COVID-19 Secure Q and As for staff

The College is waiting for guidance to be issued by the Scottish Government regarding re opening and at the present time, the College remains closed.

All replies will be reviewed and a specific response will be sent via the Hive Messenger. Any questions which cannot be answered directly will be forwarded to the appropriate Reopening Working Group for consideration.

The broad remit of each working group can be seen here Reopening working groups.

At the moment Scottish Governance Guidance is that staff should be working from home wherever possible.  The possibility of longer term home working is unclear at this time and will be reviewed over the coming months.

We have introduced a suggestion scheme call ‘Idea Box’ on the HIVE platform and we would encourage all staff to use this to share any ideas they have. These ideas will be shared with the relevant reopening working group for consideration. Additionally your Manager will be discussing operational planning with you for your school/department over the coming weeks and will be keen to get your views on any proposed changes to working practices etc.

The College have in place an Employee Counselling service PAM ASSiST who are contactable by email on https://www.pam-assist.com or telephone on: 0800 882 4102.  Additionally, HR staff are available for private and confidential conversations and if necessary can make referrals to Occupational Health.  

Staff also have access to the Big White Wall( (https://www.bigwhitewall.com) a safe community to support staff mental health issues 24/7.

The College have invested in a new cleaning product called Zoono.  The rational for using Zoono is to give ongoing protection to building users and also reduce the risk of cross contamination.  Zoono is a revolutionary, residual antimicrobial protection technology, it is a gentle, water based formula using no alcohol which kills repeatedly and mechanically, not chemically.  After an area has been sanitised the normal cleaning service will commence. 

The application of Zoono will take place before staff or students are on-site.  During the application the area being sanitised will be well ventilated, all treated areas will be given plenty of time to dry before the area is used.

We will be rolling out further training on all of the above in August however you can access training materials from our June CPD days on the Organisational Development page of the staff intranet.

All rooms will be risk assessed to determine any action to be taken to make the rooms safe for use.

All staff working from home are required to complete the Home Working Risk Assessment form sent out by Organisational Development.  Any issues should be identified on the form and discussed with your line manager.  If line managers are unable to assist with a remedy, they should upload the form to the Health and Safety Service Desk for assistance.

We are currently investigating the different options as to how we can fully support students as we provide a blended approach of delivery.  We are working with the evolving guidelines and funding options to identify how we can best support our students.

The health, safety and wellbeing of students, staff and visitors remains our main priority.  All of the plans for the phased reopening of the College have safety at their heart. The Scottish Government has planned how all sectors can begin to move on from lockdown and we are following this advice. The guidance is based on the most up to date scientific information available, including the assessment of the risks surrounding COVID-19 and the risks associated with living in lockdown.  

A College Risk Assessment has been developed and will be revised regularly to ensure we are working within the most up to date guidance.  The risk assessment has been published on the Health and Safety Page of the staff intranet. 

As the situation is constantly evolving, any updates will be shared on our website, the staff intranet and through direct contact.

The College has established a number of working groups and a project board to prepare for reopening.  The draft timetable for reopening communicated by the Principal on 15 June 2020 is as follows:

There will be weekly staff updates about plans for reopening.  These will be published every Thursday on the College website, the news section of the intranet and on Workplace.

Where possible, curriculum delivery or support services that can be undertaken successfully on a remote working from home basis should continue to be done in this way.  This is because we want to limit the number of people on campus so that we can meet the social distancing guidance. 

It is recognised that not all curriculum delivery or support services can be carried out remotely, and that remote delivery will also not meet the needs of many students and staff.  Given this it is anticipated that most parts of the College will work on a mixed model, combining on-site working / activities with remote working.  We will need to work together to find the best balance we can between these and this will need us to be flexible and pragmatic about what can and can’t be done.

Your Line Manager will be in contact with you to discuss your own situation in the coming weeks.

As above it is anticipated that there will be a mix of off and on-site working.  Managers will need to balance the demands of this across the team to ensure that curriculum and services return on a phased basis in line with government guidance

The College has responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of its staff, whether they are working from home or within the College.  The Home Working Risk Assessment is to ensure that any potential risks in respect of your home working are minimised.

We don’t know the exact timescales but we are constantly monitoring events and advice. The Scottish Government has outlined four phases for moving from lockdown, with lower restrictions and a move towards near normal activities growing with each phase.  Phase 1 began on 29 May, and we moved into Phase 2 on 19 June with Phase 3 expected to begin in July 2020.  Phase 4 is estimated at some point over the remainder of the calendar year – but all timings are subject to change, based on the scientific evidence.

Glasgow Clyde College is following Scottish Government guidance on arrangements for Test and Protect. This guidance doesn’t currently require routine College-based testing as part of our reopening activities, but if this guidance changes then testing will be put in place as needed.

Current guidance confirms those groups should follow the shielding requirements. This will also be supplemented for those that are required to self-isolate under the Test and Protect strategy.  The College fully supports this guidance and will expect that any member of staff or student who meets the official criteria will follow the shielding / isolation guidance – including not coming onto campus or accessing College buildings.

You should discuss your particular circumstances with your Manager who will be able to discuss options with you with support from HR.

The Nurseries on each campus will be open for the start of the new term and will be working to the guidance issued by the Scottish Government guidance issued on reopening early years learning and childcare services.

If you have any questions you should contact your line manager in the first instance or email humanresources@glasgowclyde.ac.uk.

The College will provide staff messages every Thursday and student messages every Friday and these will be available on the College website, the news section of the intranet and on Workplace.

Our Student Association, GCCSA will also keep students informed and will be updating social media.

Our health and safety policy statement on Covid-19 can be found here.

An online enrolment process will be implemented from July for new and returning students.  Following an unconditional offer students will receive further details about how to enrol.  There may also be safe face to face enrolment required for specific courses – where necessary students will be informed of this process.

Induction will be different this year, with more online activity to introduce students to life at Glasgow Clyde College. Induction is expected to begin on 24 August and every student will receive direct contact confirming their induction schedule. This experience aims to introduce students to the college, outlining student support and funding details, helping them to use Canvas (the College’s Virtual Learning Environment), describing how to work best online and allowing students to speak to key staff with any concerns or questions they may have about their course.

Full time courses are scheduled to begin teaching on Monday 7 September which is two weeks later than originally planned.  Some courses may start earlier or later depending on specific circumstances.  As part of a phased start to the academic year College induction activities will begin online from Monday 24 August and each student will be contacted with details of their own course arrangements.

The College is planning what a college day might look like as we prepare for a blended learning approach which will require online learning alongside some on campus delivery. We will contact students directly to confirm how classes will be delivered.

All courses will have an element of online learning and in many cases the majority of the first few months will be based online. Glasgow Clyde is the first College to launch Canvas as our new online learning platform (VLE) and we are confident this will improve the student experience and provide an accessible virtual environment for our learners.

Student induction will include introductory courses to Canvas and will allow you to see how online learning might work.  Classes may also be delivered using Zoom or Microsoft Teams to improve the student experience.

The College is working with local schools to identify when we can deliver our schools provision.  We hope to align our schools-link programme to our other delivery.  Parents and school pupils should contact their school directly for information.

Each course team is planning how best they will deliver learning to ensure to ensure the best student experience in challenging circumstances.  As with all schools, colleges and universities we face a range of restrictions which will reduce the number of people we have on campus. 

Social distancing measures and the current guidance from the Scottish Government is that we should expect to rely on online learning where possible. We are in the process of considering which groups will need access to facilities on our campuses and how this will be managed. 

The majority of classes will be on an online basis but for those studying practical courses – for example those based in kitchens, workshops, salons and labs – there may be limited time on campus. 

Currently, the national guidance asks us to limit the number of people on campus.

Each Course Team is looking at this to get the right solution for the students on their courses. We need to limit the number of people on campus at any given time so we can adhere to social distancing guidelines. That means that at least some classes and learning will be done off campus (like online sessions or projects and activities that will be completed from home). 

Where part of a course requires students to have access to practical areas, like workshops, kitchens, salons or labs, we hope to provide access to these learning spaces, but it is likely to be in smaller groups. We will continue to review this as guidance changes, and it may mean increasing or reducing staff and student time on campus.

All learning will require access to a PC or laptop and an internet connection.  The College is working to identify ways to support student access including possible lending and purchase schemes. If you are worried about ICT access please contact the College on info@glasgowclyde.ac.uk.

We know every individual’s circumstances are different. The current restrictions on social distancing and wider government guidelines mean we do not expect significant access to buildings at the start of courses.  We are investigating how we may offer limited access within the current restrictions.  If a student has particular difficulties working online, they should make contact with our student advice team or their course team and we will work with you to find a solution. 

Student support services will all be in place for the new session but many will be operating on an online and telephone basis.  This will include our Student Association - GCCSA, student funding, student advice and information, learning inclusion, libraries and counselling.