St Vincent College principal concerned for youngsters after axing of open evenings

Autumn is normally an important time of year for schools and colleges to open their doors to prospective students to make decisions about their future. However the county’s colleges and schools have been asked by Hampshire County Council not to host open evenings due to being in conflict with the government’s rule of six directive. While educational settings are exempt from this ruling, college leaders have been informed this does ‘not extend to open evenings and parents’ evenings’.

St Vincent College principal, Andy Grant, said this ‘contradicted the message received from the Sixth Form Colleges Association the previous week’.

Mr Grant added: ‘The council’s health board has deemed open evenings are not covered as, despite being of educational value, they bring in people from outside the organisation.’

With the college’s open evening scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, the college principal is concerned this could lead to youngsters not making an informed decision.

‘We understand the directive but are disappointed by it. The best way to find out about a college or school is to visit it and to speak to staff and ask questions. It also allows young people to see the facilities and get a feel for the culture of that place. Without that experience it’s difficult to make an informed decision and some students may end up choosing the wrong course or college,’ said Mr Grant.

The college had already previously cancelled its May open evening and college leaders also believe the decision will have a detrimental impact on the uptake of adult education courses.

Mr Grant is also concerned about the financial ramifications and impact on courses a drop in student numbers could have.

He added: ‘A drop in uptake will have a financial impact on any college and this has been compounded by the additional expense of mitigating the risk of Covid – all of which has been from existing budgets.

‘All courses have a threshold by which they can run and so any shortfall will potentially impact on courses offered.’

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The college has decided to take its open evening online where potential students can take a virtual tour of facilities, watch presentations and ask questions via the interactive chat room. The virtual events take can be accessed via the college website between October 13 and 15 and prospective students can also arrange a small independent tour.

Portsmouth City Council has confirmed they too have advised schools not to host open evenings.

Cabinet member for education, Suzy Horton, said: ‘After taking advice from Public Health England we’ve advised schools not to host open evenings as they do not comply with the rule of six.’

Portsmouth College also decided to host virtual open evenings on October 6 and 7 via the college’s website.

Principal Simon Barrable said: ‘I understand concerns about students making informed decisions but given we would have upwards of 2,000 people through our doors, we just couldn't run these safely if we did them face to face. We have to make sure our staff, students and prospective students are safe.

‘We’ve a strong virtual offering including live question and answer sessions. We will still do our interviews face to face, as these can be done safely in small numbers, with face coverings and social distancing.’

The open evening guidance will also apply to prospective Year 6 pupils and parents looking at transition into secondary school.

Cllr Roz Chadd, the county council’s executive member for education and skills, said: ‘Following careful consideration of the national guidance on social distancing, the current Covid infection rates across Hampshire, as well as the significant efforts of schools and colleges to “protect” school year bubbles to minimise the spread of the virus, our county’s public health team has advised that events such as open days and evenings should not take place this term.

‘The health and wellbeing of students and staff is the primary consideration and in the face of a virus that transmits quickly from person to person, allowing large numbers of external visitors onto school premises, could pose significant risks to the health and wellbeing of a school’s population.

‘While we understand this may be disappointing, we are asking our schools and colleges to find creative ways to deliver events digitally – for example virtual tours, webinars, recorded performances/services and more, and we will support them in any way we can with these endeavours.’

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