In more detail, how is the College COVID-Secure?

COVID Secure is the term used in government guidance to describe what an organisation needs to achieve to manage Coronavirus risk.  Here is how we’ve addressed the five steps to this: 

1. The first requirement is to carry out COVID-19 risk assessments
   The College has achieved this both as a central risk assessment and also by supporting departments in undertaking their own assessments to address location and activity specific risks at a micro-level.  Both types of assessment have been carried out consultatively – by line managers with their teams – and by incorporating feedback from online COVID surgeries hosted by our H&S Advisor. The resulting arrangements from risk assessments have been shared through staff and student training materials with revised processes communicated via regular staff and student updates

2. The second requirement is to develop cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures
   The College has encouraged people to follow guidance on hand washing and hygiene – through posters and also through our online training presentation

   We’ve provided hand sanitiser around the College at building entrances initially, and now are rolling out to cover multiple floors of larger buildings 

   We’ve established an enhanced cleaning rota that is reviewed ongoingly based on departmental feedback and requests and this includes door handles and push panels, handrails, toilets and other frequently touched features of our buildings and busy areas. In terms of keyboards and mice etc, we’re following a benchmarked approach in line with other Further Education and Higher Education establishments whereby sanitising wipes are made available at point of use, for users of shared equipment in order for them to take ownership of ensuring the equipment is clean before use.  

3. The third of our five steps has been to help and encourage staff to work from home
   Line managers now discuss home working arrangements with staff on a 1-2-1 basis in line with the College’s homeworking policy and enforce homeworking for all non-site-critical work – with exceptions made only where they do not have a suitable working space at home. Where in compliance with government guidance, some education delivery is also provided online.

4. The fourth point to the government’s COVID Secure criteria is maintaining 2m social distancing or 1m with mitigations.
   This criterion is modified in the governments specific guidance for Further education with a “where possible” caveat added, but the College is still keen to achieve it everywhere if it can.

   We’ve put up signs to remind all of us and students to socially distance and to only access buildings that they are authorised to be in.

   The 2m rule is everyone’s default objective where it possibly can be and in offices, department heads schedule and enforce rotas to control who is in on which day to prevent unnecessary breaches at adjoining workstations.  Breaches of the 2m rule, using the 1m rule as a reference, are only made if mitigations can be put in place, for example screens, face coverings, back to back, side to side working. In classrooms, where a commercial sector guidance applies to an activity – for example hair and beauty – specific mitigations are followed, including masks and visors.  In other classrooms a view is taken at department level as to what is possible and practical.  Teaching staff may choose to wear face coverings or visors if they feel more comfortable and these are made available on request by the College for teachers. We’re following government guidance on this and don’t recommend that students wear face coverings in classrooms in general but that they do in communal areas and in classroom areas where there is prolonged periods of proximity activity.

   Keeping windows open in all areas where possible is another government guidance requirement that supplements social distancing requirements and is encouraged across campus especially in classrooms

   We have also tried to minimise shared workstations and in particularly shared keyboards and mice but have needed to accept the reality that eliminating this completely isn’t sustainable in terms of students but also in some cases members of staff.  There are cleaning or quarantine processes in place for equipment trolleys but our overlying message is that users must also take responsibility for their own safety themselves, using equipment wipes provided and washing their hands and sanitising after use

   We have used floor signage across the College to help people keep to a 2m distance

   In communal areas with higher footfall we have enforced a face covering policy, as the physical constraints of our infrastructure do not permit effective one-way systems.

   All third party visitors to College are also kept to a minimum, only visiting physically where critical and switching to online meetings if not.  All physical visitors to the college are registered in advance via the reception booking system for test and trace records.

5. The fifth government criteria for the College to be COVID-Secure is to manage transmission risk where people cannot be 2m apart

   In addition to the points already covered the college has abandoned non-critical / essential activity where social distancing cannot be adhered to or has found safe ways of doing it

   It has kept essential close proximity activities to as low a duration as possible

   It has utilised screens and barriers in high footfall / transaction orientated settings to separate people from each other

   It has adopted back-to-back or side-to-side working whenever possible

   It has naturally staggering arrival and departure times through a flexibly structured timetable

   And it has reduced the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘bubbles’ and a restricted return to campus strategy