is also available for NHS staff to use at the College’s Clock Tower Boarding House.