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There are some really big questions about how to tackle questions of material based / performance based teaching and learning which not yet been tackled. 

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There are some really big questions about how to tackle questions of material based / performance based teaching and learning which not yet been tackled. 

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Tips and advice for parents and carers who are new to working from home with kids.

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Creatives and companies the world over are offering help and support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is CR's list of what's available right now, which we will update regularly

As creatives around the globe are feeling the impact of the pandemic, it's spurring a wave of support from people and companies keen to help.

Read on for CR's guide to the programmes and initiatives that are on offer to help creatives through an uncertain time. The most recently announced opportunities will be added at the top. Got something to add to our list? Get in touch via @creativereview on Twitter or email us.

Don't want this to come across as arrogant or egotistical. Just an offer for any graduates or students who are may need some advice, portfolio support or anything. You can DM me and I'll do my best to help. It's hardly anything I know, but I will try and offer some assistance 1/2

- Studio DBD (@studiodbd) March 18, 2020

We now have a private Slack channel for illustrators, 100+ members already, to help get through the current stuff but also build a community for the future.

I need to get on with some work, but if you're interested in joining DM me your email address and I'll sort out invites pic.twitter.com/hw0mvp3emB

- Ben The Illustrator ✏️✌️ (@BenIllustrator) March 17, 2020

Kickstarter's Inside Voices initiative
Crowdfunding site Kickstarter has launched an open call for creatives during lockdown to get started on projects made and delivered entirely at home, providing vital financial help for makers who are out of work.

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A go-to guide for creative support during coronavirus

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Creatives and companies the world over are offering help and support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is CR's list of what's available right now, which we will update regularly As creatives around the globe are feeling the impact of the pandemic, it's spurring a wave of support from people and companies keen to help.

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Issues around systems for recording lectures, access to personal technology, safeguarding for both students and HE practitioners. 

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Issues around systems for recording lectures, access to personal technology, safeguarding for both students and HE practitioners. 

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Comment on what sort of training to online tutoring. More discipline new ways of approaching learning online. 

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Comment on what sort of training to online tutoring. More discipline new ways of approaching learning online. 

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Making sure online public forums set up to avoid having to answer repetitive answers. 

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Making sure online public forums set up to avoid having to answer repetitive answers. 

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Hard to maintain healthy boundaries around time when they work from home. Situation that was there before c-19 but been exacerbated since then.

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Hard to maintain healthy boundaries around time when they work from home. Situation that was there before c-19 but been exacerbated since then.

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Timezones another issue for teaching and student engagement. 

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Timezones another issue for teaching and student engagement. 

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Recording lectures, talks and seminars has been useful for students with caring responsibilities to continue engagement although it's hard to monitor engagement and therefore need to check in with students.

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Recording lectures, talks and seminars has been useful for students with caring responsibilities to continue engagement although it's hard to monitor engagement and therefore need to check in with students.

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There is more opportunity to create events and webinars online and there's opportunity for accessibility now that barriers like travel and time can be managed, but there is a time impact on delivery of online content and upskilling for presenters and organisers. 

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There is more opportunity to create events and webinars online and there's opportunity for accessibility now that barriers like travel and time can be managed, but there is a time impact on delivery of online content and upskilling for presenters and organisers. 

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Increased teaching/admin load has had an impact on other elements of work e.g. research.

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Increased teaching/admin load has had an impact on other elements of work e.g. research.

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Concern over the impact of the student experience as a result of c-19.

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Concern over the impact of the student experience as a result of c-19.

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Upskilling for online technology and divising courses online.

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Upskilling for online technology and divising courses online.

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Data from institution/union survey is an Increase in workload as a result of c19

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Data from institution/union survey is an Increase in workload as a result of c19

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Long term - how are the universities going to manage homeworking if this is going to continue?

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Long term - how are the universities going to manage homeworking if this is going to continue?

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Impact of personal deadlines, managing caring responsibilites, combining with partner.

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Impact of personal deadlines, managing caring responsibilites, combining with partner.

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As strict self-isolation measures, introduced to control the spread of coronavirus, force millions of us to work from home, UCL academics share their tips and strategies to help achieve healthy homeworking.

Dave: Limit time spent on smartphones and use time management techniques. For example, if you check your phone first thing in the morning set an alarm to limit your activity. Better still, focus on your most important task (M.I.T) first, and attend to distracting email and social media when you are done with focused tasks.

Anna: Following a routine Monday to Friday can help those of us home schooling. Kids are used to following a routine at school and following a similar timetable at home might make them feel more secure.

Image

Media contact

Natasha Downes

tel: +44 20 3108 3844

E: n.downes [at] ucl.ac.uk

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Covid-19: How to foster healthy home working

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As strict self-isolation measures, introduced to control the spread of coronavirus, force millions of us to work from home, UCL academics share their tips and strategies to help achieve healthy homeworking. Dave: Limit time spent on smartphones and use time management techniques.

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NHS guidelines on 'Mental wellbeing while staying at home'

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NHS guidelines on 'Mental wellbeing while staying at home'

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Working from home, remotely or splitting time between home and the office (hybrid working) has become more common than ever.

Many of us have had to adjust to these new ways of working following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in 2020. Some of us have even entered the workforce for the first time, starting working life in a remote role, without having experienced an office-based job.

Working from home can have benefits and perks that some of us enjoy (bye bye commute!), but a change like this can be challenging too and can have a big impact on our mental health.

It can cause stress, a lack of motivation, anxiety and uncertainty. Alongside this, we might worry about future job prospects or the best way to juggle work with our personal and family life.

These simple tips can help you feel more productive, motivated and take care of your mental health while working from home.

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6 simple tips to tackle working from home - Every Mind Matters

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Read our 6 simple tips to help you manage working from home and look after your mental wellbeing.

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Coronavirus briefing on student accomodation

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Coronavirus briefing on student accomodation

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Read the briefing note online

Student accommodation has emerged as a pressing concern for large numbers of students during the coronavirus pandemic. Their concerns are many and varied. Students still living in their term-time accommodation may be worrying about whether their tenancy will be extended if they need it to be. They may be anxious about falling into rent arrears. They may be fearful about whether they will be able to get help if they become ill. Those who have returned to their family home may be unsure how and when they will be able to retrieve their belongings, whether their belongings are safe in an unoccupied house or hall of residence, or if they will have to pay rent for accommodation they are now not using.

The problems range from the immediate - such as how students who are self-isolating can share communal kitchens and bathrooms safely - to the longer term - such as whether students will be held to tenancies due to commence in summer 2020 in the event of continuing uncertainty about the impact of the virus on learning, teaching and research activity.

This briefing note looks at the ways in which universities, colleges and others are supporting the accommodation needs of their students during the outbreak, and signposts to sources of advice and information. We are acutely aware of the importance to students of accommodation issues, the confusion and uncertainty that many of them are currently experiencing, and their concern that disruption and financial loss be minimised wherever possible.

We are also aware of the implications for universities and colleges of loss of income from campus-based accommodation as a result of the pandemic. Universities UK has estimated that the UK sector is facing losses of around £790 million from accommodation, catering and conference income in the final 2019-20 term, and for the 2020 Easter and summer vacations. ¹

The note does not constitute regulatory guidance - the OfS has no remit to regulate providers of private accommodation directly. Nor do we have a role in resolving individual disputes between students and their universities or colleges. The aim is, rather, to disseminate ideas, approaches and practice. In so doing, we are not stipulating particular approaches or in any way endorsing the actions of specific institutions. Even where we are highlighting an action that may be beneficial to students, this should not be taken as a wider endorsement of that institution or of their approach to accommodation during the coronavirus pandemic.

The note's main focus is on students who normally live away from home, although we also want to acknowledge the large proportion of students who commute to their university or college from their own home, or the home they grew up in, and who will be facing their own challenges in continuing their studies at this time. ²

Student accommodation: an overview

Student accommodation comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. In 2018-19, of the full-time and sandwich students studying in the UK, only 19.4 per cent of undergraduates and 15.5 per cent of postgraduates lived in provider-maintained property, or in student halls owned by a university or college. ³ Most students who live away from home are in accommodation that is not directly owned by universities and colleges. Many students rent purpose-built student accommodation from one of a number of major UK student housing management and development companies. Others live in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) rented from smaller private landlords. This diversity of accommodation type and ownership means that there is a similar lack of uniformity in rental arrangements and the support that students can expect. ⁴

In the period before 'lockdown', which started on 23 March 2020, the government advised students to return to their out-of-term homes if possible (although only if they were able to do so without using public transport). ⁵ The latest government advice is that any students who have not gone home should now stay where they are and not attempt to travel while the current restrictions are in force. This advice applies whether they are living in student halls or private rented accommodation. ⁶

We do not, at present, know exactly how many students are still living in term-time accommodation. But the indications are that large numbers of students, both domestic and international, did not (or could not) return to their home address before the lockdown. A Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) poll of 1,000 undergraduate students found that around 45 per cent of respondents were still living at their term-time address at the end of March 2020. ⁷

The government has published guidance on isolation in university and college halls of residence and HMOs. The guidance states that universities and building managers of private halls will need to ensure that self-isolating students can receive the food and medicines they need for the duration of their isolation. It also advises students in HMOs to discuss their circumstances with their landlord and their institution, who should then work together to ensure necessary support is in place. ⁸

The government has stressed that there should be no evictions from university-owned halls during this period. It has also encouraged universities and colleges to make clear to the managers of any privately owned halls of residence in their area that evictions would be unacceptable. If a housing provider is unable to accommodate a student, work must be done with the local authority, letting agencies and other local partners to prevent students being made homeless. ⁹ In the private rental sector, new government guidance in response to the coronavirus pandemic has extended the notice period for evictions to three months for certain types of tenancy. ¹⁰

Figure 1: Full-time and sandwich students studying in the UK by term-time accommodation, 2018-19

Vulnerable students

Many students remaining in student accommodation may face particular issues and difficulties in the circumstances. These include:

International students: many intended or may still want to return to their home countries but have been prevented by borders being closed or difficulties in finding a flight.

Care experienced students (students who have been in the care of a local authority, such as a children's home or foster care): local authorities have a legal responsibility to support care leavers with the costs of out-of-term accommodation, although a number have extended this support to in-term accommodation costs during the pandemic.

Students who are estranged from their families: this group does not have the same legal status as care leavers, but these students may have similar needs.

Mature students, especially those in university or private sector family accommodation, may have additional caring and childcare responsibilities.

The government guidance stresses the particular importance of ensuring that international students, care leavers and estranged students are not required to leave their halls of residence, regardless of whether their contract is up or does not cover holiday periods, or if they are unable to pay their rent. In a similar vein, it emphasises the need for higher education providers to make sure that self-isolating disabled students, along with non-disabled students, are receiving the food and medicines they need.

Universities and colleges are thinking carefully about the needs of these and other groups of vulnerable students. Many have contacted their vulnerable students to reassure them that they will not be evicted, and that their needs will be met.

Student wellbeing

For all students left on a near-deserted campus, concerns about mental and physical health are especially pressing. Student halls often do not have gardens, balconies or other contained outdoor spaces. This limits students' opportunities for outdoor exercise and relaxation, with knock-on implications for access to sunlight, physical health, and mental wellbeing.

Maintaining social connection remotely is paramount to ensure good mental health. Many higher education providers and private halls are using social media and other online technologies to keep in touch and help students socialise safely, and a number have already moved their mental health support online. The Department for Education and the OfS are working with the sector to consider how universities and colleges might offer additional support.

University of Hull: support services

The university's student services team is providing support to all students - whether on or off campus - through telephone calls, live chat and video conferencing. This includes support relating to mental health, academic issues, financial issues, and immigration and visa compliance. Tutorial support is offered to students with specific learning differences such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. All the university's vulnerable students have been proactively contacted to ascertain any issues and provide support as required.

The university has launched a new 'Exceptional Circumstances Fund' to support students who have lost an income stream on which they rely and that cannot be obtained from any other source - for example, as a result of lost or reduced income from employment.

Separate rooms are available for students needing to self-isolate along with a package of support which includes daily check-ins from the student welfare team, who also ensure that they have food and other essential items.

Physical distancing in student accommodation

Student accommodation presents challenges for physical distancing if students need to self-isolate. Shared spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms are common across a range of accommodation types, and can increase the risk of cross-infection. Government guidance emphasises the need for universities and colleges to consult with local Public Health England protection teams in making decisions about self-isolation where a student has symptoms of coronavirus, and to ensure that self-isolating students have the food and medicines they need for the duration of their isolation.

Some universities are housing students in self-contained units in order to stop the spread of the virus in communal areas. It is particularly important to protect those students who are at greater risk of becoming seriously unwell with coronavirus (such as those with underlying health conditions). Moving these students to ensuite accommodation or self-contained flats - so that they do not have to share a kitchen or other facilities - will help to keep them safe.

Providers are also dealing with the task of ensuring students' security, especially in large purpose-built accommodation, at a time when they may be experiencing staff shortages.

Landlords' repair obligations have not changed. It is in the best interests of both tenants and landlords to ensure that properties are kept in good repair and free from hazards, and that urgent health and safety issues are swiftly addressed. ¹¹

University of Greenwich: Maintaining student wellbeing

The students' union and the university are organising a range of virtual events, games and other interventions for students remaining in halls. These include virtual language-learning, volunteering opportunities, fitness sessions, study groups, mindfulness activities, quiz sessions, book and poetry discussions, and 'Netflix parties'. There is an active Facebook student community group. The students' union and the university's accommodation services have arranged pastoral phone calls to check in with residents, assist with any queries, provide assurance and offer help if needed. Additional student wellbeing support, including via Big White Wall, a mental health support community, is available online and by phone.

Rent and arrears

Many students who have returned to their family home are worried about paying rent for accommodation they are no longer using. By mid-April over 60,000 people had signed a petition calling on student accommodation providers to waive rent for the third term for those who have returned home. ¹² Some students are organising rent strikes and have gained concessions. ¹³

Many universities and colleges are cancelling rent for the third term for students who have vacated their rooms. Some have waived rent for all students, regardless of whether they are still in their accommodation. ¹⁴

As of 11 April 2020, according to Unipol, the student housing charity, 60 universities in England had 'confirmed that they would refund, waive, or terminate contracts'. A further 52 had stated that 'they would continue with current contracts...or were yet to make a decision'. ¹⁵

A number of student accommodation management companies have waived fees for the third term of the current academic year if a student has vacated their accommodation. ¹⁶ Some private student rental agencies and landlords have reduced rents substantially. We understand that other student accommodation companies are expecting students to continue to fulfil their contracts, and to pay full rent. ¹⁷

The government has reassured students that they will be paid their maintenance loan as usual for the third term. ¹⁸ However, the National Union of Students (NUS) has expressed concerns that this will still not be enough to allow some students to cover their rent. ¹⁹ A 2018 NUS and Unipol accommodation cost survey showed that, on average, rents accounted for 73 per cent of the maximum student finance maintenance loan. ²⁰ Many undergraduate students studying in England are not eligible for the maximum loan and rely on their parents and/or part-time work to help meet their living costs.

With thousands of shops and businesses closed until further notice, and the prospect of an uncertain job market for some time to come, many students have lost the part-time work they often undertake over the holidays and during term time, and will not be eligible for universal credit or housing benefit. Their parents may also have experienced a loss in income.

In these circumstances, and as the quotes below suggest, rent arrears may be, or become, a pressing problem for many students. The NUS has asked, among other things, that 'all [student] renters who are financially impacted by the coronavirus must have their rents subsidised, significantly reduced or waived entirely for six months'. ²¹ We understand that some universities and colleges have written to private student landlords encouraging them to be flexible in the current unprecedented circumstances.

There has also been recognition, in the press and elsewhere, that landlords may themselves be facing financial pressures. The government has published details of a package of measures 'to ensure support is available where it is needed for landlords'. ²²

Beyond the summer term, many students will have already signed tenancy agreements for the next academic year. With uncertainty about when government restrictions will be lifted and providers can begin face-to-face teaching, many will be worried about whether they will be paying for accommodation they may not live in. Universities and colleges will also potentially suffer further loss of income from their student halls if this does happen, as may other accommodation providers. This could have wider implications for local economies and communities that universities, working with the local authority and other partners, will be attempting to identify and mitigate.

Student accommodation management companies: Supporting students during the pandemic

Certain student accommodation management companies have allowed students who have moved out to cancel their rent for the third term. They have also produced regular updates, FAQs and other communications, discussed payment plans with individual students, and collated information about university-specific hardship and financial support schemes for residents in difficulty.

Some companies are assisting with shopping and other services, and helping to support students' mental and physical health and wellbeing - for example, providing details of university-specific and national online mental wellbeing and health services, setting up residents' online chat groups, and providing access to online fitness classes.

Student perspectives

These quotations are from students and students' unions responding to an invitation from the NUS to contact us about their experiences of accommodation during the coronavirus crisis. They have been anonymised to protect identities.

'The universities in this city have been very good with cancelling contracts and waiving final term rent payments.'

'I asked for my contract to be terminated early....The answer was 'no' and the company said it would get my guarantor involved.' [Student in accommodation managed and owned by a private company]

'Overall I feel let down and ignored by my letting agency. I emailed them regarding concerns around the lack of information regarding rent reduction and payment options...[and] was met with a generic email...which did not answer my questions and frankly felt distant and uninterested....I understand that it is a complicated and chaotic time but it is confusing when some measures are being taken with certain companies and not others.'

'The students' union and the university have written a joint letter to private landlords, with input from the local landlords' association.'

'Some private halls have offered cancellation policies... [with] very short deadlines and specific terms that make it difficult for students to cancel their tenancies, such as the need to travel to collect belongings even though it directly contradicts government advice. One is demanding pages of personal, medical and financial information...before they consider cancelling contracts.'

Staffordshire University and Students' Union: working together to support private sector student tenants

Staffordshire University and Staffordshire University's Students' Union are working together to help students in private accommodation, as well as those in university accommodation, to access food, cleaning and sanitary products, and health and wellbeing support. During the first week of the lockdown, the Students' Union contacted student tenants through Greenpad, its accommodation service, to find out whether they intended to remain in their accommodation, identify any immediate support required, and signpost relevant advice and support services.

The Students' Union is working closely with contractors to manage essential repairs and maintenance and to ensure compliance; liaising with private landlords to deal with queries related to student finances, and working to agree payment plans as required; and providing students living in private sector accommodation with template letters to refer to when contacting their landlords with rent queries.

The university and the Students' Union are also working together to organise events and activities for all students still living on or near the university, including video game tournaments, cookery demonstrations, fitness classes and a virtual 'One Staffs Café' designed to bring together Staffordshire University students from across the globe.

Conclusion

Higher education providers are facing considerable challenges in providing safe accommodation for their students. Many if not most are taking a fair and balanced approach to decisions concerning accommodation charges. They are also working in partnership with their student unions and other partners to support their students' wider welfare and wellbeing.

The complexities and uncertainties surrounding the pandemic make clear, transparent communications with students even more important. In relation to accommodation, this might include the following (this list is not exhaustive):

Clear, up-to-date information about how accommodation is being maintained, cleaned and kept safe.

Detailed information about how to self-isolate in a house with communal areas, and the support available to students.

What students can expect to pay for the summer term, whether they are using the accommodation or not.

Regular contact with vulnerable students, tailored to their particular needs.

Regular dialogue with students' unions to identify student accommodation issues and initiatives.

How the university or college is working with private landlords and student accommodation companies to try to ensure students are fairly treated.

How students will be helped if they are unable to pay their rent.

How students can maintain their wellbeing, physical health and mental health during physical distancing.

Ensuring that students are aware of the new protections against evictions.

Help for students with accommodation issues

Government changes to eviction

New government guidance has extended the notice period for evictions to three months for certain types of tenancy. Court proceedings for eviction are on hold until at least 25 June 2020, regardless of when the landlord in question applied to the court. In practice, these protections mean that students benefitting from those types of tenancy agreements cannot be evicted before the end of June.

If they are threatened with eviction during the pandemic, students should contact the housing officer at their provider and/or student union, if there is one. Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, also has advice on their website.

Report concerns to the Competition and Markets Authority

If students believe their accommodation provider is behaving unfairly during the pandemic, they can report them to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Students may also consider speaking with their local Trading Standards office about any concerns they have as regards their accommodation provider's behaviour.

Complaints under accommodation codes

If a student's landlord has signed up to an accommodation code of good practice, such as that run by Universities UK and GuildHE, or Unipol and ANUK, and they are having problems with the property or landlord, they can make a complaint:

Complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

The OIA has published a briefing note for providers on possible complaints arising from the coronavirus situation which includes accommodation issues. There are also FAQs for students.

We thank those universities and companies that provided case studies. We are also grateful to Universities UK and to the National Union of Students (NUS) for their assistance.

The case studies and interventions described in these notes have been developed at pace. They are offered in the spirit of sharing practice that others may find useful and applicable to their own contexts.

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Student accommodation has emerged as a pressing concern for large numbers of students during the coronavirus pandemic. Their concerns are many and varied. Students still living in their term-time accommodation may be worrying about whether their tenancy will be extended if they need it to be.

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Written by: Amy Clair, ESRC Research Centre for Micro-Social Change, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex
This guest blog is part of our Ask the Expert series, a partnership between the SMF and UK Research and Innovation, which brings academic research to bear on policymaking.

Housing is an important social determinant of health. COVID-19, and the actions taken to mitigate its spread, highlight the central role of the home in people's lives. With the country in lockdown people must stay in their homes with very limited exceptions. These unprecedented restrictions mean that people are being forced to think about their homes in new ways, highlighting inequalities in housing and repercussions for health.

Homelessness and housing insecurity

Most obviously, staying at home is not an option if you do not have a home[i]. Homelessness has increased dramatically in recent years[ii]. Homeless people have poorer existing health[iii] and lack the basic facilities that would enable them to reduce their risk to COVID-19 by isolating or washing their hands regularly. The closure of public services will particularly affect this group, as libraries for example often host outreach and support activities.

The inequalities of "Stay Home"

Facilities available to homeless people are also problematic in terms of dealing with the virus. Homeless shelters are a high-risk environment due to the close proximity of residents and shared facilities. Many homeless people are housed in accommodation intended to be used as a short-term last resort, such as B&Bs, where they have no access to cooking facilities, exacerbating difficulties in accessing food. With the latest government restrictions many hotels which provide emergency accommodation for homeless people have been shutting, often with no clear alternative for these displaced people[iv].

The economic impact of COVID-19 raises serious concerns about an escalation of homelessness. The ending of a private tenancy is the leading cause of homelessness[v] and key workers at risk of contracting the virus because of their employment have found themselves facing eviction because of fears that they will spread the virus to landlords[vi]. COVID-19 has led to sudden and severe reductions in incomes for many, particularly the self- and precariously employed. This is likely to lead to housing payment arrears, which have been linked to reduced health, particularly for renters (in the UK), and can lead to eviction or foreclosure[vii]. While mortgage-holders were given a 3-month mortgage holiday, provisions to protect renters in England from eviction during the COVID-19 crisis were initially disappointing[viii] though those measures have been improved and now suspend eviction processes for 3 months[ix]. In the face of a looming economic crisis, there is still scope for further intervention here, however. For example there are plans in Scotland to enforce a 6-month ban on evictions in the private rented sector, providing renters with greater security.

Even among those that do have homes, the lockdown experience will vary dramatically. A recent study found that private renters have higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in their blood than those living in other tenures[x]. CRP is a biomarker[xi] associated with stress and infection, with higher levels indicating that private renters have poorer health. This will likely be due in part to the poor housing security in this tenure, as discussed above. Conversely those living in detached homes (rather than flats, semi-detached homes, or terraces) had better health as measured in terms of CRP levels. The increased time spent in homes under the lockdown will potentially exacerbate these effects. There are a number of reasons for the link between housing and CRP that are related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Larger, more spacious homes allow for a separate working space (if working from home), space for exercise, space for solitude, and greater storage space for food and essential supplies (given that the government requires shopping for essentials "as infrequently as possible"[xii]). Private rented homes in England are on average 28% smaller than owner-occupied homes[xiii], and it is likely that the greater space and likelihood of having a garden afforded by detached homes in part explains the finding of lower CRP for people living in detached houses.

For those in poor-quality housing, the lockdown means more time exposed to cold, damp and other hazardous conditions with consequences for both physical and mental health. Housing conditions are typically poorest for Britain's 5.5 million private rented sector households[xiv]. In England, 25% of privately rented homes fail to meet the decent homes standard, compared to 13% of social rented homes and 19% of owner-occupied homes. Some 670,000 privately rented houses have a Category 1 Hazard, a hazard that is deemed a serious and immediate risk to health[xv]. Similarly, inaction on dangerous cladding following the tragedies at Grenfell Tower and previous fires means that many people, around 600,000 in all, are having to self-isolate in homes that they know are unsafe and vulnerable to fire[xvi].

What policymakers need to think about in the long term

The views expressed here are those of the author. The SMF's Ask the Expert series is kindly sponsored by UKRI

Many private renters live in shared housing to reduce costs, in part because of housing benefit rules. In 2012 the Coalition government expanded the Shared Accommodation Rate age range from 25 to 35, meaning that housing benefit recipients under the age of 36 would only be entitled to financial support to rent a room in a shared home, and not a home of their own. Those living in shared housing face difficulties in successfully self-isolating, while also experiencing reduced privacy and more difficult conditions for working from home. Some positive news for private renters however is that accommodation previously listed on short-term letting websites such as Airbnb are returning to long-term let as tourism reduces[xvii], potentially putting downward pressure on rents.

Children are an often-forgotten group when it comes to discussions around housing, perhaps given their perceived detachment from housing issues. However, housing is central to children's health and well-being[xviii]. A previous SMF blog[xix] has highlighted the risk of school closures widening educational inequalities, in part because of housing inequalities. Homes are children's new learning environments, and not all children will live in homes where they have the space, privacy, and quiet to do schoolwork. Many will now be spending more time in poor-quality homes, exposed to the health risks these cause, with parents trying to meet housing costs at a time of significant financial uncertainty, which is linked to changes in parental behaviours and strained familial relationships[xx].

It is worth remembering that the challenges brought on by COVID-19 are being faced by many people in addition to existing housing challenges. Disabled people face significant challenges finding suitable housing in the current housing market[xxi]. Racism persists, limiting the housing options of people from ethnic minorities[xxii], and racist incidents associated with COVID-19 have also been reported[xxiii]. People in receipt of social security have increasingly found it difficult to find private[xxiv] and social landlords[xxv] that will rent to them, as well as experiencing affordability, quality, and security issues. COVID-19 is exacerbating the challenges faced by many people navigating the housing market. The lockdown will also confine people to homes where they experience abuse, and there are concerns, with increasing supporting evidence, that domestic abuse will increase during the lockdown[xxvi], particularly affecting women and children[xxvii].

Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have thus far been necessarily short-term. While short-term help is clearly needed, COVID-19 provides an opportunity to rethink the direction of our social policies over the longer-term. COVID-19 has demonstrated that problematic gaps in the social safety net can quickly become catastrophic when the system comes under pressure. The following are longer-term recommendations that can ensure a more robust housing safety net.

1. Expand social housing so that last resort and temporary measures are no longer regularly used for housing homeless households. This should take the form of rented, rather than shared ownership, homes at social rents linked to incomes rather than 'affordable' rents linked to the housing market. Social housing provides higher quality, more secure, and more affordable housing for renters than the private sector, protecting renters from the negative health impacts of these problems. Increased social housing also has the potential to reduce government expenditure on housing benefit (calculated using the Local Housing Allowance) and alleviate pressure on the private rented sector, giving renters more choice in where they live.

2. Raise the Local Housing Allowance. The recent increase is welcome but should go further: to at least the median local area rent (the level at which it was previously set) with no delay in payment from the time of a claim, reducing the risk of housing arrears. Remove the Bedroom Tax/Spare-Room Subsidy and Shared Accommodation Rate. Reassure landlords that administrative errors or delays will not leave them out of pocket, reducing the challenge faced by recipients in finding landlords willing to let to them. Return Support for Mortgage Interest to a payment rather than a loan for owner-occupiers.

3. Protect and improve housing quality and space standards. This will mean rethinking approaches to tackling perceived problems with housing supply shortages, such as permitted developments which allow the conversion of properties to residential use without planning permission and have led to "rabbit-hutch homes"[xxviii], some without windows[xxix].

4. Adequately fund Local Authorities so that they can enforce rules designed to protect private renters from poor quality accommodation and unfair treatment, as well as maintain social rented homes for which they are responsible. Support Local Authority landlord licensing schemes[xxx].

[v] https://www.nao.org.uk/report/homelessness/ https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/poverty-evictions-and-forced-moves

[xv] "for a dwelling to be considered 'decent' it must:

- meet the statutory minimum standard for housing under the HHSRS. Homes with a Category 1 hazard under the HHSRS are considered non-decent

- be in a reasonable state of repair

- have reasonably modern facilities and services

- provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort" see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817408/EHS_2017_Stock_Condition_Report.pdf

[xxiii] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/01/coronavirus-weaponised-way-to-be-openly-racist
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-51361930/londoners-experiencing-racism-over-coronavirus https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/16/they-yelled-coronavirus-first-british-attack-victim-east-asian-man

[xxvi] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52076789 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/28/lockdowns-world-rise-domestic-violence

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Homes, health, and COVID-19: how poor housing adds to the hardship of the coronavirus crisis - Social Market Foundation

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Written by: Amy Clair, ESRC Research Centre for Micro-Social Change, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex This guest blog is part of our Ask the Expert series, a partnership between the SMF and UK Research and Innovation, which brings academic research to bear on policymaking.

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Where do you create in the home environment?

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Where do you create in the home environment?

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A garage, an office, a studio o the kitchen table?

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Early journal submission data suggest COVID-19 is tanking women's research productivity.

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It was easy to foresee: within academe, female professors would bear the professional brunt of social distancing during COVID-19, in the form of decreased research productivity.

Now the evidence is starting to emerge. Editors of two journals say that they're observing unusual, gendered patterns in submissions. In each case, women are losing out.

Editors of a third journal have said that overall submissions by women are up right now, but that solo-authored articles by women are down substantially.

In the most obvious example of the effects of social distancing carving into women's research time, Elizabeth Hannon, deputy editor of the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, wrote on Twitter that she'd received "negligible" submissions from women within the last month. "Never seen anything like it," she added.

David Samuels, co-editor of Comparative Political Studies, in response shared that submissions to his journal are up 25 percent so far in April, compared to last year. That increase was driven entirely by men, however, he said. Women's submissions stayed flat.

The American Journal of Political Science on Monday published a longer-term analysis of submissions and publications by men and women over the last three years, as part of a larger effort to understand publication patterns for authors from underrepresented groups. Co-editors Kathleen Dolan and Jennifer L. Lawless also examined the last few weeks, in particular, and found that submissions have picked up. To their surprise, 33 percent of submitting authors since March 15 were women, compared to 25 percent of authors over the three years studied. Looking at these recent submissions another way, 41 percent of the 108 papers had at least one female author -- slightly more than usual.

This doesn't mean that COVID-19 "hasn't taken a toll on female authors, though," Dolan and Lawless wrote, as women submitted just eight of the 46 solo-authored papers during this time. That's 17 percent, compared to 22 percent of solo-authored papers in the larger data set.

"As a percentage change, that's substantial," the editors said. "Even if women's overall submission rates are up, they seem to have less time to submit their own work than men do amid the crisis."

The revelations generated much chatter, including from gender studies scholars and women in all fields who are desperately trying to balance teaching and otherwise working from home with increased caregiving responsibilities. Those responsibilities include all-day minding of children due to school and daycare closures, homeschooling, and the cooking and cleaning associated with having one's family at home all day, every day. Women are also spending time checking in with friends, relatives and neighbors.
SOS, Different Circumstances
It's not that men don't help with all this, or that they're not also individually overwhelmed by work and family life. But women already juggled more domestic and affective, or emotional, labor with their actual work prior to the pandemic.

Female academics, as a group, also struggled more with work-work balance, as well: numerous studies show they take on more service work than men and are less protective of their research time, to their detriment.

The coronavirus has simply exacerbated these inequities by stripping away what supports women had in place to walk this tightrope, including childcare.

"My productivity is definitely taking a huge hit having both my 2- and 5-year-old at home full-time," said Vanessa LoBue, associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University at Newark and author of 9 Months In, 9 Months Out: A Scientist's Tale of Pregnancy and Parenthood. "My husband is working full-time at home, as am I, and what I'm finding is for men, there is more of an expectation that he can be working all the time than there is for me."

That leaves LoBue with the kids more of the time -- and less time for her own work.

"COVID-19 restrictions are just exacerbating gender inequalities that already exist," she said.
No Protected Time
Anecdotes such as LoBue's aren't hard to find. Case in point: a recent Nature op-ed by Alessandra Minello, a social demographer at the University of Florence in Italy with a 2-year-old son and colleagues around the globe who expect her to be able to videoconference at all hours.

"Silence and concentration are pivotal for my thinking and teaching," she wrote. "This means I have less time for writing scientific articles."

While she and her colleagues know they're lucky to be employed and healthy at this time, it still feels "as if I am my own subject" in some work-life balance study.

Minello also expressed concern about when the crisis is over, both parents and nonparents "will participate together in open competition for promotion and positions, parents and nonparents alike."

Just like academic fathers, nonparents don't have it easy right now -- no one does. But, again, there are well-documented challenges that academic mothers, in particular, face. Those challenges, together, have been dubbed the motherhood penalty. And they're laid bare right now.

Hannon of the British journal, who is also associate director of the Forum for European Philosophy, said Monday that her sample size is still too small for anything "particularly meaningful" to be gleaned. This could be a "blip," for example, and submissions numbers could soon normalize as women find ways to cope.

This could also be "an age thing," Hannon added, in that in fields that have been slow to admit women, such as philosophy, women are more likely than men to have young children. That would skew the gender balance, even where childcare duties are evenly spread within families, she said.
Following the Numbers
In any case, Hannon's following the numbers. She and her co-editors have also partnered with other journals and agreed to share patterns, across publications, as they reveal themselves.

Her own hypothesis about the early stats includes increased caring duties, including of friends and parents, and increased domestic labor: shopping, cooking, cleaning.

Samuels also said it's too early to discern anything definitive. March and April brought an increase in submissions from non-U.S. scholars, as well, he said, which have been desk-rejected at a higher rate than U.S. submissions. So there are other things happening, beyond gender. In any case, Samuels guessed that the gender dynamic won't matter much in the end, in terms of productivity as measured as successful publications -- at least in his journal. That's because it has too few willing reviewers right now.

"The reason we're seeing less from U.S.-based scholars is pretty clear," he said via email. "Anyone with kids or family needing care is just not getting any research/writing done, and it's just a stressful time for everybody."

In response to discussions about gender imbalances in submissions, some have suggested that journals shut down during COVID-19. That's perhaps palatable to editors who, like Samuels, are having trouble finding reviewers, and to reviewers who don't have time to read articles.

Hannon, however, said it's not clear that a moratorium on submission would help, and said it might even make things worse. Women who are still writing but taking longer to do so would find it impossible to finally submit, while their less burdened male colleagues would have made it in under the wire. "Unburdened" academics could also continue to write and "stockpile" papers to submit later, she added.

"It just kicks the can down the road."
Taking Care of the 'Family'
Victor Borden, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Indiana at Bloomington, co-wrote a 2017 study finding that women "take care of the academic family" more than men by picking up more service duties. The paper warned that this is problematic for women because service isn't rewarded in the ways that research is, even when the service is essential.

Of journal submissions and gender during the pandemic, Borden said that men and women both seem to expect women to do more "housekeeping," based on existing research. From that point of view, "men would be more likely to see this as an opportunity to focus their time and attention on finishing articles, research projects, revising manuscripts, etc., while women faculty would have a tendency to focus on activities related to making sure that family, colleagues, students, etc., are doing OK."

There is a lot of variation even within groups, Borden cautioned, meaning that one man and one woman plucked at random wouldn't necessarily behave this way. But, in general, if men aren't "stepping up" to tend to group and family cohesion, "women step in."

Joya Misra, professor of sociology and public policy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has also studied the gendered dynamics of academic labor. She said her institution has been flexible with and supportive of faculty members this spring, assuring them that their performance during the disruption will not negatively affect their careers.

Even so, she said, "some faculty don't believe that this won't be held against them, due to the culture of their department or college." Some female colleagues in the sciences and engineering with young children have even doubled down on research, "putting in proposals for studying this particular moment" or writing regular grant proposals because they can't be in their labs.

Then there are other professors, both with and without caregiving responsibilities, "who feel paralyzed." Misra said she'd observed that colleagues who are performing more emotional labor with their students tend to be part this latter group. And in general, women experience "higher levels of expectations from others for emotional labor, and even from themselves."
Setting Boundaries and Making Accommodations
As for advice, Misra said that it's "completely normal" to want to be as responsive as possible to everyone around you during a crisis.

Yet "taking care of your mental health and family is critical," she said. And so academics "need to set reasonable schedules," that entail checking email, say, twice a day, working until 5 p.m. and then shutting off their computers.

Misra said her own chronic health issues forced her to create these kinds of boundaries long before to the pandemic. They've been helpful. "But I also know that this is hard for everyone. There is no-one-size-fits-all."

Kiernan Mathews, executive director of the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education at Harvard University, said that "anyone familiar with the productivity literature in higher ed wouldn't be surprised" by the new journal submission figures. Still, the "magnitude of effect suggested by these early reports is what is really, freshly disheartening."

Mathews said he hoped journal editors will get these data into scholars' hands as soon as possible -- and noted the twin ironies in saying so. Some men might be able to write up these studies faster than women, he said, and the peer-review process for any such papers could take too long to influence relevant tenure and promotion decisions.

Beyond data, Mathews suggested disciplinary societies might play a role in advocating for a leveling of the playing field for women during COVID-19. Referring to backlash against so-called manels, or all-male panels of experts at disciplinary conferences, Mathews also wondered if journals that don't take demographic balance into account right now might expect to face similar criticism.

"Without national or global leadership reaching across institutions," he said, "you just have this loosely coupled system of committees, each acting in its parochial self-interest and not in society's, reviewing faculty primarily for what's quantifiable and not for what's equitable, ethical or humane."

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Early journal submission data suggest COVID-19 is tanking women's research productivity

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It was easy to foresee: within academe, female professors would bear the professional brunt of social distancing during COVID-19, in the form of decreased research productivity. Now the evidence is starting to emerge. Editors of two journals say that they're observing unusual, gendered patterns in submissions. In each case, women are losing out.

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Creative Higher Education and the Home Learning Environment

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Creative Higher Education and the Home Learning Environment

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Creative Higher Education and the Home Learning Environment

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written by Tamsyn Dent , King's College London and ﻿ Silvie Jacobi ﻿ , Researcher