Ayrshire College supports the community during the Coronavirus crisis
Ayrshire College has taken a range of proactive measures to support its partners, its local communities and its students during the Coronavirus emergency.
The College has donated hand sanitiser, and supplies of PPE equipment including masks, gloves and aprons to local community partners to help them through the Coronavirus emergency.
The College had purchased additional supplies for staff and students as the Coronavirus spread accelerated last month. But after deciding to close its campuses, the College contacted local partners offering them these supplies to help protect their service users and frontline staff.
The College was also approached to help source beds for the new hospital facility at Glasgow SEC, and have responded with an offer of 11 beds and other equipment from the simulated hospital wards on each campus.
Some students from the SVQ 2, HNC Social Services, and HNC Care and Administrative Practice programmes, are going through a recruitment process to secure jobs with South, East and North Ayrshire Councils.
Throughout their training at the College, students take part in a significant amount of work experience in a variety of care settings. This enabled them to gain an understanding of service user needs.
Staff in the College have also been given the opportunity of volunteering in the community during the crisis if they wish to do so.
At the time of campus closures, the College donated stocks of food from its training restaurants and catering outlets to food banks and other local charities. In addition, the College has made financial donations to local foodbanks in Ayrshire.
The College has awarded additional payments to students who currently receive discretionary financial support. This category of students is the most financially disadvantaged out of all the College’s student cohort, as they do not qualify for any other external source of financial support when many others now will. Further financial support and guidance is also being made available to students who are not within this category but who are experiencing additional financial hardship due to the Coronavirus emergency.
Principal Carol Turnbull said “We are pleased to be able to help our communities and our partners in any way we can throughout this crisis. We have been approached by many different partners looking for essential equipment and resources, to help their key workers and service users stay safe. I am also pleased to see how our health and social care students have stepped up to the opportunities for volunteering, with some starting paid work caring in our communities. They have been well prepared for this work and will be a huge asset to their employers.
"While our buildings maybe closed for now, we are very much open for business, and welcome applications for courses due to start in August. Our staff are working remotely to ensure we can look after our existing students and process applications from applicants for the next academic year.”
9 April 2020
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