Childcare setting open but giving DS no sessions

[NoIDontWatchLoveIsland]

DS attends a preschool covering the two years prior to primary school. Usually max 20 kids, but typically there might be 15 or 16 or so on a normal day. Open term time only, similar to school hours.

Have reopened from 1 June but only giving sessions to the 2nd years, those due due to start school in Sept. Have less than half usual numbers in. Govt funding still being claimed for the children who have been given no sessions, and those parents are unable to leave and use funding elsewhere as a terms notice is required.

Communication has been vague and isn't making clear what's limiting the ability to offer sessions to kids in the 1st year (eg perhaps staff are shielding?) Theres vague suggestion of trying to get the 1st years in but with a start date pushing ever closer to the school holidays.

AiBU to be pissed off? It feels like the staff had written off the summer term (most have their own kids) and never really expected/wanted to reopen, but are trying to comply with the requirement to reopen to continue getting funded hours money, while actually offering as little as possible.

My DS is desperately bored at home and really wants to go back. I cant even take the funded hours and use them with DS old childminder so he could have a change of scene.

I think if they had even been able to offer DS a single session (of the four he usually has), I wouldn't mind but nothing? I also would mind less if they gave a good reason eg "we usually have x staff but unfortunately y are shielding therefore we can only accept z% of usual children". But they are not doing this.

Right I'm off to bed all.

To the 35% yanbu - cheers chaps. Not a bad vote for aibu, I'll take it.

To the 65% yabu - thank you for your eloquence, if you were rude have a biscuit on your way out. Bet you 50 quid Covid won't kill you.

Goodnight and good luck

You can’t just take various children for different sessions - it has to be consistent

The gov guidance told us (nursery manager here) that we can only take back 25 children for June - That is split into 3 “bubbles” each group has the same children and same staff at all times - groups can’t mix and you can’t just bring in other children to the group - it doesn’t work like that unfortunately. We are not allowed take anymore children now for June.

In July we can possibly take another group back and create a 4th bubble, then eventually we will be back to having all the children!

The government and learning trusts drip feed us the information and change their minds several times a day about what we should be doing-the new guidelines !

Yes your nursery should be more communicative with you though - I keep the parents updated as much as I can!

As for the funded hours - it’s not the nurseries fault - we claimed back in April for all current children enrolled as we were instructed to do as usual by the government - we have no further control over it - you’d need to contact your learning trust if you want to use it elsewhere and I’m pretty sure you’d have to have a new nursery place to swap the funding to - you can’t just be given it back.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Freddiefox

What will eventually happen is that the govt will be so desperate to get the economy back off the ground they will release much more relaxed guidelines and simply stop paying anywhere/anyone that doesnt return to normal. Not yet obviously, but sadly i think this whole thing has left so many people excessively afraid and for those people it will be a hard adjustment to get comfortable with the reality that covid 19 is not going to kill us all.

I agree come September the guidance will be no more and we will have to get on with it or resign. For now I’m keeping my eye on the ones who have gone back with larger numbers and really hoping it works. We will know soon enough.

Hopefully it will be that case that it turns out to be mild. We shall see.

Why did the government include the reference to 16 in a group if it's not allowed? Everyone on this thread has actually said 8 is the maximum. It's not. 8 is preferred. But actually 16 is

But also there's are regulations on the square footage per child, during covid.. It would have to be a huge room to accommodate 16 children. My decent sized classroom, I worked out, could only accommodate eight. I have been too many many pre schools and nurseries in the course of my job, and never seen a room twice the size of my classroom. Most were smaller, often significantly so, particularly those that were converted houses etc.

The floor space regulations aren't for covid - they have always been in the EYFS.

It’ll be interesting to see e the take on things if this continues in to September and nursery/preschool settings start to collapse financially

Try to get in at another setting ( good luck)
And pay for it. Simple.

Irrespective of what you think of the OP’s expectations, some ppl have been fairly foul to her on this thread. Nice misogyny at play.

I think you should pursue the getting funds released angle, assuming you can find a nursery place for your son.

Are you still expected to pay top-up fees at this time, @NoIDontWatchLoveIsland?

“ I remain unconvinced that they are all determined to get as many children safely back in education asap.”

You tell us how to do it, then. You read through all the guidance from Government and councils, much of it contradictory and vague. You go through all the risk assessments and you tell us how we can get children back into settings without risk to them and to the staff caring for them. You tell us how to arrange space and resources and to organise cleaning.

Oh, and if you get it wrong, remember that it invalidates the insurance and some parent like you will probably sue.

Also my nursery is running at a loss right now with so few children attending! Believe me, we would take back all he children if we were allowed!

It’s gonna take a long tome to get back on our feet - it’s bit the nursery suiting itself cherry picking the children they want to allow attend

I'm not a parent so this is probably an ignorant answer! However given that your child would inevitably be mixing with other kids at nursery, I would be finding another 2 or 3 like minded parents, who will, with you, take turns looking after the DC in a group. In all honesty. Sometimes you just have to find your own solutions to things and NO it's not strictly following the rules but everything being what it is I would be doing it anyway.

@Cremebrule be prepared for the possibility hat you cannot transfer funding. Someone who advised you of June 15th may not be in your area. In my area you cannot transfer funding until the start of the next term

16 is maximum but 8 recommended, you need 2 staff per group of 8 whereas normally there would 1 adult for every 8, so some don't have enough staff to have very many groups of 8 and that’s if they have all staff back and not shielding/isolating/ furloughed. Given a room may hold 20 plus children normally can now hold only a group of 8 or if willing to restrict the space the children have access to they may take 2 groups before it there won’t be room for many more children than that. They are also liable if something goes wrong, plus the possibility of transmission from children is unclear so who can blame nurseries for playing it safe and sticking with 8 in a group max.

Can you point me to some scientific literature to support the notion that it's not damaging to a 3 year old to not interact with a single other child for 6 whole months?

I think you're well aware the nobody would be allowed to carry out a research project on that basis.

However the social and communication skills children need to learn at this age aren't contingent on the age of the person they are learning from. Lots of children don't go into group childcare settings at this age and it doesn't harm them.

It's perhaps not ideal but nobody is going to agree with this sort of catastrophising. He isn't being damaged by not being allowed to attend preschool.

If the OP or any other parent is concerned but not able to send their child to nursery/schools etc then they can meet other parents and allow the children to interact and play. Just because they cannot attend childcare/school doesn’t mean that they cannot have contact with other children. They have already done 3 months which you cannot change now