Childcare being removed for key workers

[Mia1415]

My DS has been going to school and his childminder during lockdown.

I was informed yesterday that from 1st June you are only allowed to send children to 1 setting a week (so school or childminder).

Whilst I can understand the logic of not wanting children to mix bubbles I am really annoyed about this as:

• giving key workers 1 weeks notice that they will be loosing childcare isn't really acceptable
• are key workers no longer deemed important?
• It can take up to 14 days to display covid symptoms so allowing 1 week in school, following by a week with a childminder doesn't really prevent anything
• One of the key points of getting children back to schools is so that parents can get back to work. At my school the years that are going back in initially are only doing 2 days a week, so if wraparound care is banned how is that helping people get back to work?
• I can understand this rule a bit more for children that are just returning to school, but not for children that have been going to both throughout lockdown.

(I have emailed my MP and local council about this and I'm awaiting a response).

AIBU?

This is not acceptable OP. I know the teaching unions are not keen to facilitate a return to school, but I think removing childcare form key workers is totally beyond the pale.

I’d be straight to your MP if you can’t get is resolved internally.

Schools and early years and everyone else is trying to implement government guidance, which is emerging in a drip drip way and new ones frequently contradict earlier ones - there was not a plan ready to go and still no definite plan, the DfE are making this up as they go along, schools are not trying to be intentionally awkward, they're just trying to do what they're told plus keep their kids and staff safe based on a DfE jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing and most of it looking like bits of sky.

You've done absolutely the right thing to take it back and question it: the questions will be pushed up the line as the issues, contradictions and practical nightmares become apparent, and I suspect this will quickly change in your favour.

Quote from the DfE guidance but the italics are mine: To minimise contact between groups of children and staff, children should attend just one setting wherever possible and parents and carers should be encouraged to minimise as far as possible the number of education and childcare settings their child attends

For a lot of key workers it sounds like stopping wraparound care is not possible, so their wherever possible here means you should be able to continue.

However, councils (and some schools?) have read that as you categorically can’t use wrap around care

With one weeks notice?
What the actual fuck...

It's got nothing to do with the unions. Amongst other things, they have been asking for clarity on this exact issue.

@beesbeesbee it's difficult for everyone, but will be impossible for many key workers (including teachers) if schools ban childminders.

but will be impossible for many key workers (including teachers) if schools ban childminders.

It's not the schools though is it, it's the guidance that is the issue.

It’s too complicated and messy. If schools are to go back, with hand-washing and some attempt at social distancing, then childminders and ASC should be able to do the same. The bubbles nonsense won’t work outside school anyway, most families won’t maintain it.

Teachers are also key workers and going to be in exactly the same position with childcare. If there's no wrap around care how can you be in school for when you class come in and also be dropping off your own child to attend their class?

I think if you're affected, email your MP. They need to know to pass it up.

@beesbeesbee but the guidance doesn’t ban childminders

@beesbeesbee but the issue (and point of my thread) is that childcare that was previously available and being used by me (and others) as a key worker is suddenly being taken away.

I don't expect the school to cover every situation. But most key workers have managed to make childcare work for them for the last 2 months and now the rules are being changed with very little notice. That's the problem.

This is not acceptable OP. I know the teaching unions are not keen to facilitate a return to school, but I think removing childcare form key workers is totally beyond the pale.

The teaching unions have nothing to do with guidelines from the council about what childminders can and can't do.

Lack of wraparound provision is causing problems. DH and I are both teachers. At our DC's school, wraparound care is provided by a private club that runs on the school site. It is not reopening (and if it were, it certainly wouldn't be able to adhere to the "bubble" guidelines). There are also staggered drop-off times for key worker children in different key stages. I have one child in each key stage so that means I only have school provision for my DCs between 9.15 and 3.00 if I drop off at the later of the staggered times and pick up at the earlier. I have a 15 minute commute so will only be able to be on-site at my own school from 9.30 until 2.45 to look after key-worker children there.

All of this has a knock-on effect but I don't know what the solution is. I would have thought childminders is by far the best solution as they have small numbers anyway. Unfortunately there aren't any childminders who pick up from my DC's (village) school.

@SandieCheeks the council’s interpretation of the guidelines in our case indeed bans childminders for after school care. Luckily a 7 year old at home is fine for us as he’s sensible and I work from home (plus he’s not in YR, Y1, Y6), but we are just lucky

It's not the guidance that is the issue... it's the local authorities who are making decisions which really is not something they should be doing.

As AvranaKernsBestSpider has written, the guidance uses the words 'wherever possible' and 'minimise' it does not say that warp-around care is not to be provided at all.

@beesbeesbee but the guidance doesn’t ban childminders

It's not conclusive from what I've read, there needs to be explicit guidance on this and on what schools and child minders need to do to prevent bubbles mixing.

The government need to clearly spell out what the expectations are and then schools can put in the place what is needed as long as it works in their building - which isn't going to include childcare in all schools given how many small schools there are without the spaceto double up and small childminders who only take 1-2 children.

So the government have made provision for your scenario

It is the council that are not accepting that provision?

Are different councils making different decisions and ignoring the wording ?

I sincerely hope not .

While blanket childcare for key workers while providing nothing to everyone else made sense in the short term it was never going to be viable indefinitely if reducing interactions continues to be the main way of reducing the infection rate. Clearly it will continue to be necessary to provide childcare to single parents but in families where one parent isn't a key worker it is time for that parent to step up outside of school hours (even if they are the greater earner as the combination of school hours and evenings provides sufficient time for them to work). Even where both parents are key workers it may well be appropriate to expect out of school childcare to be managed within the family through a combination of working of opposite shifts and if possible working from home (some key workers can quite easily work from home).

And in the case of children of teachers it would clearly make sense for those children to be catered for in the key worker bubble at the school the teacher works at rather than their normal school. Realistically if all teachers followed this guidence the numbers of children in each school would remain approximately the same.

Our school is stopping anyone who doesn't live in the household with the child dropping off or collecting so no NRPs, no Childminders, no private wrap around.

They're also stopping their own wrap around club for everyone including keyworkers.

My KW friends are struggling. Ones a single parent, been using KW place at school for her 2 DCs, but working late. Been using wrap around 3 days and her Ex picking the kids up 2 days (he's also a KW) and now she doesn't know what she's going to do. Pre-lockdown her mum would help on the 3 days she's responsible for pickup.

Another friend both her and husband are nurses and work 12-14 hour shifts so use childcare when they need to.

I don't know what they're going to do.

Our school is still providing wrap around but for key worker children only. Other children get standard school hours but staggered start/finishes. Doesn't matter for me as DS is year 3.

We were told dd aged 3 either had to be in the keyworker bubble at school normal hours 8.30-3.30 (youngest there by miles and no teaching) or can join the new nursery bubble but three days a week 0930-1430. Pre covid we had care 0730-1800. She’s going to have to stay in the keyworker bubble for now but I’m sad that she’s not getting the nursery education she’s entitled to and would hate for this to continue into September when she should start school and education seems to matter. I’m considering stopping work to homeschool. DH and I both nhs doctors and doing reduce hours because of lack of childcare - employers are understanding but especially for DH patients are getting treatment delayed as he is the only one that can provide in our area.

And in the case of children of teachers it would clearly make sense for those children to be catered for in the key worker bubble at the school the teacher works at rather than their normal school.

We did consider this but this would effect numbers of our own pupils we could offer to - we have a lot of school staff with their own children but among our parents there are almost none who work in schools, but a lot of carers, NHS cleaners etc. We are also opening to any YrR and Y1 pupils who have asked for a space.

So the guidance says wherever possible. As most full time working parents whether key workers or not are at work from about 9 to 5 and travel from about 8 am and get back at 6 in very very few cases will schools be able or be obliged to ban that kind of wrap around facility - it will not be "possible" and therefore they will not be in breach of the guidance.

if they won't interpret it that way then it may be a firm like Bindmans will have to write to the Governmentand then follow up with legal action. Bindmans did the letter to the state about aspergers children being allowed out more and the state backed down.

@CatWearingashirt That is outrageous of the school to make that decision. There is no guidance that says that only resident parents should collect a child from school.

It's a message coming from local authorities and is being back up by lots of schools based on the ever changing and conflicting advice given by DfE. I am a childminder and the crazy thing is that I can collect my child from school but not my minded children, even though they will have spent all day together!