Summer term update – message to learners 9.4.20

Dear learner

Thank you for being so patient with us while we have amended our courses and our activities in light of the Covid 19 situation.

I very much hope you and your families are keeping safe and well.  This is an anxious time and I would encourage everyone to continue to be kind, look out for your friends and neighbours and ask for help and support when you need it.  Even in difficult times it is clear there are lots of amazing people out there offering us all hope and support.

All the staff and tutors at Adult Learning have been amazing and working really hard to develop alternative arrangements to ensure the courses and services can continue where possible.

I am writing to you now to let you know our plans for the summer term courses.   We are pleased to say that the majority of our courses have been able to be adapted to online and remote learning.   A few courses could not be delivered in that way and will be cancelled.

Your curriculum organiser will be in touch shortly to let you know about arrangement for your specific course.

We know that the changed delivery style will be new to many of you and we appreciate that it is not the same as the face to face classroom contact you value so much.  However we do believe that we can continue to offer courses that will inspire you, increase your skills, allow you to engage with your fellow learners and have some fun along the way.

We know Adult Learning is really important to you, as it is to us, and we want to continue to deliver learning activities now and into the future.  Obviously the current situation represents a financial, as well as practical challenge for sustaining our service.

We can’t continue without you and your ongoing support, so I thank you again for the support you have shown us, and ask for your continued support over the coming months.  We would love you to stay with us, it will help us to secure the service for the future but if it really isn’t an option for you we of course understand.  We will honour refund requests for courses starting after easter but we ask you to consider, if you are able, turning your refund into a donation.

We don’t hold your card details so if you would like us to arrange a refund please email stokelodge@bristol.gov.uk  it would really help us if you could include your course code in the subject of the email.  Refunds can only be issued by staff on site and staff will call you to arrange a refund but please bear with us as we trying to keep the staff office time to a minimum to protect them and their families.

Bristol City Council has a Freephone Covid 19 support hotline – 0800 694 0184 available 8.30-5 Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays.  This hotline is to provide support for people with a wide range of needs, including obtaining food supplies, other essential items and medication.

All of us at Adult Learning are missing you all immensely.  Stay safe, look after yourselves and please ask for help where you need it.

Kindest regards

Jenny Wilkes

Team Leader – Adult Learning