The much-heralded roadmap to the ending of lockdown arrived today in the form of a 60 page document. It is heavy on caveats but very clear that the "only feasible long-term solution lies with a vaccine or drug-based treatment". Until we achieve that, the roadmap sets out steps and phases during which social distancing and self-isolation will continue, suggesting that it is some way off before we can simply revert to the way we lived before the pandemic arrived – if, indeed, we ever will be able to.

As is commonly the way, there is more focus on schools than on colleges or universities. That’s understandable, given that schools cater to around 8.8 million pupils, all with parents and carers invested in their wellbeing. Of course, schools play a central part in looking after children, in loco parentis, whilst the adults go to work and do other important things.   

With over 2.2 million students, colleges occupy politicians’ thinking a little less on this, in part because the numbers are smaller, but also because colleges are not childminding in the same way. Nevertheless, colleges have been doing a lot of thinking about what the end of lockdown will mean for them. Not only thinking, but planning and sharing, too.

At the Association of Colleges, we’ve set up a lively and focused working group which is engaging officials from the Department for Education and trying to help colleges develop their own road maps through the next six to 12 months. An early task will be to discuss the feasibility of the government’s aim that students in Year 12 have some face to face contact before the summer holidays.

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'No one-size will fit all'

The starting point for every college is to imagine the possible scenarios. There’s never any right or wrong at this point, but my experience is that some people are simply better at imagining than others, and it’s important to foster diverse thinking. Diverse inputs help, of course, so at AoC, where we have a much more straightforward set of challenges on this, I’m aiming to engage all our staff in the coming weeks through an internal consultation and discussion about the options. For us as a whole organisation as well as for every individual person, depending on circumstances, hopes and fears. No one-size will fit all on this.

Colleges won’t be able to go quite that far given the numbers of staff and students and anyway, their challenges are much more difficult than ours at AoC. Every college will use their own governance and communications approach to engage with staff and students and it’s great to see the diverse group of leaders we have assembled, with staff unions involved on the subgroups, engaging in the work as well.

We’re not aiming at offering any of our guidance, but we can set out some of the principles nationally and develop a framework which will support colleges to consider all the issues. Sharing the thinking, ideas and solutions across colleges will result in better outcomes for students and staff. There’s a lot to cover, with five initial areas of focus:

1. Re-opening the estate, including looking at how to deliver social distancing in common spaces, for particular campuses, the logistics of students travelling to college.
2. Ensuring the return to work is safe for staff, including guidance on those who may need to continue shielding and working with union representatives to agree common principles.
3. Additional costs, including for colleges running smaller cohorts and additional transport due to social distancing, PPE, IT equipment for disadvantaged learners and estate modifications.
4. The online start to next year, including online enrolment, open days, inductions, data sharing with schools and broader systems such as online bursary applications.
5. Curriculum offer, how this can be adapted to enable the required social and educational integration for those who have been isolated for months and what funding or assessment rules might need changing to allow colleges to deliver.

A blended approach to learning

I’ve been struck, above all else, by how pragmatic and forward-looking colleges are about this. Unflinchingly, they have pulled up their sleeves and got on with it, with an unwavering eye on how they can support their students to have the best possible experience in such unusual times. They will continue to use a risk-based approach to look out for vulnerable young people and to help inform decisions about which learners might need face to face teaching first. They want to help learners with assessment still pending (license to practice etc.) and those who are newly enrolled through what can be in normal times an exciting but daunting transition to college.

It’s early days to be certain about much, but across the college network in England we are likely to see a more blended approach to learning with some online and some face to face. That might even require colleges to start earlier or later for some, and perhaps even weekend openings to ensure that staff and students can feel and be safe when they return. Inevitably, these approaches will need careful negotiation and discussions with staff, their unions and students. They will also need everyone to remain flexible and support the end goal of helping students to benefit from their time in college despite the difficulties.

That means we are moving into a "new normal" future which will have some things we don’t like, but in some other ways, we might find things work better for the diversity of learners who colleges serve.  

David Hughes is chief executive of the Association of Colleges.