The government has published guidance on what FE colleges and providers will need to do from the start of the 2020 autumn term to ensure they can reopen fully. It sets out a significant range of actions they must take to minimise the risk to staff and students. 

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Prevention

Minimise contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus (Covid-19) symptoms or who have someone in their household who does do not attend the setting.

• The guidance says that ensuring that learners, staff and other adults do not come on site if they have coronavirus symptoms or have tested positive in the past seven days, and ensuring that anyone developing those symptoms during the day is sent home, is “essential…to reduce the risk in education settings and further drive down transmission of coronavirus”.
• Anyone who has become ill and is “awaiting collection” should be moved, if possible, to a room where they can be isolated behind a closed door. “Ideally, a window should be opened for ventilation.”
• The guidance says that “PPE must be worn by staff caring for the individual while they await collection if a distance of two metres cannot be maintained. Any members of staff who have helped someone with symptoms and any learners who have been in close contact with them do not need to go home to self-isolate unless they develop symptoms themselves or if the symptomatic person subsequently tests positive. Everyone must wash their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser after any contact with someone who is unwell."

Clean hands thoroughly, more often than usual.

• Institutions “must ensure that learners clean their hands regularly, including when they arrive at your site, when they return from breaks, when they change rooms and before and after eating”.

Ensure good respiratory hygiene by promoting the “catch it, bin it, kill it” approach.

• Education settings have ensured that they have enough tissues and bins available to support learners and staff to follow this routine. Public Health England does not recommend the use of face coverings in schools or further education settings, but this evidence will be kept under review. 

Introduce enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often, using standard products such as detergents and bleach.

• Colleges need to put in place a cleaning schedule that ensures cleaning is generally enhanced and includes more frequent cleaning of rooms and shared areas that are used by different groups and frequently touched surfaces being cleaned more often than normal. 

These four measures must be in place all the time, according to the Department for Education.

Minimise contact between individuals and maintain social distance.

• The guidance says that “consistent groups reduce the risk of transmission by limiting the number of learners and staff in contact with each other to only those within the group. Maintaining distinct groups that do not mix makes it quicker and easier in the event of a positive case to identify those who may need to self-isolate, and to keep that number as small as possible.”
• Colleges and providers should explore how they can reduce contacts between individuals and groups, and how to maintain distance where possible. “We strongly recommend that, as a minimum, you plan to keep your year groups or cohorts of learners separate from each other during the course of the day.”
• Busy corridors, entrances and exits should be avoided, and staggered breaktimes and lunchtimes considered.
• The guidance says that it is "strong public health advice that staff maintain distance from their learners, stay at the front of the room, and away from their colleagues where possible. Ideally, adults should maintain a two-metre distance from each other."
• It adds that colleges will need to “make small adaptations to rooms or workshops to support distancing where possible. That might include moving unnecessary furniture out of rooms to make more space, considering desk layout, and seating learners side by side and facing forwards, rather than face to face or side on. More information for particular types of vocational areas can be found in the working safely during coronavirus (Covid-19) guidance.”
• “Particular care should be taken if a learner routinely attends more than one setting on a part-time basis, or moves between a training provider and workplace as part of an apprenticeship.”
• “Supply staff and other temporary workers can move between providers, but you will want to consider how to minimise the number of visitors to your setting where possible.”
• “To help you minimise the numbers of temporary staff entering your premises, and secure best value, you may wish to use longer assignments with supply staff and agree a minimum number of hours across the academic year.” 

Where necessary, wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

• The majority of staff in education settings will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work, says the guidance. PPE is only needed in a very small number of cases.

Response to any infection

Engage with the NHS Test and Trace process.

• Colleges must ensure staff understand the NHS Test and Trace process and how to contact their local Public Health England health protection team. Leaders have to ensure that staff members and parents/carers understand the steps they may need to take.

Manage confirmed cases of coronavirus among the FE community.

• Institutions must take “swift action” when they become aware that someone who has attended has tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19). They should contact the local health protection team. This team will also contact them directly if they become aware that someone who has tested positive for coronavirus attended their premises – as identified by NHS Test and Trace.

Contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice.

• “If you have two or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or an overall rise in sickness absence where coronavirus is suspected, you may have an outbreak, and must continue to work with your local health protection team who will be able to advise you if additional action is required. In some cases, health protection teams may recommend that a larger number of other learners self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole site or a specific group.”

Shielding

• The guidance says that more is now known about the virus, “and so in future there will be far fewer young people and adults advised to shield whenever community transmission rates are high. Therefore, the majority of learners will be able to return.” Some learners may not be able to return yet, however, and where learners are not able to attend settings because of public health advice, the government expects providers to offer them access to remote education.

Transport

• “Staff and students should be encouraged to walk or cycle to and from campus, but institutions should work with transport partners to consider staggered start times to enable more journeys to take place outside of peak hours. “We recognise that this option will be more feasible in some circumstances than others.”
• Staff and students should also be made aware of other rules around distancing and face coverings to be worn on public transport.

Working from home

• The guidance says that “following the reduction in the prevalence of coronavirus and relaxation of shielding measures from 1 August, we expect that most staff will attend work…It remains the case that wider government policy advises those who can work from home to do so. We recognise this will not be applicable to most staff, but where a role may be conducive to home working, for example, some administrative roles, leaders should consider what is feasible and appropriate.”
• “Individuals who were considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable and received a letter advising them to shield are now advised that they can return to work from 1 August as long as they maintain social distancing. People who live with those who are clinically extremely vulnerable or clinically vulnerable can attend the workplace.”
• The government also says that if people with significant risk factors are concerned, it is recommended providers discuss their concerns and explain the measures the organisation is putting in place to reduce risks. “Leaders should try as far as practically possible to accommodate additional measures recommended by individuals’ medical advisers.”

Safeguarding young people

• Staff should be “particularly vigilant to new and additional safeguarding concerns”, says the guidance. “Check that the safeguarding and welfare information you hold on all learners is accurate. Ask parents and carers to tell you about any changes in welfare, health and wellbeing before the learner returns. Try to give designated safeguarding leads (DSL) and their deputies more time to support staff and learners with new safeguarding and welfare concerns as learners return.”

Mental health

• The government says many learners and staff members will be feeling uncertain and anxious at this time, and it is important to support positive mental health and wellbeing. “You should identify young people and members of staff that may need additional support and ensure that there is appropriate mental health and wellbeing support in place.”

Delivering education and training

• Institutions are expected to provide a full programme of study and training offer for learners of all ages from their normal term start date in September 2020.
• They should make sure that individual learners are undertaking their full study programme, in as far as they can in compliance with wider government guidance, and that it is of a sufficient standard to meet relevant funding requirements (this should include evidence for any elements completed remotely).
• Colleges should comply with wider government guidance on services that are permitted to be open, “for example, if you have a hairdresser on site, or are delivering hairdressing training, you should ensure that beauty or nail treatments are not offered; if you have a community or leisure centre, it should not host indoor sports or fitness activity”.
• Institutions should decide the appropriate mix of face-to-face and remote delivery. “Post-16 learners are more likely to undertake self-directed study but may still need additional support; you should make sure that planned hours meet the relevant funding guidance as set out in funding guidance for young people 2020 to 2021.”
• “Remote education may need to be an essential component of delivery for some pupils, alongside classroom teaching, or in the case of a local lockdown. You are therefore expected to plan to ensure anyone who needs to stay at home for some of the time is given the support they need to make good progress. Where a class, group or small number of learners need to self-isolate, or there is a local lockdown requiring learners to remain at home, we expect you to have the capacity to offer immediate remote education.”
• “You are expected to consider how to continue to improve the quality of your existing offer and have a strong contingency plan in place for remote education provision by the end of September, for all provision apart from that which requires face to face delivery, eg, occupational competence provision.”