Almost two-fifths of college support staff feel that managers are not putting safety first in plans to reopen colleges, new research published by support staff union Unison has revealed. 

In the research, support staff said they thought funding concerns and the poor state of college finances would drive some college bosses into reopening colleges too early, before it was safe to do so.

Unison’s survey involved just over 800 college support staff across the UK, with the majority of respondents being additional learning support and administration staff. 

Background: Colleges should open on 15 June to a quarter of 16-19s

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Background: Two in five support staff ‘fear their job may be cut’

At the end of May, the Department for Education confirmed that colleges should look to welcome a small number of 16-19 students back from 15 June. Guidance issued by the government said that to help reduce the coronavirus transmission risk, the number of learners attending at any one time would be limited to a quarter of those in the first year of a two-year 16-19 study programme.

‘Aim for September’

Unison head of education Jon Richards believes that colleges should delay opening until September. He said: “Further education colleges in England were already weak after a decade of savage cuts, so the shock of lockdown has hit particularly hard. But rushing to reopen before robust safety measures are in place could do more harm than good.

“Staff don’t want colleges to be closed a moment longer than they have to be. But they’re understandably worried about their health, and that of students and the wider community. 

“The sensible approach is to aim for September. By then the government will hopefully have got its act together over track and trace, public transport will be running more efficiently and college risk assessments will have been completed and fully implemented.”

While the Unison research showed that 62 per cent of respondents felt that they had been kept safe and informed during the coronavirus pandemic, written responses to the survey show that many staff are yet to learn what the reopening plan is for their college.

When asked about what they are most concerned about when it came to reopening, many respondents cited lack of PPE, maintaining social distancing, travelling to and from work, and the overall impact it will have on staff mental health. Respondents called on managers to provide PPE for desks that are in public areas, for example, receptions. 

Support staff also raised issued about the impact of the pandemic on job security and income -  with some saying they were concerned about being made redundant.