Nursery refuse to take my DC!

[DreamInLavender]

I spoke to management today and just wanted some confirmation that I could still send DS in (they sent an email out saying they're happy to try and sort things for essential workers at this time).

They asked me what I do and then said no, they couldn't take DC as I'm not an essential worker

I am, and if we go into lockdown our services are classed as essential and will continue to run. Is it really up to the nursery if they take DC or not, or are they discriminating? Yes of course they can set their own rules but not ones that discriminate surely.

I'm fuming and honestly don't know what I'll do

@InASense you do. Unfortunately that means that a number of key workers, who are not married to other key workers are unable to work (me included). DH is the higher earner, double what I earn. He only gets statutory sick pay and 20 days annual leave a year and his employer is refusing him paid time off. We can afford to live without my wag, we cannot afford to live without his so I have to make a choice - my home or my public duty. Honestly, DH and I are very, very close to choosing my public duty, but we WILL lose our home.

Your job isn't essential though, so you have to look after your own child.
If your saturday job is important then your partner needs to provide childcare for this.

Here is the list that DD's school have sent home:
. Armed forces
. Ambulance driver
• Carers looking after vulnerable/elderly
• Community Support Officer
• Firefighter
• GP
• Health Worker
• Hospital Consultant
• Medic
. Nurse
• Nursery Nurse
• Police Officer
• Prison Officer
• Probation Service Staff
• Social Worker
• Supermarket or medical supplies delivery driver
They will update the list when they hear more from the government, but likely if you don't have one of these types of job, you won't be classed as essential. It's about jobs which we can't survive the next few weeks without. It doesn't mean that other jobs aren't important in general.

DD's school has asked that, where possible, DC are only sent in on days when both parents are working in these roles. They're really trying to minimise the number of children mixing in schools, and I'm glad if nurseries are doing the same.

OP, what field of medicine is your consultant in? Also, what about your dp? Is he a key worker?

Have to say I think it's wrong that both parents need to be essential workers.

Doesn't affect me. But if I was a nurse with small kids and dh earns more than me (he does) if the kids were off school and dh couldn't work from home then I'd stay at home and look after the kids regardless of how much more necessary my job was to ensure dh didn't get sacked. Sorry, but my priority would be my mortgage and paying my bills.

It's not their own rules, it comes from gov, they can't just stay open for anyones child.

I’m in Scotland and have no clue what childcare provision is being made up here. My local school isn’t a council building nor is the aftercare service. These are both Amey schools so I’m not sure what will happen here. I am a key worker.

Also a lone parent so have no other childcare available other than grandparents who won’t be suitable I don’t think

Soon Surgical team

Well supermarket workers and food production workers are pretty damn essential right now.
How can Teachers not be on that list??

Of course the government can tell nurseries what to do - they are regulated by Ofsted, they can be shut down any time

Is this true?

I thought nurseries were private so they can do what they want?

I have something in place to work for BPAS on a few extra days in the week, to help with demand. If staff are unwell then women in this country seeking these services are buggered, so it's time for everyone to step up and help where they can if they're involved with Luckily on those 2 extra days I have a neighbour who's able to have DC.

@feelinguseless101

I get that and I really sympathise with your situation.

Unfortunately though this is my situation.

I work from home, self-employed single parent who now has to homeschool my own kids. Fine.

My mum is a teacher who has three kids. Her husband (like you!) earns double she does. So he's not a key-worker. Which means she is in exactly the same situation as you are. Does he stay at home (and lose their house) or does she stay at home (and lose their job)

The alternative is I take her children so they don't lose their jobs or homes.

But that means I can barely work. Can I homeschool 5 children and still earn a living? Absolutely no idea.

Luckily she thinks her school will close because they don't think they have any children where both parents are keyworkers. If the rules change, to stop your family getting fucked, it's just going to fuck mine.

I don't know the answer. It's a horrible situation. Truly.

The NHS will massively struggle without the admin staff. I’m the lowest paid person in my team, but I look after all of their diaries and make the appointments by telephone and letter, sort out cancellations, alterations etc and I don’t even work in a front line, acute service team. I know people who are the ward clerks on ITU and reception and admin staff in other areas who do all the same stuff I do for acute teams that are already over stretched.

Admin staff in my trust have been told to be prepared to move into other areas of the hospital to help cover receptions and admin desks in the acute areas. How will the NHS do that if admin staff are not considered essential?

@BackyardChickens

Yes, it is true. Any care of children under 8 is regulated by ofsted and government controlled. It is currently 'advice' though and private companies can refuse. I suspect the governement will use their powers soon though for any remaining open.

From an advanced search (sorry OP but it really annoyed me that you posted without actually saying what your job was when that is obviously the vital piece of information), the OP is a part time PA for a medical clinic

Oh yes! This was the OP who thinks the whole NHS would fall apart without her writing some letters and was upset with her friend who didn’t agree.

I also work for BPAS on a Saturday

Nurseries aren’t open on a Saturday so presumably you have other arrangements for that day anyway.

Opening for key workers is going to have to be restricted, the criteria will be strict. If any Tom Dick or Harry decided their job was more important, there would be no point in shutting schools at all.

You’re a part time PA... how can you not work from home?
You have said on posts before your child has many medical issues and that your husband has a good job....
Stay at home with your child.

@InASense I don't understand you. Teachers are key workers so her 3 kids could get child care if it only needed one parent to be a keyworker - so both your mum and her husband could work.

How will the NHS do that if admin staff are not considered essential?

Not every single nurse will be required to be frontline. What’s happening in our area is teams of nurses are being redeployed to do whatever is needed - including admin, and are also there to cover if any members of staff go down with the virus.

Yes admin is important. But it isn’t only administrators who can do it.

@MintyMabel Yes I remember this too.

Just for clarification, I didn't start a thread claiming my job is as important as medical staff

The thread was about a friend telling me I'm not an important part of the NHS... And it was quite rudely put. People sometimes forget things won't run quite so smoothly without support staff.

That is all. Feel free to read the thread yourselves. The general opinion was that the friend was indeed very rude

The thread was about a friend telling me I'm not an important part of the NHS...The general opinion was that the friend was indeed very rude

Seems the Government agrees with her too.

@feelinguseless101 but then I really don't understand how that can be fair.

You're basically saying your family, and her family, can continue to have non-essential people working (at taxpayers expense) but not another family where one parent isn't a keyworker?

I know it's not a race to the bottom, but the whole point in it is to keep the country moving. It's to have as FEW people as possible mixing.

If the collective "everyone" is in the same boat then the gov have to do something. The more people you take out of the boat, and into the "we're alright because we have both parents working Jack" boat, the more things get unfair, people get frustrated, and the government don't have to step in with UBI (or similar measures).

Not just that, but the more kids you put into that setting that really have no need to be there, the more you expose teachers to risk of infection. Some teachers will also have other caring responsibilities, high risk family members etc.

It just seems like a really unfair system to me.

In France (I think, definitely somewhere in EU), you need to prove that there is no other relative or neighbour available to look after your child to be eligible (elderly excluded).

Funny that Minty. As stated in my last thread, I had messages, rightly or wrongly, three weeks after losing my DD. From clinic staff asking when I was coming back and reminding me of how busy they were. To say my job isn't important or needed 'that much' is actually quite offensive. Clinical staff need support in place to do their jobs as best as possible

I’m in Scotland and have no clue what childcare provision is being made up here. My local school isn’t a council building nor is the aftercare service. These are both Amey schools so I’m not sure what will happen here. I am a key worker.

Swinney talked about this in Parliament this afternoon, schools will open for key workers and vulnerable children. They are also making provision for meals to be provided. Local Authorities will be allowed to decide for themselves who that is as needs will vary from area to area. But numbers will naturally be restricted.

I assume you are talking about a PFI/PPP school. The LA will have requirements for opening in the contract. Amey can’t just decide to close the building or they are penalised heavily. They own the bricks and mortar but the LA is very much in control of how the school is operated.