Accessibility statement

Developing a ‘roadmap’ for easing restrictions and reopening campus

Posted on 22 May 2020

Our academic year will start as planned on Monday 28 September but in a way that prioritises the health and safety of students and staff.

Current situation: campus restrictions

Based on Government guidance, people who can work from home must continue to do so. There will be no change in working arrangements for most of us until that guidance changes.

Behind the scenes however, we are hard at work, and you may notice changes and progress. Examples of this include:

  • managing controlled access to buildings for staff in the next few weeks to recover key items and equipment
  • helping current students pick up possessions from their accommodation
  • implementing a phased reopening of labs and research facilities, the nursery and some library services between now and the end of July.

There are rigorous risk assessments and additional training in place where necessary.

More precise timescales will depend on Government guidance.

Towards a roadmap 

Colleagues across the University are preparing for different scenarios, including where some staff and some students are on-campus and others are working off-campus. They are putting in place arrangements to ensure we can adhere to continued restrictions on social gathering and social distancing.

Even with these unknowns, our target is to reopen all of campus in time for the Autumn Term 2020. 

The Government’s recovery strategy may change, depending on alert levels, and we will revise our own roadmap accordingly, whether towards tighter or, we hope, looser restrictions. The health and safety of our community is most important to us and these priorities will continue to guide our plans.