Scottish colleges are not going to restart face-to-face teaching until next academic year, Tes understands.

The country’s further education institutions closed their campuses in March due to the breakout of the coronavirus, although they have supported learners remotely and some have continued to operate some services.

But while colleges in England have been told to prepare to reopen to more students from 1 June "at the earliest", a Scottish government spokesperson told Tes that the sector was working on plans for a commencement of some face-to-face teaching after the summer.

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'An anxious time'

“We recognise this is an anxious time for students and we will be working closely with colleges, staff and student bodies on plans for colleges to resume in the new academic year,” the spokesperson said. “The Scottish government’s Framework for Decision Making sets out our approach and the principles that will guide us on the way forward. This makes clear that we will proceed on the basis of the public health evidence.

“In recognition of the financial pressures on students, including reduced employment options, the emergency funds made available to universities and colleges can be used to support continuing students over summer.”

Scotland’s colleges are already nearing the end of their academic year. One college leader told Tes that institutions were now looking at a variety of options post-summer. These, depending on public health advice closer to the time, included a blended approach of face-to-face learning for some and continued remote learning for others, but an extension of campus closures was also still possible, the leader said.

Meanwhile, more details on how schools could reopen are likely to be revealed on Thursday.

Following the coronavirus lockdown and the cancellation of this year's exams, it was announced that most students will be assessed by their teachers on the basis of their work so far. According to Colleges Scotland, the adapted quality assurance of qualifications is centred on “flexibility in assessment and professional evaluation based on holistic assessment, course team decisions and other relevant evidence, such as learners’ progress and previous achievements”.

Speaking at a Ucas session for prospective students considering higher education in Scotland recently, Dundee and Angus College principal Grant Ritchie said the sector was working with universities and schools to ensure that the first weeks of the new academic year allowed students to catch up with content that would have traditionally been covered in the time now disrupted by the coronavirus lockdown.

Last month, the Scottish government announced a £5 million package of support for college and university students facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This includes an additional £2.2 million for Scotland’s Higher Education Discretionary Fund to address Covid-19-related hardships, which will be available to colleges and universities immediately. College students and their peers at university will be able to apply for any emergency discretionary payments directly to their own institutions. According to the government, £2 million emergency student funding has been forwarded by the Scottish Funding Council from FE student support budgets for immediate use.

A Colleges Scotland spokesperson said: “Face-to-face teaching was suspended in March across all college sites in line with Scottish government Covid-19 lockdown advice, but colleges very much remain open and quickly moved to delivering online and remote learning and teaching.

“Recruitment and application processes for the next academic year in the college sector are already underway, and a college forum has been established to examine what the next academic year will look like for learners and staff as well as for online delivery and curriculum development.

“We will continue to be guided by the latest public health advice – as the overarching priority is the safety and wellbeing of students and staff in the sector – and it is likely that there shall be elements of a blended approach to learning comprising onsite and digital components, but that depends on the timing and specific nature of current restrictions being eased.”