To not want social distancing at nursery

[Sadie789]

There’s been lots of discussion about when schools go back and what age groups will go first and the measures that will be put in place to support social distancing etc when this happens.

I’ve yet to hear any mention of nurseries. However I’ve been thinking about it a lot as I live near our nursery and pass it often. It actually breaks my heart to think of all the hardworking people who ran the nursery and made it such an amazing place for my DC who get so much from it and are missing it terribly.

But how can nurseries ever go back if social distancing is to be the “new normal”?

I don’t want my tiny children being looked after by people in PPE. I don’t want them not to be able to sit on their teacher’s lap for a story, or get a hug if they fall over, or have a literal helping hand when painting or doing a puzzle.

How will staff help zip up coats or change nappies?

I don’t want them to be kept apart from their friends, to be told how to play with them or have their numbers limited or staggered.

It’s not fair on very young children to be thrust into a new and strange world that they simply can’t have any real understanding of.

Does this mean nurseries will remain closed until next year? Some people even seem to think social distancing will be permanent- what implications does that have on our young children and how they learn about relationships and friendships? What about their developing immune systems being artificially disconnected from the normal cycle of infection and immunity (to other illnesses)?

I feel like under 5s have been forgotten about completely in this pandemic.

It’s impossible to social distance in nurseries and so I imagine many will need to go of at risk or vulnerable staff and kids.

There won't be any social distancing at nursery, it's not possible. There will be more hand washing and sanitising of surfaces and toys but that's it.

I find it weird no one is talking about nursery.

There has been a Swiss study that seems to be backed up by a French case study that suggests under 10's are not transmitters of covid as they are missing some sort of receptor (I'm an accountant, not a scientist thus my understanding of the premise is somewhat limited).

If this is shown to be true (which in very much hoping will be the case) then perhaps for those under 10 we won't need to be as concerned about social distancing as long as we instill frequent hand washing and good hygiene practices for coughs and sneezes and teach kids how to deal with wearing masks if they have a cold (as they do in some far Eastern countries).

My daughters nursery stayed open until 2 weeks ago ( emergency services so she was going still).
The only real difference we noticed was drop offs and pick ups, parents were not allowed within the setting. Drop offs and pick ups were at the door rather than inside to limit the amount of adults going through. Realistically social distancing doesn’t work in nurseries, I still want my daughter (baby) to have cuddles if she cries etc.... but safe practices can be done, ie hand washing and not allowing adults within the setting

I know, nurseries never seem to be mentioned in the press or questions at press conferences.

I have a 3yo, he's desperately missing nursery and his friends.

I don’t think social distancing will be permanent for one second.

I agree it isn’t feasible to distance in nursery so they will have to take that into account when deciding when to reopen them.

Mine too. She was fine at first but has become increasingly emotional and bewildered by it all. She is so bored at home as well.

What's wrong with staggering times or adjusting numbers?

You have to compromise somewhere - you can't just stamp your feet and demand everything magically reverts to how you've previously known it.

Things changing doesn't mean children will be put in solitary confinement.

My youngest is in Reception now but I completely agree. I think we just need to accept that it isn't going to happen with younger kids, and not even entirely with older ones. Measures like staggered drop offs & high hygiene standards should be perfectly possible though

My dd is still going as I work in a hospital. They have a hand washing station by the door and it’s second nature to dd now to go in and wash her hands. She knows to sneeze and cough into her sleeve but everything else has remained the same. The staff have been absolutely incredible and I will be forever grateful.

My two are still at nursery. The social distancing is only between parents. So limited people in the hallway at pick up and drop off and we wait in the hall now rather than going to the actual rooms to collect them. There is, quite rightly, no expectation of children not playing together or staff not comforting them as normal.

Social distancing will not happen between the children and the staff. They will still get cuddles, nappy changes, fed their bottles and first aid when they fall.

Staff will be cleaning much more often, hand washing will become more frequent, and parents will be limited in the nursery.

Some are saying only one parent can drop/collect, the other must stay in the car if they both turn up together.

One way systems are being considered, depending on the building, so parents don't have to cross each other in small hallways and doorways.

Some measures will be taken to protect children and staff, but the children will not be neglected.

I agree it's frustrating that there is very little discussion by gvt/media about childcare for 0-4 year olds; after all they are the most demanding age group and cannot just occupy themselves while parents work from home! Of course school age children require supervision too but the older the get the longer they can occupy themselves with occasional input from a parent.

In answer to your actually question, no of course there shouldn't be social distancing at nurseries - as PPs said they will just have to be vigilant about hand washing and cleaning.

The hysterical people would like everyone to be locked up at home indefinitely but thankfully that's not going to happen.

As a nursery lead ( we are still open) for keywords only. There is no way of socially distancing. Its simply not possible.

We don't allow parents in now.

DS isn't going atm as I'm on maternity leave but one of the nurseries in his nursery chain is staying open for key workers DC, one of the things they are doing is changing the activities the DC do e.g. no playdough/messy play/cookery and using lots more plastic stuff like megablocks that can be sterilised after.

I’m anxious about how settling in will work. Originally the plan was for me to stay the first few times then gradually leave for longer (no limit on number of sessions at this setting). God knows how it will work now but I can hardly just hand her over at the door to complete strangers. I’ve extended my mat leave until mid October in the hope it is a bit better by then.

There will be no distancing between children and staff or amongst children in nurseries or pre-schools.

Yes as above. Our nursery is actually still open- distancing at drop off, reducing "'malleable' play (play do etc) but otherwise as normal. They've had about 12 kids in throughout, no sick staff or children so far.

My DD is in year 1 and I worry about her going back to school for similar reasons.

The class TA is a lovely older woman who thinks nothing of letting the children climb on her knee for a hug or patting them on the back when they do well.

I see photos from her old Nursery on Facebook and can see the children aren't SDing at all but the staff are wearing gloves and aprons and in some cases masks. I appreciate the Nursery are keeping everyone safe but it feels sad for the children and staff. They're a lovely warm Nursery who my DD got so much from in terms of affection. It's sad to think small children aren't getting the affection they deserve even if that is just a random hug DD used to run in in the mornings and hug her keyworker before starting the day so I might be slightly biased

This worry's me a lot as you can't tell young kids to stay away from one another. My DD starts reception in September so I'm thinking about not sending her back to nursery for the last few months.

Don't worry - it won't happen. Plenty of nurseries are still open and it's not happening now. I work in a school and I can tell you that it's impossible to keep our foundation stage children 2cm apart, never mind 2m.

It's not like it will be ignored: lots and lots of measure will be (and are being now for key worker places) put in place through thorough risk assessments, like social distancing for parents at drop off and pick up, hand washing and hygein routines for staff and children - including instilation of hand gel stations absolutely everywhere, social distancing for staff in office and staff rooms, 7 day absence require for any child with a temperature, etc.

@Megan2018 I am going to have this issue too with a 9mth old that has really only been handled by me and DH for months, certainly as long as she’s been alert enough to be aware of who is around her. To start her at nursery now will be difficult but no grandparents either side are going to be allowed to help for a while.

Makes me think should I just give up my job. But then DH is in an industry that is really going to suffer after all this.

There has been a Swiss study that seems to be backed up by a French case study that suggests under 10's are not transmitters of covid as they are missing some sort of receptor (I'm an accountant, not a scientist thus my understanding of the premise is somewhat limited).

See username, I am in Switzerland. And, yes, there was. Also, it was pretty immediately contradicted by studies examining actual viral loads and the local home office here (and its public health office in particular) had quite a bit of flak for citing it as a basis for decisions.

Young children don't appear to develop symptoms as much as adults. They may or may not be spreaders. I'm chosing my words carefully because, bottom line: not enough/inconclusive data. Nobody knows. The kids are almost certainly fine - but are the adults around them? Too soon to tell!

TBH, the biggest worry I have for my own child is that her grandparents might be badly affected (statistically non-negligible). Followed by: what if her father or myself are the 0.01% of young, healthy people this kills, seemingly at random (extremely unlikely to the extent of "equally or more probable that both parents get run over by a car")? But I don't worry about my small child in a physical health sort of sense.

I do worry about adult carers being in close contact with children from multiple families. And, as PP have rightly pointed out, there is no way that you can social distance in that type of setting.

Oh yeah and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. We've gone from cleaners being in once per day to 3 times

@Sadie789
I’m the main earner and I love my job so I can’t give up. We have no local family so nursery is essential.
I was originally going back in Sept when she will be 11.5 months but delaying until 13 months now.
She’s a velcro baby anyway who hasn’t seen anyone else since mid March (when she wasn’t quite 6 months) so I need the settling in to be as normal as possible. My parents are over 70 and I think unlikely to see her for some time yet.

I really love the nursery we have chosen so really hope they don’t go under. It’s really scary