Like everyone, we just can’t escape news about Coronavirus, and whereas at one time it seemed a distant problem, it is now much closer to home.

We are closely following the advice from the UK Government and are putting in place as many measures as possible to minimise the spread whilst safeguarding the well-being of our staff, stakeholders, and customers.  We know that our customers need to continue to function and we aim to help where possible, whilst adding the necessary precautions.

With regards to sales of training manuals and publications, we are working closely with our supply chain and have been assured that as far as they can predict, they have no intention to stop delivering. 

Whilst we are doing what we can, there are going to be factors outside of our control that could impact on our services over the coming weeks/months, but rest assured we will endeavour to maintain our high levels of customer service.
 
We know you will be carrying out your own risk assessment activities and identifying actions that are likely to be altering your normal business activity. We would encourage you to keep in regular communication with us so we can collaboratively manage any disruption to any learners.
 
The following links from various Governmental and Regulatory bodies provide information which may be of additional benefit:
 

• Official advice published by Public Health England for educational settings are available here

• Information from Ofqual on what colleges and other centres should do if exams or other assessments are seriously disrupted is available here

• JCQ's guidance for centres on ‘preparing for disruption to examinations’ and the JCQ’s contingency planning advice is also available 

• More guidance from UKAS can be found here 

• For those of you with queries regarding apprenticeships and end-point assessments please find the latest information from the IFATE 

Our business continuity plans continue to be reviewed as the situation develops and we will be updating news on our website as necessary.

Thank you for your valued business.  Our goal is to continue to support you fully despite these unusual and challenging times.

Best regards

Neil Collishaw
CEO, BPEC

17 March 2020