Since closing Kent Sport facilities last Friday the Kent Sport Team have all been discussing ideas to keep our membership community and University partners engaged in physical activity, wellbeing, follow good habits as well as a provide a brief sense of normality with instruction or advice from a familiar Kent Sport face.

With this in mind they are launching a regular Blog and Vlog through the Kent Sport webpage and social media channels as well through our University partner webpages.  The breadth of content will provide information and guidance for different levels, abilities and age groups and try to account for the different environments you all find yourself in.

Some content may not be helpful for everyone but they will endeavor to provide a broad range utilizing the talent, expertise and personalities they have available at Kent Sport and help you stay on track.

They will also provide some useful links and signpost other services and material that may be useful.

Coming Soon

• Home Workouts
• Wellbeing Ideas
• Health Tips
• Sport @ Home
• Kids Activities
• Nutrition Tips
• Music Mixes
• Fitness Articles
• Kent Sport News
• Positive Links

Feedback and engagement is completely welcome and if you have ideas for content or want to keep in touch please engage on social media accordingly by using #KentSportStayWellAtHome

Be sure to like them on Facebook and follow on Instagram and Twitter @UniKentSports, enjoy and join in!

Helping and supporting others is essential in times of crisis. NCVO, which champions the voluntary sector and volunteering, has some good suggestions on ways you can get involved with your community during the coronavirus outbreak:

Look out for your neighbours

The simplest thing everyone can do right now is look out for their neighbours and offer help with shopping and other errands.

It’s not just about neighbours who are self-isolating or vulnerable. Other people in the community who might also appreciate help are:

• stretched medical staff and volunteers
• staff and volunteers in key worker roles
• supermarket workers
• delivery drivers.

Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint – your help will be even more crucial in a few weeks’ time. For now, the best thing to do is to check in on neighbours.

Stay safe when supporting others

1. Keep washing your hands often for 20 seconds.
2. Stay at least two metres away from people you’re helping.
3. If you’re helping someone with very serious issues – don’t be afraid to flag with appropriate statutory services.
4. Support family, friends and neighbours by phone or video call.
5. Offer to run errands for people but stay outside of people’s homes.
6. Let family and friends know what you’re doing.
7. Don’t take on too much – it’s often better not to offer at all than to let someone down.

Volunteer with organisations providing support

Charities are working with the government and local authorities to create ways for people to get involved.

Here are a few suggestions:

• If you don’t have a particular charity in your local area, contact your local Volunteer Centre, CVS or visit the Do-it website.
• You can sign up to NHS Volunteer Responders who are supporting the NHS during the covid-19 outbreak.. Once you’ve registered and checks are complete – you’ll be provided a log-in to the GoodSAM Responder app.

Other ways to help charities

Supporting charities including as a volunteer or trustee would be incredibly valuable to help keep their work going.

Getting involved locally

Why not check your local council’s webpages? Kent County Council’s website has a ‘How Can I Help?’ section with a handy list of local authorities in Kent and links to the sort of volunteering support they’re after. And you can register to help in and around Medway on the Medway Voluntary Action website.

Our Postal Services team is currently operating a reduced service ​and is not undertaking scheduled deliveries and collections around Campus. Anyone who needs to collect incoming ​mail or deliver ​outgoing mail ​for posting can arrange this by telephoning ​the Estates Post Room on 01227 823210.  The opening times are between 8am and midday, Monday to Friday (except bank holidays).

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.  Please contact Estates Customer Services if you have any Estates-related enquiries on 01227 816666 or by email. Alternatively you can find useful information on the Estates website.

Update 30^th March 2020

Further to recent University communications in response to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) the Learning & Organisational Development (L&OD) team will be postponing the delivery of its current training and development courses and workshops, at this stage up to and including those on Friday 1^st of May.

During this suspended delivery period, the L&OD team will continue to work on enhancing our online training options as well as ensuring that arrangements are put in place for rearranging postponed training and development activities. Our Session Leads are currently assessing whether there are resources we can point you towards in the absence of the face-to-face sessions.

Staff are not required to action anything at this stage; we will be working on alternative dates for activities and will communicate these to staff affected by the cancelled activity directly in due course.

We will continue to follow the University’s guidance, along with Government, NHS and Public Health England advice and provide regular updates as the situation develops.

This is a challenging time for all of us. Please look after your own health but also be aware of the health and wellbeing of others around you.

Please check the coronavirus information online.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the L&OD team: LDev@Kent.ac.uk

We’re delighted to say the University of Kent Virtual Music Project is now live!

As from today, we’re encouraging student, staff and alumni musicians at the University to get involved in a virtual collaborative music project, which launches today with the first movement of Vivaldi’s enduringly-popular Gloria – and we want YOU to take part!

You can now access a recording of the accompaniment in two versions – one piano, one harpsichord – and we’re inviting you to record your individual part, using resources on the following links, and send it in.

Rehearsal accompaniments

 Choral scores

 Instrumental parts

 Trumpet in Bb parts

In the same folder as the recordings of the accompaniment, there’s also a short guidance sheet on how to make your recording, and also how to submit it: https://app.box.com/s/lcpnluvucrqolxmicbgg0gdp1uezv3dn

We will begin to build a virtual performance by combining all the recordings submitted, and are asking you to send in a selfie too, so we can create a visual record of everyone involved in the process.

The deadline for submitting your recording of the first movement is Friday 10 April, and we will then move on to the next stage of the project.

Please share your experience of being involved in the venture, and of making your recording, on social media using the hashtag #unikentVMP, so we can see how everyone is getting along and share your posts!

 So, what are you waiting for ?! Download or stream the accompaniment, grab some earphones or headphones, make your recording and send it in! We look forward to hearing the results and putting them together.

Find out more about the Virtual Music Project on its Facebook Page.

(Please note we are accepting recordings from University of Kent students, staff, alumni and current  external members of Music department ensembles only)

Self-isolating and social distancing means non-essential contact with other people. To achieve this, you need to work at home wherever possible, avoid all unnecessary travel and avoid public gatherings.

Self-isolating and social distancing can feel lonely and lead to anxiety, depression and make you feel demotivated. So we have put together some tips for you on how to make the most of the situation.

Write a to-do list

You will find a to-do list keeps you on-track and motivated. Also it’s an amazing feeling when you tick off things on the list. The best thing to do is to write the list the day before or first thing in the morning.

Take regular breaks

Regardless of your workload, please remember to take regular breaks especially to have lunch or dinner. This is vital to keep you refreshed and your energy levels up.

Stay in touch

You might not be able to physically meet people but you can stay in touch thanks to the wonders of technology. Skype, Zoom and Facetime friends and family and chat via Whatsapp with fellow staff. Remember that plenty of support is also available to you – you can talk to your line manager, get support from our Occupational Health team, or access expert help with both workplace and personal issues via our Employee Assistance Programme.

Eat healthily

This might be a bit of an ask considering what is going on in the shops but you can still eat healthily by using staple ingredients such a fruit, veg, milk, rice and potatoes. You can look up recipes online.

Exercise

While you are at home, it is essential to keep fit and you can do this by following exercises on YouTube or use fitness DVDs.

Binge on Netflix and box sets

What better way to end the day than by binging on a box set or watching a TV series or film on Netflix? The platform has launched a new facility called Netflix Party where you can chat with your friends while watching the same film or TV show at the same time.

Overall, stay safe and make the most of this time. And remember that you are not alone.

As we all adjust to working off-campus, a new guide has been published to help academic colleagues deliver teaching and assessments online. 

The Online teaching and learning: guidance for staff includes: 

• A checklist for module convenors to complete 
• Tips on using Moodle to deliver your teaching 
• Using Office 365 Microsoft Teams to interact online with your students 
• Accessing our Library’s digital resources 
• Ensuring your online teaching and assessments are accessible to all 
• What technology you will need  

The guide also links to University guidance on working and studying from home/off-campus,and support available for online learning, teaching and assessment. 

The guide has been compiled by colleagues in Information Services and our Unit for the Enhancement of Learning. 

Find out more by clicking on the guide now. 

CIPD, the professional body for human resources and people development, has put together a series of top tips to help you and your teams get the most out of homeworking. They include top 10 tips for working remotely.

Don’t forget to check out our own Information Services guide to working at home – everything you need on setting up your IT plus key information on data security, redirecting phones and health and wellbeing.

1. Set up a designated workspace. Separate space for yourself to work in, somewhere you can focus on tasks without being distracted and set up with everything you need for a normal working day – computer, phone, stationery, papers etc.

2. Make sure you have all the tech you need. This includes a reliable and secure internet connection, any necessary files, hardware and software, remote access to your company network and, importantly, knowledge of how to get IT support.

3. Get dressed. Changing into working clothes will help you mentally switch to productive work mode. It will also help you distinguish between ‘homeworking’ and ‘home life’.

4. Write a daily to-do list. Set out a list of realistic, achievable tasks to keep you focused.

5. Know when to step away from your desk. Be clear about when your working day begins and ends and take breaks to refresh. It’s easy to let yourself be ‘always on’ when your home and office are the same place. When work is over, be sure you switch off to avoid burnout. Think about having ‘core hours ’ which people you work with are around for.

6. Stay in conversation. Contribute regularly to team chats/group emails so you don’t drop off the radar. Ask about what people are working on and share what’s on your plate. Being physically separated means you miss the ‘water-cooler moments’ so this is a means to keep informed.

7. Foster relationships. Make time for non-work chats as you would in the workplace and use video calling to maintain face-to-face contact.

8. Be clear in your communication. Speaking in person gives you visual and audio cues that help you communicate. Conversing remotely removes a lot of that extra information so make your communications extra clear and concise.

9. Ask for support when needed. Speak out when you need assistance, further training or support. Your manager, colleagues and you are part of a team and should be supporting each other, especially remotely.

10. Make remote working work for you. Change where you sit, put on music, whatever helps you work. And enjoy the perks – no commute or uncomfortable shoes, and all your home comforts!

For more information and resources, see the CIPD webpages.