The University is a vibrant, supportive and caring community. To protect the wellbeing of our own community – and those around us – we all have our part to play.

For our students we have updated our code of discipline to extend to social distancing measures and we have encouraged them to sign up to the COVID pledge and make a visible commitment to upholding them.

We are expecting the same adherence to COVID secure measures from all in our community (although the pledge is specifically for students – as staff we are all contractually obliged to uphold guidelines and policies).

We can do this most effectively by following the five pillars of our health and safety response: wear a face covering inside buildings, follow hygiene procedures, follow signage on campus, maintain social distancing, and do not come on to campus if you feel unwell, display COVID-19 symptoms or have been in close contact with anyone with symptoms.

We, as a community, will trust others to follow our shared rules and values where possible. This is not about enforcement but about emphasizing personal and shared responsibility, to ensure that we are keeping each other healthy and safe on our campuses.

We also understand that there are serious legitimate reasons for people not wearing face coverings and please read Professor Ellen Townsend’s blog on the need to show kindness and compassion for those who might not wear a mask.

However, where there are instances that you feel things need to be improved or you think there has been a health and safety breach please do raise it with your line manager or engage in conversation with the person involved, if you feel able. A central reporting system is available here for issues that cannot be resolved locally. This replaces the reporting system previously shared as part of the COVID pledge.

Now more than ever we all need to work together to ensure our campus environment protects the most vulnerable among us.