Increasing levels of COVID are leading to an increase in the number of queries about what people with symptoms or who test positive should do. Here is the Government public health guidance summarised in a University context:

• Stay home if you are unwell. If you have symptoms of a respiratory illness and either a high temperature or do not feel well enough to be at work/study, you should stay at home. You can return to on-campus work/study once your fever has gone or you feel better, even if a cough persists.
• If you have taken a private COVID-19 test and the result is positive you should self-isolate for 5 days from the date of the test whether you have symptoms or not. If you are symptom-free, work/study from home if you can. You can return to on-campus work/study after the 5 days. If you have symptoms and they last for more than 5 days, you can return to on-campus work/study once you feel better, even if a cough persists.
• If you live with or stayed overnight with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you can continue to work and study, but you should try to limit your close contact with others, consider wearing a face covering when around other people, and wash your hands more frequently than normal.

Action Mesothelioma Day takes place on Friday 1 July this year and is designed to commemorate those who have succumbed to asbestos related diseases, and to highlight the continuing issues that exist concerning asbestos. This year, the theme is Go Blue for Meso and buildings are being lit up in blue around the UK to help raise awareness. Around 2,500 people in the UK die each year from mesothelioma, and a further similar number are believed to die from other diseases related to asbestos exposure.

To commemorate this day, the lawns and buildings around the Registry will be lit up in blue at 21:15, courtesy of the team at the Gulbenkian.

Find out more about #GoBlueforMeso and come along this Friday at 21:15 to help put a spotlight on Mesothelioma.

Following the success of last year’s virtual event, we are excited to announce that preparations are well underway for this year’s Staff Conference. We have already received some wonderful contributions, so thank you to everyone who has already submitted their ideas.

The Conference allows us to mark the start of the academic year together, providing opportunities to learn about each other’s work and giving us a chance to reflect on how we all – whether academic, professional services, technical staff, or otherwise – contribute to achieving the University’s ambitions.

The Conference will take place on campus from 15-16 September 2022 with the theme ‘Building our University Community’. On the Friday afternoon, the event will close with an all-staff barbecue, and we hope it will top off two days spent celebrating our learning and enhancing our connections with one another.

We want you to get involved!

Over the two days, we are planning numerous activities, both informative and informal, that you can choose to join in with or even run yourself. These might include:

• Seminars about projects, initiatives and activities across the University
• Talks on what it is like to work in your role at Kent
• Discussions and workshops on important topics such as wellbeing and support
• Informal events which you can take part in, either individually or as a team
• Demonstrations or tours of facilities

However, these are just suggestions – we want to make sure the Staff Conference is all about you. Whether you have been looking for a platform to share something you have been working on or want to run a workshop related to your role at Kent, we want to hear from you.

Please send an outline of your proposed sessions in 300 words or less to our Staff Conference team at communications@kent.ac.uk by Friday 8 July. We particularly want to hear how you plan to engage and interact with your audience.

We look forward to hearing your ideas soon

Emma Spiller, Education and Student Experience Manager for LSSJ at the University of Kent has completed Coppatrek with Gi in support of the breast cancer prevention charity CoppaFeel!

With ‘I’m a Celebrity winner’ and author Giovanna Fletcher leading the way, Emma and 100 fellow participants trekked 100km of the beautiful, but unforgiving Pembrokeshire coastline navigating rocky terrain and steep accents over 5 days, and 6 nights whilst camping in between treks.

Celebrity captains including Strictly Professional dancer Amy Dowden, Comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Body Positive Public Figure Megan Crabbe, and Love Island contestant Sophie Piper, led the groups and kept morale high throughout the week bringing laughter, support, and dance warm ups from Amy.

All of the trekkers had been affected by breast cancer either directly or indirectly, and some had only recently finished treatment making the achievement even more inspirational.

Emma has raised £2665, and the whole group together are on track to raise the target amount of £400,000.

The money raised will go towards raising awareness to educate young people on the signs of breast cancer, and how to check themselves regularly to empower individuals to seek help and advocate for themselves should they ever need to.

Whilst undertaking the fundraising Emma connected with Kent Uni Boob society who are also doing fantastic work in fundraising for CoppaFeel! and spreading this important message to University of Kent students.

Why complete EDI training

Equality and diversity in the workplace have become increasingly important in recent years. While it would be nice to think that both of these aspects of working life would manage themselves in a modern-day environment, they sometimes require a bit of help. In many cases friction in the workplace is based much more on lack of understanding than on actual malice or prejudice.​​​​​​​

​​​​At Kent we provide a wide range of Equality training which is available for all staff to complete either online Via Staff Training Moodle, links within the university EDI webpage, by attending one of the face-to-face sessions which is bookable via staff connect or by contacting Ldev@kent.ac.uk

Talent and Organisational Development Survey

As the 2021/22 academic year draws to a close the T&OD team have already started to plan for 2022/23.

We are reviewing our processes, session offering and the method of delivery with the aim to provide as much development as possible in a way that makes it accessible to all

We would be incredibly grateful if you can spare us five minutes of your time to participate in/cascade our survey. This survey will help us understand your needs and enable us to keep bringing you a high-quality service that has value for you.

Please complete your survey by Friday 12th August 

Bag Week Round up

2022 saw us return to more in person sessions for BAG Week, and it was great to see staff getting involved whist being on campus!

We had a varied and full programme, and were able to offer a range of sessions for staff to take part in.

What’s on in June and July

June and July have a number of training opportunities open to all staff, and bookable via Staff Connect.

We would like to invite you to participate in our Evidencing Impact Workshop, on Monday 11 July, from 12.00 – 13.30.

Where

Woolf seminar room 6, Woolf College, Canterbury campus

About the workshop

This workshop provides you with the tools to understand how to evidence impact. We will discuss what does and doesn’t work for different types of impact and what pieces should be part of a good evidence parcel. We will learn how to obtain strong testimonies, and we will have a hands-on breakout session where we have identify strong pieces.

How to sign up

There are limited places available so make sure you book your space as soon as possible. Please visit Evidencing Impact Workshop – Research Policy and Support to book your spot on the workshop.

Our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services and provide useful advice and support.

Due to the stabilising situation of Covid, they’ll be doing a side-range of webinar topics. Here’s the schedule for two weeks:

Week commencing 4 July 2022

Monday 4 July – ‘What is short term solution focussed counselling’– This webinar provides further information on short term solution focussed counselling and ‘in the moment’ support.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Wednesday 6 July  – ‘How Care first can support you’ – A webinar for awareness and how to access the EAP service provided by Care first.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Friday 8 July – ‘Talk to us 2022’ -This webinar highlights how talking over how we are feeling about certain situations and life events can improve our overall wellbeing. In association
with Talk To Us Month 2022.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Week commencing 11 July 2022

Monday 11 July – ‘Practical information and advice through Care first’ – The webinar provides detail about our Information Specialists and their role as part of your EAP service.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Wednesday 13 July – ‘How Care first can support you’ – A webinar for awareness and how to access the EAP service provided by Care first.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Friday 15 July – ‘Top tips for a good night’s sleep’ – A webinar detailing how a good night’s sleep can improve your overall wellbeing whilst offering tips how you can sleep better.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Update: 29/06/22 15:00

We have addressed the intermittent performance issue experienced by colleagues. We will continue monitoring the system, thank you for your patience.

24/06/22 – 15:00

The KentVision system has been stable throughout the day. We are engaged with the system supplier to identify the root cause and to provide a fix for the intermittent performance issues experienced by colleagues. We will continue monitoring the system and will update you on our progress.

For more live updates please follow our Service Status page.

23/06/22 – 15:00

We have continued exploring all mitigations for the intermittent performance issues and assessing the root cause. The KentVision system has been stable throughout the day despite similar levels of usage from colleagues – a further update will be provided tomorrow.

23/06/22 – 09:40

Yesterday, additional computing capacity was brought online to help mitigate the intermittent performance issues with KentVision. We have continued to monitor the system and we are aware some colleagues are still experiencing issues. We apologise for the impact this is having, especially given the tasks currently underway. We are working urgently with the supplier to provide a fix – a further update will be provided by later today.

22/06/22 – 16:00

We have brought additional computing capacity online to mitigate the performance issues experienced by colleagues today – this appears to have made a positive difference. We will continue to monitor the system and gather live feedback from users.

22/06/22 – 13:30

We are aware of the performance issues being experienced with KentVision; this is currently under urgent investigation. Users will be informed when the system issues have been fixed – a further update will be provided later today.

With the Summer holidays just around the corner, you may be thinking about how to keep your children active and entertained. With our SummerZone sports and activity camp for children aged 5 to 12, you won’t need to worry. During SummerZone we provide daily sports and activities, all under the supervision of experienced and DBS verified camp staff. Activities include Nerf, tennis, cricket, mini golf, New Age Kurling and much more. 

“Really impressed by EasterZone; facilities, staff, children and activities were all fantastic. Our children cannot wait for SummerZone!” – Parent feedback from EasterZone 2022

Dates and times:

SummerZone 2022 runs from Monday 15 to Friday 19 August. You can drop your children off from 8.30am and pick up at 3pm. We also offer a late pick-up option from 3pm to 5pm.

Booking and prices:

Online booking for SummerZone 2022 is now open. Please ensure you complete a form for each child you wish to book on SummerZone. Booking and payment can be completed online.

University of Kent staff

• One day £30 per child
• One week (five days) £125 per child

Members of the public

• One day £35 per child
• One week (five days) £150 per child

Late pick-up (3pm to 5pm)

Our late pick-up option includes fun and engaging activities tailored to the location, such as table tennis, table football, new age kurling, bowls, speed stacks, twister, board games, and creative drawing.

• £10 per child per day

Questions?

If you have any questions about our holiday camps, or if you would like to be added to the mailing list for future camps, please email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk or call 01227 816391.

To stay up to date with Kent Sport news, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter UniKentSports.

From Simone Davies | Director of MORA

As many of you will know, Clearing is the time of year when we fill any remaining places on our courses. We receive phone calls from potential students who have not yet secured a place at University, meaning that during Clearing our hotline is especially busy.

This year, we require support from members of the University to ensure the success of our Clearing campaigns. We are therefore inviting volunteers to work in our Applications Support Team. You can work from home or from the campus, and training will be provided. The shifts for the Applications teams are:

Thursday 18 August: 07:45–15:45 or 09:00-17:00

Friday 19 August: 09:00-17:00

If you would like to get involved, please speak with your line manager and email Ami Solomon a.solomon@kent.ac.uk

Thank you in advance for your help in supporting future students on their journey to Kent – we can’t do this without you.