Student wellbeing

David Lees

Faculty Senior Tutor - Social Sciences

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"I have been working with colleagues across the Faculty of Social Sciences, particularly Senior and Personal Tutors and Directors of Education, to discuss ways of supporting students in the coming weeks.

In the context of my own department (School of Modern Languages and Culture), I’ve been in regular touch with my personal tutees to prepare them for our plans around revision and exam preparation in term 3 and I am also really looking forward to meeting my tutees when they’re (hopefully) able to come onto campus safely.

It’s important for me as a personal tutor to feel that my students are supported throughout their time at Warwick, but particularly looking ahead to the pressures of exam season."

What are you most looking forward to?

"For me, the most rewarding part of the job is seeing my students achieve the degree they have worked so hard to achieve. So I think I’m most looking forward to being able to have a chat with my tutees when they have found out their degree classification and marks and being able to support them through that process and to celebrate their successes.

I also really love it (we all do!) when our former students get in touch to say how they’re getting on, so I’m quite looking forward to the occasional email from my finalist students in about six months’ time, when they are settled in their new jobs or in further study."

Francesca Pigni

Psychological Therapist

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff? 

"I have been encouraging students not to get used to the social deprivation, and I have tried to do it myself. It’s incredible what we get used to and when we started talking about the lockdown as the new normality I shivered. Yes, we all got comfortable in working from home, and yes, there will be anxiety in getting back into social relationships, meetings, lectures. But emotionally and socially, we still need the full, 3D life experience.

In these weeks I have been accepting my own anxiety and getting sensory overwhelmed as a step towards a healthier, more fulfilling direction. Within my service, we have discussed the safe return so that we feel safe in keeping students safe." 

What are you most looking forward to? 

"Most of all sharing a space, which is not just physical but also emotional. I look forward to welcoming students into my office and giving them the safe space of the therapy room.

I look forward to those small informal moments like having a coffee with a colleague and sharing the excitement when the term starts and ends. I look forward to meeting some new colleagues in person as we only met online with people who started in the last year. I look forward to beautiful, educational projects to start, involving socialising, sports and volunteering." 

Safety and support

Donna Storer

Security Officer

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"I have recently joined the security team and have been impressed with how safe it feels on campus. The security team have been working hard to ensure compliance with Covid restrictions to keep people safe, and also planning for when lockdown is lifted. We are working with other teams and departments, along with the Students’ Union, to manage events with safety in mind.

We are also planning for Arrivals for September, with lots of ideas about information and items that can help students settle in quickly to our community."

What are you most looking forward to?

"This is my first full term at the University, so I am looking forward to seeing restrictions finally lifted."

Lisa Randle

Student Experience Ambassador, and part of the MyDelivery team

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"As part of my Student Experience Ambassador role, I ask people to comply with the Covid rules to keep us all safe. I have also been supporting the delivered team, going out with them to help with delivering parcels to students who are self-isolating.

I would usually work in Rootes kitchen as a chef and have done for 21 years, so this is a totally different and more public facing role for me. During this time I have definitely seen the University in a different way, and I’m now familiar with many buildings which I had never been in before!"

What are you most looking forward to?

"I can honestly say it’s been a pleasant experience, it’s lovely to meet the students and other people as I walk around the University, and I’m looking forward to seeing more people back."

Edwin Cleary

Street Marshal, Leamington Spa

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"We have continued to work throughout the various stages of lockdown; offering support to students whilst out and about in Leamington Spa.

Additionally we have attended a number of online seminars in order to enhance our knowledge and understanding of concerns faced by students, and in particular, how we can signpost people to various support programs that are available within the community."

What are you most looking forward to?

"We are looking forward to more engagement and helping the night-time community reignite in a safe and exciting manner.

We can’t wait to get back to meeting new people and helping to ensure that students experience Leamington Spa in a positive light, creating lifelong memories to reminisce on for many years to come."

Donna Chaytors

Cleaning Assistant

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"The students in my block at Tocil have been on campus the whole duration, however, I do see other students arriving in the area.

The workload has changed a lot since lockdown for Tocil staff, as we have shared bathrooms and shower rooms. We have touch points cleaning several times daily and bathroom cleans twice daily across the entire 7 day week. The kitchens are also cleaned once a week.

Our staff room has changed quite dramatically as we are only allowed 4 staff members in at one time, which can be challenging as we have twenty cleaning assistants in Tocil at the moment! We are very aware and conscious about the social distancing and wearing of face masks. Most of the students have been good with both of these requirements also."

Campus experience

Alan Jephcott

Climbing Centre Manager

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"By creating a safe and engaging environment for fun and challenge for all of our climbing community. I'm doing this by engaging our customers in a relaxed way to take care of themselves and each other, through good communication."

What are you most looking forward to?

"A full climbing centre – seeing people quite literally stretching themselves physically, mentally and emotionally in our environment and watching their journeys to reaching new heights is always the thing that gives me energy to help them achieve."

Kathryn Taylor

Student Experience Ambassador

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"In my role as a Student Experience Ambassador I’ve been supporting both staff and students to ensure social distancing and face covering rules are adhered to. I have been a chef at Warwick for 18 years now, so stepping into this role has been a completely new experience, not only having to deal with Covid but also moving into a much more public facing role. Very different, but enjoyable!

After being off on furlough for over 6 months, returning to work initially was quite a daunting idea. On returning on that first day it was nice seeing familiar faces and being able to have that workplace banter.

Getting out and about on campus has been good, seeing/finding buildings, places that we've provided with food for years but never actually known where it was! It’s been good being able to put faces to names we see on booking sheets, and even seeing some old faces that I have worked with in the past."

Richard Harrison

CRM Manager, also part of the Warwick Presents team

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"The Covid-19 pandemic meant that Warwick, like other universities, had been forced to think quickly about the impact on university life, study and wellbeing of students. Warwick Presents was created to help deliver a vibrant on-campus and online experience that brought life, attraction and excitement to students at Warwick.

The Warwick Presents programme ran throughout this academic year and provided fun social activities to enable our students to meet up with old friends and make new friends,even if they were self-isolating or unable to be on campus. The rolling programme of food, entertainment and activities has also had to flex with the ever-changing lockdown and government advice – so the team have had to be very agile in their approach!

We are now in a position for Term 3 to offer a selection of events that will allow students who are on campus to take part in socially distanced events, such as Street Golf and a Story Based 5k Running App. We’re also offering virtual activities for all our students to engage with,along with their flat or colleagues overseas or living at home addresses, including a Come Dine with Me style cook-along theatre show.

It’s a real cross-team effort,and we will continue to offer Food & Drink related offers and events, and Sports activities working with Warwick Retail, Warwick Arts Centre, Warwick Sport and colleagues from across the campus."

What are you most looking forward to?

"I am looking forward to seeing more of our students smiling and laughing together again as they meet up safely and play golf around one of our car parks, hunt for geocaches around lesser-known quiet parts of campus or try some new food offerings from around the world."

Amanda Langley

Section Supervisor, Rootes Grocery Store

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"We now have new hot food cabinets in the bakery section of the store, with 'no glass doors' which means it is easier for customers to 'grab & go' with their snacks and treats."

What are you most looking forward to?

"Seeing our customers using self-service checkouts which are quick and convenient."

Testing and planning

Richard King

Operations Team Leader, Asymptomatic Testing Centre

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"I've been re-assigned from my usual role as Senior Chef de Partie in Warwick Conferences to Operations Team Leader at the Asymptomatic Testing Centre. During that time wearing masks and social distancing has become second nature to me, which has ensured that I can supervise staff and students with ease and with confidence."

What are you most looking forward to?

"I am looking forward to the social interaction with more people. Coming out of lockdown, and people getting tested means that we are on the route towards returning back to 'normal'!"

Steven Leemoon

Health and Safety Officer (WMG), Health and Safety Services

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff?

"I've been advising the WMG department - executive, facilities, technical team, researchers, teachers, and students - on the Covid secure measures put in place, through risk assessments, to ensure their safety. I've been inspecting and enforcing, to ensure these measures are implemented by consent of the community.

I work with the wider Health & Safety team, as one of several Health & Safety officers within departments across campus."

What are you most looking forward to?

"I'm looking forward to the hustle and bustle of students that bring the campus alive! The dynamic vibrant atmosphere they bring with laughter, chatter, and good cheer."

Chris Griffin

Risk and Resilience Manager

How have you been preparing for the safe return of more students and staff? 

"As Risk and Resilience Manager, I’ve enjoyed a diverse and varied role in helping prepare for the safe return of more students and staff to campus. This has been in the context of supporting the Test and Trace Programme, Campus Reopening Working Group, Staff Resilience Working Group, Major Incident Management and providing updates for the Business Continuity and Recovery Programme.

Additionally, I’ve spent the last 14 months working very closely with fantastic colleagues from across the University to enable us to respond to ever changing Government guidance and ensure that all members of our community have remained safe. 

I’ve been humbled by the commitment, professionalism and resilience of all staff and students – without that, the last 14 months would have been even tougher."

What are you most looking forward to? 

"Relatively speaking, campus is still eerily quiet. I’m most looking forward to seeing it heaving with people again – students, staff and visitors. Hearing and seeing people enjoying all that campus has to offer and watching as our community gets back to normal will be priceless. 

Working with our students and staff to help them enjoy our campus safely is one of my main priorities and that will be so much easier when we’re back."

Hear from more Warwick people

Interested to hear from more staff? Meet people from Warwick's Estates team who have been looking after campus so brilliantly throughout the last year, to hear how they've found it and what they are looking forward to.