FAQs

As an apprentice your contract of employment is with the business for whom you work. You should therefore follow the policies and procedures of the company for which you work. If you attend College on day release or through block placement your face to face delivery will move online. If you feel you have not had clear guidelines from your employer or if your employer is stating, they can no longer retain you as an apprentice please contact your assessor or the manager for your sector. Key contact numbers can be found at the end of this document.

Your learning and assessment will continue online through Smart Assessor and Microsoft Teams. Smart Assessor is your online portfolio and record whilst Microsoft Teams is used for the delivery on learning sessions. Your assessor will set work, arrange reviews, deliver knowledge and skills through these platforms. Day release and block release teachers will use Microsoft Teams to deliver sessions, provide feedback and set tasks.

To access Smart Assessor either go through Microsoft Teams or visit the Smart Assessor website direct. To access the Microsoft Teams site for your apprenticeship you will need to login to your College Office 365 account. Full details and guidance on how to do this can be found at the end of this update document.

Motor vehicle apprentices are required to use the IMI e-portfolio instead of Smart Assessor.

If the College is open and you are required to self-isolate, you should complete the actions set by your assessor on SMART Assessor and through Microsoft Teams.

Your assessor and/or teachers will be setting work for you to complete through your class site on Microsoft Teams. Your assessor and/or teachers will be online during your normal timetabled sessions where they will set work, provide feedback and deliver online sessions and tutorials. You should, as a minimum, login during your normal timetabled hours and complete any work set or participate in any online learning activities. Assessing and/or teaching staff will be online as per their normal working pattern. You should familiarise yourself with Microsoft Teams and use the supporting guidance at the end of this document to help you do this.

Whilst key College wide notifications will be posted on the College website all key course or subject information and guidance will be made available in Smart Assessor and Microsoft Teams.

If the College is open and you are required to self-isolate, you can access work through Smart Assessor and Microsoft Teams. You can also email and contact your tutor for guidance over the phone.

Smart Assessor and Office 365 can be accessed through a smart phone, tablet or computer where there is access to the internet. If you attend College on day release course or for a functional skills class, we can provide you with hard copies of work. This work can be collected from your home campus during the closure period.

If you are asked to work from home by your employer, they have a responsibility to provide you with the equipment required to do this.

If you have any concerns or are unclear on what to do please contact your assessor in the first instance or one of the key contacts for apprenticeships. A list of key contacts is provided at the end of this document.

If the College is open and you are required to self-isolate please contact your assessor by email or phone and they will arrange for hard copies of work to be sent out to you by post.

Managers will have access to Smart Assessor and all Microsoft Team sites and will be monitoring that teaching, learning and assessment is taking place. You will be able to contact them through the Microsoft Teams site or through the key contacts outlined at the end of this document.

If you are required to self-isolate, please contact the Apprenticeship Delivery Manager if you have any concerns regarding the quality of support you are receiving.

Day release and block release: all teachers are required to provide a mini plan for learning that covers a four-week period. You should refer to this plan and complete the learning activities and assessments that have been set. You will receive a notification from the tutor if they will not be online because they are unwell with guidance on what they expect you to do. If you are still concerned about your progress you should contact the manager through the contacts in Microsoft Teams and they will get in touch with you to discuss your concerns and address any support needs, you might have.

If your assessor falls ill and is unable to support you, you will be allocated another assessor temporarily that you can contact for information, advice and guidance. Your new assessor will have access to your Smart Assessor portfolio and will be able to assess any work you submit. They may also undertake formal progress reviews with you until your usual assessor returns to work.

Day release / block release / skills activity in the workplace: this will be dependent on the period of closure. In a short term closure the assessing and teaching teams will prioritise any written assignments or theory-based work that needs to be completed. If the closure period is for an extended period, we will discuss this with you and your employer. In these circumstances we may need to organise assessment days or additional learning activities in your place of work. In exceptional circumstances we may need to defer learning until such time that we can complete the learning activities necessary for you to successfully achieve your apprenticeship. A ‘break in learning’ will only be initiated as a last resort.

If the College is open and you are self-isolating, then any internal practical assessments will be re-scheduled for when you return to college.

This will be the same process as is outlined in the response above.

The College does not yet know how the government interventions will impact the availability and organisation of End Point Assessments (EPA) for apprentices. The College will be working with End Point Assessment Organisations to review the impact on apprentices who are due to complete in the coming months. The College will be in regular communication with employers and apprentices for whom this could be an issue. The College will endeavour to provide opportunities for apprentices to complete functional skills assessments at one of its campuses on specific days during any closure period.

In the event that the College is closed these services will be available remotely through the usual contact numbers and emails during the normal working hours of the College. Out of hours services will remain the same and information on these and all other student support services can be found on the student homepage of Share Point or in the resources tile in Smart Assessor.

If the College is open and you are self- isolating these services can be contacted by phone or email on the usual numbers. All contact numbers are available on the student homepage of Share Point and on the contacts page in this document.

Additional learning support and specialist learning support will be in contact with you in the event of a College closure to outline how they can support you with the completion of any learning that you are required to access online. The contact details for the apprenticeship ALS Co-ordinator is provided in the key contacts section at the end of this document.