To wonder what is going to happen with nurseries?!

[TeddyIsaHe]

I haven’t seen any mention of nurseries/early years at all in the news/daily updates and it’s starting to stress me out slightly.

Before anyone says anything, I KNOW lockdown is important. But so is mental health, and I’m honestly at breaking point at the moment. It would be really helpful to just have some inkling of a end point where we can all aim for.

But all talk is about schools etc. Surely early years is just as, if not more important to get the economy back up and running?!

There was exactly the same thread as this yesterday I believe!

It will be piled under the same thing I think? A lot of schools have a pre-school attached to it.
I’m worried that nurseries are going to go back next month, the death toll is still high and when we went into lockdown it was something like less than 50 people who had passed away

There has been no talk of schools. We have no idea when schools will return or how they will return. We are all waiting for information not just nursery parents.

Pretty sure they will come under the same umbrella as schools. As a nursery worker, I really hope they do not go back next month.

There has been no talk of schools.

Where on earth have you been?

And no, nurserys are not more important than schools.

Sarah. There has beenabled no mention of when schooks will return from the government. No dates, no time line, no plan. I listen to the government not random newspapers.

Watching with interest

Oh, I didn't realise you were in private communication with the government, @my2bundles, I do apologise.

I'm one of those sad sacks who has to rely on newspapers to report things, and sometimes they speculate, too. How embarrassing for me!

I expect private nurseries to make a decision once school returns dates are announced. I suspect that they will take their lead from schools on how to safely resume

And no, nurserys are not more important than schools

For childcare purposes they are. And they're a business. If we want to actually have nurseries in the future they need to re open.

Error no Sarah I watch the daily government briefings. Try it. U will find it more informative than random newspapers r us.

Nurseries aren't ever going to be able to social distance to imo what difference would it make waiting until September? (I mean, not all of us will be waiting until September because our nurseries will probably have gone bankrupt by then)

Yes, I watch them too.

What exactly is your point?

There has been masses of talk about nurseries, schools, you name it. Trying to belittle the OP is no talk of schools is just unpleasant. You know perfectly well there has been lots of talk about it.

You, like virtually everyone else, get your information indirectly. You do not have a private line to the government's inner thoughts. We are all guessing here, and we're all worrying.

You might try some sympathy, instead of having a go at the OP who clearly is feeling frightened. I really don't think she is trying to say nurseries are more important than schools. She is just making the point that, without childcare, many people are struggling and will certainly struggle to work effectively. That is a reasonable concern ... and, if you'd been listening, you would realise that it is actually a concern that has been addressed (however poorly) by the government, way before lockdown.

I appreciate schools are education and not seen as childcare but I do not understand the argument of- people need to go back to work therefore nurseries need to open.
So what do we do with our 5+ children then?

Instead of guessing what untill an announcement has been made. I am right, te government has not mentioned snything about when schools will open, that is fact . There has however been alot of scaremongering in the press which I choose to ignore. Yes it's hard without childcare, it's hard for parents if school age kids aswell. We all need to wait for tne governments announcement, I for 1 don't want kids to return anytime soon because kids lives are more important than childcare and school.

@timeforteea I personally think schools need to open too but I'm sure I'll be accused of murdering oaps by saying that!

I for 1 don't want kids to return anytime soon because kids lives are more important than childcare and school

And what's a child's chance of being seriously ill or dying from this?

Many children will suffer when their parents start getting made redundant or their mental health takes a swift decline.

That is a big thing to take into consideration.

I would imagine my son is more at risk on our walk to nursery than he is of dying from covid.

TrustTheGeneGenie thats the thing. Think soon as go ahead if given they'll open. Otherwise like you say end up closed for good.

Social distancing wont happen. Dont expect it to. Just depends how other things are managed,cleaning, having enough cleaning products which be intresting if trying to order...

Genie what's your plan to social distance kids in high schools with 1500 kids in? Now try to tell me it's safe.

Our nursery from the get go was cleaning like mad. They don't use chemicals other than in the bathroom and kitchens. They steam clean everything else including toys and stuff. My son has not been ill once since starting there it's been fab.

I understand concern from the staff and I'd absolutely support them taking temps every day and sending home with symptoms etc but ..... If you work in a nursery do you not expect to catch more things?

We had a letter than scarlet fever was going round the local school and to be vigilant! I was more worried about that in all honesty.

I don't have one because I'm not in charge?

But the points I made still stand. There are risks to releasing lockdown. Their are risks to keeping it.

You have to balance the risks don't you?

So you want them to go back but you don't have any idea how it could happen. You carnt balance risks if you don't know how to safely open a school and social distance 1500 kids plus hundreds of staff, many of who are on the vulnerable category. Right ho, thankgod u arnt in charge of making the decision.

Well considering that I am not, in fact, Boris Johnson, I didn't think I would have to produce a full scale plan on how to get the nation back to school.

If I were, in fact, Boris Johnson and it was my decision, I would suggest opening childcare first (because I would like there to be childcare in the future).

I would then open year 6, year 10 and year 12. I would ask school to see how many per class they could fit sat 1m apart as recommended by the WHO. I would then see if it was feasible to have whole classes in. If it wasn't I'd half them and do 2.5 days each. I'd probably try and teach in form groups and not open the canteen for siting in.

I'd probably see how that went and then open some more years.

My next year's would probably be primary so that people can go back to work.

Is that sufficient?

I think part of the reason that nurseries and schools aren’t talked about in any detail is because the government really don’t know what to do. Jonathan Vam Tam acknowledge that social distancing would be difficult with young children.
So we send out children and staff back to nursery but we still
Social distance elsewhere? It dilutes the message of social distancing.