This page was last updated on 20 January 2021
Students living in University accommodation have a critical role to play in avoiding the spread of COVID-19. Current local guidelines state that you should not be mixing or socialising with people outside of your household.
We have been working closely with Public Health England throughout and we will take appropriate steps quickly to protect students and their student experience.
Support will be provided to students. Visit the Help and Support section on the Student Portal which has practical advice available 24/7. From there you can raise a query with Ask4Help.
Kooth Student is also on offer to you if you are in need of emotional wellbeing and mental health support too. You can use your Northumbria log-in details to get access to this at anytime.
If you are in need of urgent wellbeing help that cannot wait please visit the Need Help Now page for details for support available to you. You should also download the SafeZone app, which connects you directly to our Security Team.
Please see ‘why has teaching moved online and how long for?’ for more information on teaching.
A household within our student accommodation can be two variants according to a building’s shape and living facilities within it.
You must follow the current local guidance set out by the Government. You can check the latest advice for your area using the postcode checker on the gov.uk website.
You must follow the current local guidance set out by the Government. You can check the latest advice for your area using the postcode checker on the gov.uk website.
If you believe a fellow resident is breaking the rules in relation to Social Distancing and any government guidelines including bubbles you can report this to any member of staff on the helpdesk in your building. You can also contact University Security on 0191 227 3999 or by downloading the SafeZone app which connects with University Security and also local emergency services if you are in danger.
You can also scan a QR code on display in the residences which will allow you to log this incident anonymously with Sodexo who manage our residences.
This will generate an email that will be sent to residents if they are reported to remind them of the guidelines to be adhered to and will be captured on an incident tracker software to identify frequent offenders upon which the issue will be escalated.
We wish to work with our students to prevent the spread of Covid and we know that the majority of our students will follow all advice and guidance.
The health and safety of our staff, students and wider community is the number one priority for the University.
When you registered/enrolled you will have been asked to abide by a student code of conduct which included expected levels of behaviour. So, we take incidences of rule-breaking extremely seriously.
Breaches of these rules may result in disciplinary action against you, which could result in fines and in the most serious cases suspension or removal from your course.
Police also have a wide range of powers to implement these rules, including fines of £200 rising to £3,200 for six or more offences.
Fines have already been issued by the police against students, for taking part in activities which are against these guidelines.
Additionally, organisers of illegal gatherings, such as house parties, can be fined up £10,000
When in common spaces such as corridors and stairwells, face coverings should be worn where 2 metres social distancing cannot be achieved and there is no other form of mitigation to protect health and safety.
There is no expectation that face coverings should be worn within individual shared flats or bedrooms; however, it is at the household’s discretion within those areas.
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