Announcement of lockdown in England from 5th November & FAQ
The Government have announced that there will be new national restrictions in place across England, with a four-week lockdown to start from Thursday 5th November. In line with Government guidance and as agreed with local public health officials, the University will remain fully operational and will be continuing with the current blended learning provision when the national lockdown begins on 5 November.
However, there are several restrictions where education is not excepted, many of which relating to social activity and meeting others outside of your household, and it is these restrictions that mean it has been inevitable that some Student Union activity has been affected.
Therefore, from Thursday 5th all our planned physical activity such as events will be postponed or moved online, and similarly all Activity Group participation will also become virtual.
We will continue review all available guidance and or further information as it becomes available and will work with the University to communicate with you and support you during the lockdown.
We have provided an FAQ below, but if you any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us, su_comms@winchester.ac.uk. We Would also like to remind you that our advice centre will remain accessible throughout lockdown and can be contacted via www.winchesterstudents.co.uk/advice
Associated information: University Update for all staff and Students
FAQ
Q. Will services such as the Terrace Bar & Vault be open as normal?
Not as normal as we are only to provide take-away sales, and only costa coffee and soft drinks will be on sale; alcohol will not be available other than via our click and collect service. You will not be able to sit in any internal areas of the Student Union to eat or drink items purchased, but you are free to use the covered outside area on the Terrace, if you are careful to adhere to the lockdown restrictions – keeping to households or in pairs maintaining social distancing.
The Vault will be available for student study space, but must be used in adherence to lockdown rules – please do not take items purchased from the bar into these spaces.
Q. Will you still be running events such as the Quiz?
Unfortunately due to restrictions on social gathering we will not be able to run any physical events during the 2nd lockdown, but where possible we will be running events online via Teams and the Positive Pandemic Facebook page.
All paid events that were due to fall during lockdown will be refunded.
Q. Can we use the University or Union facilities for our activity group. Will my Activity Group still be meeting?
Unfortunately, physical resources such as rooms and pitches can’t be made available under government guidance. This means that during the second lockdown all Activity Groups will have to switch to online virtual activity and engagement.
Q. Will I be due a refund from my Activity Group?
In most cases no, as this is seen to be a temporary restriction and some activity can continue online in the interim. However if your activity is permanently stopped as a result of this lockdown or other Covid measures, you might be entitled to a full or partial refund and you should discuss this with the Activity Group chair or Captain.
Q. Can I still access support from the Student Union Advice Centre?
Yes, the Advice Centre will continue to offer appointments via online video appointments via Microsoft Teams, telephone appointments and support via email. This is in addition to face-to-face appointments, on an individual basis, with social distancing measures in place.
Q. Will there be any way to access items from the Advice Centre Freebie Bin (free condoms, sanitary items, pregnancy tests, panic alarms, drug testing kits) even if I'm not on campus?
The Advice Centre Freebie Bin will still be available on campus, and we can offer a local delivery service of these items for students who are not on campus, and/or a postal service of items. See www.winchesterstudents.co.uk/advice for details.
Q. Will Student Union officers still be meeting? How will Union zone meetings take place?
We will continue to use Microsoft Teams to conduct our democratic meetings, including elected officer meetings and Zone meetings and forums. In many ways meetings via this method is more effective, and convenient to participants.
Q. Will the SU Shop be opening/normal operating hours?
Both the West Downs and King Alfred Quarter shop will remain operational throughout the second lockdown and have the following opening times currently:
SU Shop – open Monday to Friday, 08.00 to 18.00
West Downs Shop – open Monday to Friday, 08.30 to 21.00 & 12.00 to 18.00 Saturday.
Q. Will Laundry services still be accessible?
Yes, all 3 laundry locations will remain open, but are subject to social distancing measures and additional cleaning measures will be in place.
