Return to campus

The University is operating a Five Steps process to working safely at Oxford Brookes which we will be implementing for Semester 1, and which aligns with Government guidance on reopening workplaces. The five steps are:

1) Carry out a Covid-19 risk assessment

2) Develop cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures

3) Maintain 2m social distancing, where possible

4) Where people cannot be 2m apart, manage transmission risk.

5) Help people to work from home, where possible

Further detail on each of these steps are detailed in the answers below. The full document is also available for you to read here. 

• The University is conducting workplace risk assessments in line with the Health and Safety Executive guidance, focused on two main areas: work spaces and people.
• The University will share the results of the risk assessment with colleagues through the induction training package and published, where appropriate, on our website.
• The University is consulting with trade unions through established meetings and specifically through a Covid Secure - Health & Safety Management working group.
• We are asking colleagues who have been requested by their manager to return to site in Semester 1 to undertake an individual health risk assessment by completing this online form. More information on the process is available here. Everyone requested on site for Semester 1 should have already completed the online form; if not, please do so now.

• In communal areas, specific points which are identified by the risk assessment as being frequently touched - such as handles, handrails, door release buttons - will be highlighted to contract cleaners for at least hourly cleaning with antibacterial products.
• Hand sanitiser units will be located at key areas such as outside secure bike storage, reception desks, outside toilets, on every floor near stairwells, and communal kitchen areas.
• Soap dispensers and hygiene posters will be installed in communal kitchen areas.
• Anti-bacterial wipes for hands and equipment will be positioned at communal computer stations via stand alone units.
• All teaching spaces, including pooled teaching rooms and faculty labs and workshops, will receive an out-of-hours enhanced clean.
• Pooled teaching rooms will also have sanitising products available for staff and students to self-clean their own workspaces before and after use, i.e. between teaching sessions during the day. There will be general waste bins available in teaching spaces for the disposal of used antibacterial wipes. These bins will be emptied daily as part of the out-of-hours enhanced clean, with the waste being disposed of through identified waste processes.
• Faculty teaching space, and directorate-owned space, will have an equivalent arrangement, with sanitising products available during the day for staff and student use within their owned space and their own office areas, as determined locally through these risk assessments.
• Office areas - including desks - for all faculties/directorates will also receive a weekly out-of-hours clean, where access is available and as agreed with faculties and directorates. 

• Covid-secure signage will be positioned across external areas of the campus with the following wording: “Welcome. Covid-19 notice: please ensure adherence to signage, social distancing and hygiene instructions.”
• Key touch points will be marked with stickers - e.g. traffic lights, access control buttons, vending machines, stair handrails and toilet doors - for the attention of cleaning staff.
• Directional arrow floor signage will be put in place on every 4th step. Social distancing floor stickers in queuing based areas (e.g. toilets, reception areas, key student/staff service outlets, catering).
• Shared staircases will have dividing line markings. Emergency Exit Only signage will be in place in areas where footfall is one directional. Specific lift signage will also be displayed on all floors.
• Pull up banners with instructional signage will be used where appropriate.
• 'Give Way' signs in narrow areas and 'pinch points' and convex mirrors installed in corridors with blind spots.
• Water stations will have 'Do Not Use' signage.
• Signage will be used to take some urinals out of operation to ensure social distancing in toilets.
• Brookes green 'tick' to be installed on fixed seating in teaching rooms to ensure social distancing is adhered to.
• Updated seating capacity and room lay-out signage will be placed on H&S notice boards in all teaching rooms; along with a photo where possible.
• Only essential visitors should come onto campus and by invitation only.
• Where available, entrance to buildings/rooms will require a valid staff or student card to use Salto/card swipe access points - so, if you are on campus, please remember to keep your card with you at all times.

Where it’s not possible for people to be 2m apart, other practical measures, known as 1m+ mitigation, will be implemented to manage the transmission risk:

• The University will be delivering smaller scale face-to-face teaching when students return in September 2020 for Semester 1. All larger lectures will be delivered online.
• Academic teams have been reviewing the delivery of programmes and modules where they can to help minimize the transmission risk.
• The University and its partners are installing protective screens at appropriate places throughout the campus.
• The University will be changing its office seating and working practice to reduce face-to-face interaction.
• Timetabling will be adjusted to accommodate staggered arrival times.
• All students, staff and visitors to campus will be required to wear face coverings while indoors on campus (except where there is a valid medical reason or while eating). Face coverings will be optional outdoors on campus.
• Those who are exempt from wearing a face covering under Government guidelines will be able to collect a ‘sunflower’ lanyard to wear.
• Staff will need to provide their own face covering, however the University will provide face visors where required (e.g. for teaching staff) and is looking at other solutions to assist students/colleagues with hearing impairments.
• Beyond the arrangements for teaching rooms, where it is not possible to be 2m apart, the University will seek to:

1. have enhanced authorisation processes for activities to help ensure safety
2. provide additional supervision to monitor and manage compliance
3. carry out assessment and review activities.

• The University has instructed professional services colleagues who can work from home to continue to do so until 4 January 2021, unless they are required on campus for the delivery of student-facing services.
• The University has provided a mechanism for staff to collect working from home equipment. Faculty/Directorate Head of Operations (or their delegated representative) will be able to request access on behalf of their colleagues on the nominated day by submitting this access request form 48 hours prior to the site visit.
• The University will also make available specialist office equipment, on a case by case basis, to those who need it. Speak to your line manager in the first instance.
• The University will issue guidance to staff to enable them to effectively work from home.
• Deans and Directors will ensure that staff have the correct equipment and access to systems that are required for the business area to operate from home.
• The University will continue to provide regular updates via group staff emails, Staff Update, the Staff Communications Hub, webinars and team briefings.
• The University is actively encouraging staff to have 1:1 meetings with their line manager and discuss working issues and concerns with them. Staff can also request conversations with Brookes Buddies to have informal non-work discussions and extensive information and support material has been added to our Coronavirus staff webpages.

Department Managers must ensure that the following five stages are followed before the reopening of their business area is possible:

1. Seek internal approval through either your Faculty Executive Team or Directorate leadership team that the business activity is deemed essential to reopen on campus. If approved, a member of these committees will add this business activity to the Reopening Tracker.
2. A risk assessment of the activity to be reopened must be undertaken if it is not already covered within the existing workspace risk assessments.
3. The risk assessment will be reviewed by Health & Safety for approval.
4. Once approved, each business area will be responsible for ensuring the measures in this risk assessment are carried out, prior to returning to site, and communicating this with impacted staff. These measures may include procurement of PPE, installing signage, hand sanitisers, moving or removing furniture. For some of this activity, staff may need to raise a request with Estates and Campus Services (e.g. installing sanitiser pumps on walls or removing large furniture) by emailing: 

   Headington Campus: facilities-headington@brookes.ac.uk

   Harcourt Hill Campus and Marston Road site: facilities-harcourt@brookes.ac.uk

   Wheatley Campus: facilities-wheatley@brookes.ac.uk

   Swindon Campus: lmitchell@brookes.ac.uk  

5. Simultaneously with the above space/activity risk assessment, line managers also need to ensure that all staff required to return to campus undertake an individual health risk assessment. See guidance for staff returning to work.
6. The responsible business owner is accountable for the final sign off to confirm that all measures identified through both the space/activity risk assessment and the person risk assessment have been completed before the service reopens.

Communal areas - transition around campus:

• Responsible for applying signage, floor markings etc: Estates and Campus Services (ECS)
• Responsible for permanent wall fixings etc: ECS via work ticket
• Responsible for removal of excess furniture: ECS

Pooled teaching space:

• Responsible for applying signage, floor markings etc: ECS
• Responsible for permanent wall fixings etc: ECS via work ticket
• Responsible for removal of excess furniture: ECS

Professional services meeting rooms:

• Responsible for applying signage, floor markings etc: ECS
• Responsible for permanent wall fixings etc: ECS via work ticket
• Responsible for removal of excess furniture: ECS

Faculty teaching space:

• Responsible for applying signage, floor markings etc: Faculty
• Responsible for permanent wall fixings etc: ECS via work ticket
• Responsible for removal of excess furniture: Faculty initially, then ECS

Directorate office space:

• Responsible for applying signage, floor markings etc: Directorate
• Responsible for permanent wall fixings etc: ECS via work ticket
• Responsible for removal of excess furniture: Directorate initially, then ECS

PPE for faculties and directorates must be procured in line with the University’s procurement framework and usual procurement processes and all costs associated with orders for Covid-19 PPE must be attributed to the Covid-19 Activity code. Please refer to the Requisition of PPE process for further information.

Due to stock availability and lead times it is important this is undertaken as soon as possible. The Procurement Team has advised Directors and Faculty Heads of Operations on the deadlines and arrangements for this. 

The Print Services Team (Brookes Print) have provided appropriate generic signage via an online shop. When using the online shop staff will be required to log in using their staff details. Covid-19 work space signage can then be selected from the drop-down menu. Bespoke signage must be procured directly by the faculty/directorate by emailing printservices@brookes.ac.uk.

The nominated lead should advise the Service Desk a week in advance of the intended re-occupation date, and if possible supply a list of names of those staff returning, in order that SALTO access control can be updated. Please email maintenance@brookes.ac.uk (Oxford campuses) or lmitchell@brookes.ac.uk (Swindon Campus) to arrange this.

The readiness of business activity and workspace detailed above needs to be undertaken in parallel with the staff Occupational Health risk assessment process. Please see HR guidance on this process. It is the responsibility of all staff and their line managers to ensure staff complete this process prior to returning to campus. 

The responsible Department Manager, as recorded on the Reopening Tracker, in liaison with their Faculty Heads of Operations or Director, must ensure that all recommendations and measures are in place before any return of staff can be considered. This will also be recorded on the Reopening Tracker.

They should also ensure that the Campus Managers are aware of the planned return to ensure that appropriate cleaning and security measures are in place. This can be done by emailing dredding@brookes.ac.uk (cleaning) or pgreenough@brookes.ac.uk (security).

They should also advise the Service Desk of returning staff, 48 hours prior to return, in order that SALTO access control can be updated. This can be done by emailing ccolwell@brookes.ac.uk.

Once all actions have been completed, the checklist and assessment should be retained by the requester, for auditing purposes.

A ventilation strategy has been developed for Oxford Brookes’ Health and Safety Group and provides the University with an understanding of the types of ventilation systems within non-domestic buildings and their optimal use in the context of Covid-19. Prior to its implementation, the University has considered the potential transmission of Covid-19 and is drawing upon latest industry advice and best practice, as issued by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning and the Building Engineering Services Association. Colleagues in Estates and Campus Services will ensure that ventilation systems are operating in such a way to help reduce the risk of viral infection transmission indoors. Any requests for changes to ventilation use in the University’s non-domestic buildings, which will be conducted outside of normal business hours, should be raised via Service Now.  

We are using the Alama COVID-Age risk assessment tool.

The Alama COVID-age tool helps to assess an individual’s vulnerability to COVID-19. It is based on published evidence for the main risk factors, including age, sex, ethnicity and various health problems. It works by translating the risk associated with each risk factor into years which are added to (or subtracted from) an individual’s actual age. This then gives a single overall measure of vulnerability.

You can read all about the Alma COVID-age tool here. 

The advice is that you should still return to work and we will work with you to mitigate any risks regarding your specific situation. Any anxieties should be raised with your Line Manager in the first instance, who may then seek advice from HR or Occupational Health on how to ensure you keep household members safe. It is important that you keep communicating with us if your situation changes or you have any concerns. 

HR will be providing Managers’ guidance packs to support these conversations very soon. In the meantime you can speak to your HR Business Partner.  

The first self-assessment stage will give you and your line manager an immediate outcome.

If however you need to go through to the second stage then this process may take substantially longer.

Due to limited capacity in Occupational Health to process all of the risk assessments which come through to the next stage, we need to prioritise the order in which they are undertaken. This will mean longer waits for some staff and managers to receive the outcome.

We will prioritise the early risk assessment of teaching staff identified as needing to return to deliver face to face teaching activity in September, due to the need for this information to inform timetabling.

A small number of staff for specific circumstances will need to return to campus before September as well, so they will also need to be prioritised.  

The self assessment form is split into three sections, you will be asked questions about…

• Section 1: Your Age, Sex, Ethnicity & BMI
  
  
• Section 2: Any Health Conditions you may have that fall into the Very High or High risk category for Covid19, based on published evidence.
  
  
• Section 3: Your household context, caring responsibilities, occupational exposure and any anxieties you may have about returning.
  
  
• If you have no underlying health conditions in the Very High Risk or High Risk category, AND your covid-age is low or moderate, then you will be assessed as fit to return to work.
  
  
• If you do have underlying health conditions in the Very High Risk or High Risk category, AND/OR your covid-age is high or very high, then you will need to go through to a further Occupational Health stage risk assessment. Your Line Manager will also need to complete a role-based risk assessment.
  
  
• Section 3 of the form asks information for your Line Manager, rather than Occupational Health. They will follow up with you on the answers you have given to these questions, and will involve HR or OH if required.    

Please see the privacy statement for this form.

Your answers to the self-assessment form will be held by Occupational Health (OH).

The outcome of your self-assessment will be sent to your Line Manager, along with the answers you gave to Section 3. There will be no information about specific health conditions in this self-assessment form, only whether you fall into a general category.

In terms of the second stage assessment, your data will be treated with the same level of confidentiality as with any other OH assessment referral. OH will upload your health information onto the OH record system, and will provide you and your manager with an OH Outcome Report.