A UNION has condemned the push by a college for the majority of staff to attend in-person whilst the country is in lockdown, even when teaching remote lessons.

The University and College Union (UCU) said its members at East Durham College, which has campuses at Peterlee and Houghall, have been told they must work on-site to deliver remote learning and any other work, unless they are extremely clinically vulnerable.

UCU regional official Iain Owens said: “Given the recent lockdown it is critical that everyone work from home where possible to try to lower transmission of Covid-19. By telling staff to come on to campus, East Durham College seems to be ignoring Government guidelines and is in danger of putting other issues above the immediate public health crisis. People need to stay at home to save lives and the college should act like other colleges and facilitate that happening.”

The union has called for the college to move into line with other colleges in the region, where the majority of teaching is remote and staff are working from home to help reduce transmission of Covid-19, as per Government guidelines.

In response, the college said it is adhering to all the guidelines provided by the Department for Education (DfE) for the further education sector and making staff and student safety a priority.

A spokesperson claimed the college has significantly reduced the number of staff on-site to about a quarter of the 450 workforce.

In line with the DfE guidance, the college said it is ensuring clinically extremely vulnerable staff, and students, are not attending the workplace.

It said clinically vulnerable staff, including pregnant staff, can continue to attend work on-site, but must follow specific measures to minimise the risks of transmission and there are risk assessments in place for everyone.

The college said the view of the DfE, and the college, is that face to face education is best for young people’s mental health and their educational achievement.

The DfE require colleges to be open to provide on-site, face to face, delivery for vulnerable students, early years provision, for students of key workers and for students who need to sit practical assessments in order to progress or qualify.

The guidance on vulnerable students includes a range of students including those at risk of becoming NEET (not in employment, education or training) and those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education from home.

A spokesperson for the college said 10 per cent of their full-time students attended on-site last week, demonstrating the demand for face to face learning.

The DfE recently published an update to its main Covid-19 guidance document to include details of how further education leaders should handle the January 2021 partial college closures.

The document states that the DfE ‘expect that most staff will be able to attend work.’

East Durham College said it requires all staff on-site to follow Covid policy and safety controls to minimise the risks.