Access to campus during lockdown

During the current lockdown, access to our campuses is restricted to help limit the spread of Covid-19. There's some important information you need to know about who is allowed to come to campus, and Covid-secure behaviour to abide by when on campus.

During the current national lockdown, access to our campuses is restricted to help limit the spread of Covid-19. Certain groups of staff and students are allowed to access campus if they fall into one of the groups outlined in the FAQs below. Covid safety measures have been further enhanced to mitigate against the spread of the virus and all staff and students attending campus must agree to follow the rules below.

To maintain safety standards on campus for those staff and students who are attending, all staff who can work from home should do so and should only come onto campus if authorised.

Staff who are continuing to teach subjects exempt from the online-only model and those required for the functioning of campus facilities will be authorised to be on campus. Other members of staff, where Deans and Directors agree their presence is essential, will be authorised on a case-by-case basis.

Access to campus masks

Covid-secure behaviour on campus

To ensure that our campuses are as safe as possible for all staff and students, anyone who is authorised to come onto campus must follow these rules:

Maintain 2 metre social distancing at all times
Wear a face covering at all times and in all public spaces

If students have reason to be on campus with members of their domestic bubble (e.g. flatmates), they should still maintain 2 metre social distancing from each other. This makes it easier for our security and staff teams to monitor safe behaviour on campus, and is reassuring to everyone in our community that Covid-secure measures are being taken.

Whilst on campus, staff and students should continue to use the sanitisation stations provided and follow directions displayed around BCU buildings.

Reasonable adjustments for those unable to wear a face covering

From Monday 1 February, everyone must wear a face covering and maintain two metre social distancing at all times on campus. Some staff and students may have medical reasons for being unable to wear a face covering. These individuals will now require a consultation to ensure that if they come onto campus, they do not pose a risk to others and have adequate protection themselves. Lanyards will no longer be accepted as proof of exemption as these do not allow for additional safety measures to be put in place.

These are temporary measures which apply during the current period of lockdown. The University will review them when the Government lifts restrictions.

Students: If you are medically exempt from wearing a face covering, you’ll need to have an assessment via phone or suitable alternative, such as MS Teams, with our Mental Health and Wellbeing team before you are authorised to come onto campus. You do not need to disclose the nature of the reason for not wearing a face covering if you prefer not to – but you can work with Mental Health and Wellbeing to agree reasonable adjustments which will work for your circumstances. These will ensure you and our campus community remain safe and that we are able to support you when you come to campus.

Examples of reasonable adjustments include wearing a face shield or visor in all public places and providing a booked slot in a single office so that you can remove the face shield and work comfortably. The booked slot is necessary for us to co-ordinate cleaning between users.

To organise this, please choose this option on the registration form for access to campus on mySRS. A member of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team will call you as soon as possible. If you are accessing our City South Campus and require an assessment with the team, you will also need to complete the registration form on mySRS.

Staff: If you are medically exempt from wearing a face covering but have been authorised to attend campus, please contact HR to discuss any mitigation which may be needed for you to attend campus.

Examples of reasonable adjustments for both staff and students include wearing a visor from the front door of a building to a private room, wearing a visor during face-to-face learning and being seated a distance away from other students or having a private room made available for you to study in. This list is not exhaustive.

Being on campus without wearing a face covering within an agreed reasonable adjustment plan

For both staff and students with a medical exemption, if they are authorised to be on campus, they will be issued with a letter explaining the reasonable adjustment which they can show to Security. All other people on campus must wear a face covering at all times.

Access to campus study

Access to Campus Registration Form

To ensure that individuals on campus during lockdown are kept safe, all students who wish to access City Centre Campus from Monday 1 February 2021 must complete the registration on mySRS form before arriving. If you know you want to access buildings on campus, we recommend that you complete the registration form as soon as possible so we can assess if additional support is required to enable you to safely attend.

Complete a registration form

Once you have completed the registration form, you will be sent a confirmation to your BCU email address. You may be asked to show this to security when on campus, so keep a copy of the email handy.

See updated building times for Semester 2

FAQs

Who is permitted to access campus?

Students who are studying on a healthcare, social work or education course and have scheduled face-to-face teaching are permitted on campus. Other than this, students must not come to campus unless they fall into one of the groups below. We will be keeping some buildings open for these groups to access if they have no alternative.

Students who need to access mental health support
Students who do not have a safe space to study anywhere else and need to use a space on campus (At BCU this includes Royal Birmingham Conservatoire students who do not have access to specialist rehearsal spaces at home and need to use our facilities for their individual practise.)
Students who remained in term-time accommodation throughout the Christmas break
International students already in the country

If you fall under one of these groups and wish to access City Centre Campus from Monday 1 February 2021, you must complete a registration form on mySRS before arriving. If you know you want to access buildings on campus, we recommend that you complete the registration form as soon as possible so we can assess if additional support is required to enable you to safely attend.

If I am not required back on campus, should I stay at home?

Yes – students who don’t have face-to-face teaching should stay at home unless they are from one of the government approved groups who are permitted on campus.

I am an RBC student and have booked a practice room – do I still need to complete the registration form?

Yes, you will need to complete a registration form on mySRS to book a rehearsal space.

I have a library space booked – do I still need to complete the registration form?

If you have a library space booked on City Centre Campus, you will need to complete the registration form on mySRS before coming to campus.

Is City South Campus open to HELS students without completing the access registration form?

Yes, City South Campus will remain open and Health, Education and Life Sciences students do not need to complete a registration form to access campus. However, you should only attend campus if your course is still delivering face-to-face teaching, or if you fall under one of the permitted groups.

Students accessing City South Campus will need to complete the registration form on mySRS if they require an assessment for a face mask exemption letter.

Can I come to campus to use specialist facilities?

At present you are not allowed to come onto campus to use specialist facilities such as laboratories and studios.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire students who do not have access to specialist rehearsal spaces at home are permitted to use our facilities for their individual practise.

Many of our courses are practice-based and we recognise how important it is for students to be able to access these facilities. We are currently awaiting further guidance from the Government on access to specialist facilities and equipment, and we will let you know if and when the current rules change. (Note that separate rules apply for Health, Education and Social Work courses.)

I’m a postgraduate research student – how will this affect me?

Where possible, all PGR students should continue to work off campus. You should still continue your course online. To do this, you must continue to engage with your supervisors online and we will support you with your academic journey through online engagement.

Any PGR student wishing to access campus must apply to the Faculty Research Degrees and Environment Committee (FRDEC), which will ensure that FRDECs can consider fully all current circumstances affecting the research. You do not need to complete the registration form above.

Please note that any pre-existing Priority 1 access approval for campus access will cease to be valid on 25 January and any subsequent required access must be re-applied for by submitting a new Priority 1 Request Form to your FRDEC.

Our Research team remains committed to ensuring our PhD students receive the right support in this period. From thesis submission and viva dates to staying in touch with supervisors and colleagues, they’ve put together range of useful links and facts to help you keep in the know. Find out more here.

I am a teaching member of staff – do I need to wear a face covering?

Yes, everyone on campus must wear a face covering at all times on campus and teaching staff should also wear a visor in addition to a face covering when teaching students.

I have face-to-face teaching and a medical exemption from wearing a face covering – can I still attend?

Yes, but we will need to agree additional mitigation to keep you safe, such as moving a desk further away from others and wearing a visor. In this instance, please contact your tutor before attending campus.

Female student in class with a face mask on

STAFF AND STUDENT FAQs

For more information on learning and teaching, Covid-19 testing, health and safety, accommodation and current restrictions visit our staff and student coronavirus FAQs.

Read our FAQs