Today (Wednesday 23 September), the Vice-Chancellor Adam Tickell updated all staff, in his regular View from the VC email. You can read the full View from the VC email below.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister directly addressed the nation to announce a tightening of restrictions in place to control the spread of Covid-19.
I know many of you listening to his words will have questions about what this means for you and the University of Sussex. I want to address these issues and concerns directly.
I’m sure that you were as pleased as I was to hear that the Government is toughening up on some aspects of life because they are prioritising public health, education and research and this is because they are so vital to the long-term future of the country. In this context, I want to be clear the University’s overall approach has not changed.
We resume teaching next week using a blended learning model, which includes face-to-face teaching on campus, and will continue with our final preparations to welcome back our academic colleagues and students.
Following the speech in the Commons, universities have received an unambiguous steer from Government officials that this means that universities should proceed with a blended learning approach, providing face-to-face teaching where it is possible to socially distance.
The feeling in Westminster – and in the country more generally – is that education is viewed as a priority sector and face-to-face teaching an essential activity.
This means that colleagues involved in delivering this face-to-face teaching are seen as essential workers, like school teachers, and thus are exempt from the ‘work from home’ rule.
In recognition of the impact the pandemic is having on the mental health of young people, I share this sentiment.
Our students are telling us in droves that they are desperate to learn together and experience even just a few hours of face-to-face teaching this term. They crave some sense of normality and movement towards their futures, having been robbed of several months of what should be such a transformative time in their lives.
This does not mean we are being complacent; far from it. Indeed, our plans are entirely in line with the tiered framework set out by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and endorsed by the Department for Education (DfE).
The default position, Tier 1, of this guidance calls for universities to offer blended learning, with both remote and face-to-face teaching.
This is where we are at currently and we have been given very clear guidance that this week’s developments have not changed that.
But please be reassured that we have robust contingencies in place should we be asked to move through the four tiers of the framework, which would gradually reduce face-to-face contact in response to changing risk profiles.
If we do need to act, we will of course do so without delay – just as we did back in March.
Of course, I understand and wholeheartedly appreciate why some may feel apprehensive about returning to campus. The pandemic continues, the goalposts move and we all have concerns for our own position in all of this.
This is why we have spent the summer preparing for this moment. Our teams have been working around the clock to put our measures in place – and hopefully you’ve had the chance to become familiar with those through our many communications, and most recently the new staff induction video in LearnUpon. All staff are required to watch this video.
We have also agreed with local authorities that we will have rapid access to priority testing in the case of a local outbreak.
The feedback from the students and staff who have already resumed teaching activities in our School of Education and Social Work has been extremely encouraging. People are distancing, students are wiping down their workstations and sanitising their hands, and everyone is enjoying teaching and learning back on campus.
I sincerely believe that we are among the best prepared sectors in the country and that, on a scale of risky environments, university classrooms and lecture theatres are among the safest.
Clearly, we will of course need everybody’s co-operation to keep it that way. This is why we are asking all staff and students to follow all Government guidance and University measures, download the NHS’s new contact-tracing app when it is live from tomorrow, use our reporting form for Covid-19 symptoms, and join more than 2,500 (and growing) staff and students who have already signed up to our community pledge.
And, this afternoon, we are holding a dedicated forum for academic staff to address any final concerns. Please do book your place if you haven’t already.
Please do not misunderstand me. While I passionately believe that we are taking the right approach, it is not lost on me how difficult this pandemic continues to be for many of you.
There are many staff who can work effectively from home and you should continue to do this if it applies to you. For many staff, there will be a need to come onto campus on some, but not all, days during a week. If this applies to you, the new rules mean that you should only come in when you have to. And for others of us, the only way that we can do our jobs means that we have to be here every day.
Now is the time for us to pull together and to support one another because it really is essential that we deliver on our commitments to our students, starting next week.