Good Afternoon,

The good news continues in that we have no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus relating to any of our staff or students at any of our campuses, as at today Thursday 2nd April 2020.

The Government’s strict new regulations around social gatherings are designed to limit unnecessary contact and therefore exposure to coronavirus. As you will have read from other countries’ experiences, this is a critical tool to slow the spread of this virus.

Each day the Department for Health and Human Services provides an update on the latest number of cases available to the public.

As of today more than 49,000 people have been tested in Victoria and there have been 1035 confirmed cases of coronavirus. This equates to 0.01% of Victoria’s 6.3m population. Of those cases 828 are in Melbourne and 193 are in regional areas.

In total 422 (or 40%) have already recovered which means there are just 613 people currently with the infection and of those 36 are in hospital. In total, five people have died. These statistics show that the chance of contracting the virus in Victoria is relatively low right now.

However, there are now 57 confirmed cases of community transmission in Victoria which means the person with coronavirus has not been overseas, or had close personal contact with someone who has. This growing number is the reason that it is essential to stay at home if you can.

The more exposure to other people and places you have, the higher the chance of becoming unwell. Details explaining when you are allowed to leave your home are published here.

Attending TAFE to work or study is still allowed because education is an essential service. But with the majority of classes now set up to provide learning in some form via online methods, we are seeing a huge reduction in on-campus attendance.

If you are on campus, please adhere to the social distancing guidance of remaining 2m away from others, and ensure you are washing your hands regularly. We have produced some videos to help explain these steps:

- Good Hygiene

- Social Distancing​

We are pleased to still be able to report that we have no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus on any of our Kangan Institute sites as at today, April 1st 2020.

We are seeing very few students around campus now with most classes moving to an online delivery and remote model, and of course many of our students are also on term break. But libraries are open should anyone need to use Moodle or access the internet.

To reiterate, as an essential service TAFEs are not subject to the new restrictions on social gatherings that came into force at midnight Monday. But to clarify, these do mean that if you are outside you home for anything other an essential outing, there can be no more than two of you together – excluding anyone who you already live with.

The Department of Health and Human Services has published the new rules so you can take a close look if you are unsure.

Having your classroom in your house will be a big change for many students and has no doubt led to a lot of creative approaches – we'd love to hear yours. Please send your tips and photos about "attending" class from home to corporatecommunications@kangan.edu.au

Here's a tall person's solution to not having a stand-up desk at home… not sure how the cats feel about sharing their scratching tower though!

Our Employment Centre is fully operational and offering our free assistance to all our current students and recent graduates. The friendly team has adapted operations in these unusual times, and now offers appointments online, on the phone and via email and will help with:

Co​ntact them on 9279 2459 or 1300 484 335 or email employmentcentre@kangan.edu.au

The Australian Government has created a new app where it shares all its up to date information about coronavirus, including what to do if you think you have been exposed or if you have any health concerns. You can access the app here.

Good afternoon everyone.

Firstly, to reassure you, there are no known or suspected cases of COVID-19 at any of the Kangan Institute campuses as at 31 March 2020. Maintaining your strict social distancing and hygiene practices is playing a part in this and slowing the spread of the virus, thank you.

Stage 3 restrictions now in place

You may be aware that the Government moved to Stage 3 of its coronavirus response from midnight last night, and that means more restrictions on social gatherings. People may now only socialise with up to two other people other than those in their household. This is due to the thousands of people ignoring the health advice over the weekend to stay home and away from others, and if people are found to be in breach of these new rules, they can be fined $1600.

As an education facility we are an essential service, so this does not apply on our campuses. But we do ask that if you are working or studying on any of the Kangan Institute sites you practice good social distancing and of course, good personal hygiene.

Good afternoon,

We come to the end of another tough week, and one that has seen significant change for our organisation.

It is important to note that we end the week with no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus COVID-19. Maintaining your strict social distancing and hygiene practices is playing a part in this and slowing the spread of the virus, thank you.

It has been a week of phenomenal change for students and staff as we transitioned as many courses as possible into digital and remote delivery modes. Many are already up and running in the new formats successfully while some will take longer, and may have less adaptable components.

As a TAFE we are proud to be leading the way with our flexibility and ability to change quickly. Next week alone the automotive department will run over 100 individual classes through digital means – a huge change from the way we delivered courses even just two weeks ago. This is a credit to all staff and students.

As the majority of our students are now completing their course work off campus, it is timely to note that our library services are also available online.

The instruction from Government remains clear that we must continue to operate and support our students, and that applies to libraries. Providing this service using online channels also fulfils our obligations.

The libraries remain open for use by students who need to access Moodle or the internet.

 

The transition to digital delivery and working from home arrangements has had the most visible impact on our smaller campus sites. Visitors to our Castlemaine, Echuca and Moonee Ponds next week will be guided by signage to explain this digital delivery change, and ensure they can still contact who they need to by phone or online.

In crisis management terms, we are now at a point where a significant amount of operational change and readiness planning has been completed. The issues and concerns around the health of our staff and students on campus have eased.

From next week this daily communication will be more functional. It will provide updates on Kangan Institute operational matters, working for home advice, and also lighter content to keep us all connected while we work separately. We will be asking you to share your experiences in this new digital learning world too.

There will be the need for urgent, coronavirus-related communications to be shared but this will only be as required. That type of information will likely come directly from our Chief Executive Sally Curtain.

 

Have a safe and healthy weekend.

Regards,

Kangan Institute​

Good afternoon everyone,

As at 4.30pm Thursday 26 March there are no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus at any of our campuses.

Our campuses are starting to look quite different however, as so many our courses are now being delivered using a range of online channels, and students are completing their courses from home. This shift in delivery is enabling us to remain operational as we are required to by the Government and we’d like to thank everyone for their flexibility.

If that situation changes, you will hear it from us in these updates. The decisions and changes made by other educational facilities will not necessarily apply to us, nor will the decisions Government makes for different industries and services. If in doubt about your work or course requirements, please just ask.

For those still on campus, it is good to see the social distancing guidelines being observed where practical. We understand that our legal requirement to stay open is confusing for some, especially as the general health advice is to work from home and isolate.

We have had further clarification from the Department of Education and Training today to reiterate that we must keep providing services for students, including library support. Our libraries are an integral part of our delivery of education and are not regarded as separate operations.

For students who do not have access to Moodle or the internet at home, you are welcome to use your campus library. Please make concerted efforts to respect our library staff and your fellow students. Ensure you are keeping an appropriate distance from other people, wash your hands thoroughly before entering the library and use hand sanitizer if it is available.

If you are sick with a cold or flu, do not use the library, do not go to class or work.​

Both remaining Bendigo Campus cafés at BTEC and Charleston Rd sites will temporarily close from tonight, including takeaway options. We will update you when the cafés are reopening.

The number of coronavirus cases is increasing across Australia as predicted. To slow that growth, we must all continue to be vigilant with our health and hygiene.

If you have concerns about your health, please follow the required coronavirus guidelines as issued by the Australian Government.​

​

Regards,

Kangan Institute​

Good afternoon,

There are no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus at any of our campuses as at 4.30pm today, Wednesday 25 March.

We remain in daily contact with the Department of Education and Training about our obligations as an essential service. This has not changed and we must continue to remain operational in every aspect to deliver our quality education program to our students.

We are not subjected to the same restrictions as pubs, restaurants and public facilities like libraries, and we must remain open and operational so that our students are not disadvantaged. This means transitioning to digital and remote learning, and we are well underway with these changes where possible.

 

We want to thank everyone for continuing to step up the hygiene practices. Hand washing will help slow the spread of this virus. You may also note our increased campus cleaning cycle. This now comprises a continuous 45-minute rotation to clean all kitchens, restrooms, mirrors, offices, meeting rooms, desk phones, doors and door handles.

 

TAFEs are considered an essential service and have different exemptions from restaurants, cafes, and pubs, but we do need everyone who is still working on site to practice responsible social distancing.

We appreciate this has been confusing. There is a lot of information coming out from Federal Government and State Government about this, and we are constantly seeking clarification in order to follow the correct instructions.

We need to be able to operate and teach, including in courses which have yet to move to a digital or remote teaching option.

Signage will be going up around campuses from today to remind everyone about the need to maintain social distancing.

We will keep you all updated if there are any changes to our operations.

Regards,

Kangan Institute

Good afternoon all,

As at 4pm Tuesday 24th March there are no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus, and we want to continue to thank you for the efforts you are all making around social distancing and personal hygiene practices.

Yesterday the Department of Education and Training (DET) clarified our position as an essential service. This is why we must keep our doors open, but we are now allowed to move to digital or remote course delivery models. That means our facilities remain operational but that we will start to have less student activity and attendance on campus.

We appreciate that this is difficult for some people to understand, however it is not our decision to make and we must follow the Government instruction. The health advice given to the DET is that we are able to remain open and that we are exempt from the stricter social distancing rules seen at pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes. However, we must be sensible and take the health advice around hand washing and social distancing seriously.

In most instances, our course delivery will change. This will happen in different timeframes for different courses. Some will already be able to move to a fully digital learning experience and may do so quite quickly; others will take more time to set the new processes up.

Given the current situation and the serious moves in place to reduce the spread of coronavirus, these changes will continue for some time – this could be weeks or even months. At this point we do not know the time frame.

More details will be provided to you about your specific course information or teaching requirements as soon as possible but for now we continue as normal.

The transition to having less students and staff on campus has prompted the cafés at Broadmeadows and Docklands to close from today.

The Department of Education and Training is also sharing its general information on its website: www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

More health-related information is available on the Department of Health and Human Services website.

Our coronavirus section of the intranet is the repository of all the information we are sharing and you can find that here.

As you will all be aware, this is an unprecedented global health emergency and the significant measures the Government has announced should be taken very seriously. We know people are concerned and worried, and it is absolutely understandable in this time of uncertainty. Your health and well-being is extremely important to us.