Coronavirus: advice and guidance

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance for staff, students and visitors

Last updated: 25 March 2020 15:05

On Monday, 23 March, the Government announced new measures in order to contain the coronavirus outbreak. In light of the rapidly evolving situation, the College has made the following decisions outlined below to protect the safety and interests of students and staff. These arrangements will be in force until further notice and are subject to change. This webpage will be updated regularly in accordance with changes in advice from the UK government and Public Health England.

Is the College open?

Newham College will continue to support its students through online and other remote delivery methods. Students can access their learning via the 'Student Login' link at the bottom of the website.

Both East Ham and Stratford campuses and all community centres are now closed until further notice.

The Fashion and Textile Museum is also closed to the public and all courses and events have been cancelled until further notice.

Please continue to check your college email address and this webpage for updates.

What are the latest measures being taken by the College?

Transition to online teaching

Please see our dedicated page on online learning for more information.

Planned assessments

With both campuses closed until further notice, we cannot continue with in-person planned assessments. Students should keep up to date with their course work online and contact their teachers for support where required.

AAT and BTEC have closed all planned assessments and exams.

Applications for prospective students

Applications will be processed as normal and the College will be in touch regularly regarding its progress.

Suspension of overseas trips

Overseas trips have been suspended. The Erasmus placements to Spain were terminated early and all the students returned to the UK on Saturday, 14 March. The May visit to Spain has been cancelled.

College events

All open days and college events are postponed until further notice.

Remote working for staff

All Newham College staff are now working remotely. Should you need to contact anyone, you can do this through Newham College's online chat facility on the front page of the website or email externalenquiries@newham.ac.uk and your query will be directed to the most relevant person.

Self-isolation guidance

The Government has introduced new guidance on whole household isolation if you have either a high temperature (37.8C and above) or a new, persistent cough:

  • If you live alone and you have symptoms of coronavirus, however mild, stay at home for 7 days from when your symptoms started.
  • If you live with others and you or another member of the household have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. It is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.
  • For anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.

The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here.

How to protect yourself

  • Wash your hands regularly with clean, running water and soap. If soap and water is unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser. But proper hand washing is the most effective method and this should be your first choice.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue into a bin immediately and wash your hands. If you don't have a tissue to hand, cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than your hands.
  • Practice good personal hygiene.

Where can I find additional advice?

We will continue to keep this web page updated and should there be any major changes, we will inform students, staff, third-party service providers, contractors and consultants directly.

Further advice and updates are available from these sites: Public Health England, Department of Education, National Health Service and the UK Government.

If you have any specific concerns not covered here, you can email externalenquiries@newham.ac.uk and your query will be directed to the most relevant person.