Sending children back to nursery

[NJDO]

Hi! This is my first thread and just wondering out of curiosity really - if nurseries do reopen on 1st June, will you be sending your children back?

I'm a Nursery Manager and have mixed feelings about reopening as there is no way social distancing can happen with children under 4, and although we will take precaution and have measures in place, it won't be fair to the little ones for us grown ups to stay away from them, wear masks etc.

Just wondering what everyone's views/opinions on returning are?

My 2 and 4 year old will be going on 1st June. DH and I are both WFH and neglecting them, they basically watch ipads and eat junk all day and I feel awful about it. I was close to tears earlier with the stress of it all. Its best for all of us that they go back. It's only 3 days and week, they love it and it'll be so good for them to get back to a bit of normality.

The nursery has said they will take full fees whether we bring the child in or not this I understand

They have also changed their notice period from 1 month to 3 months, this was post lockdown which doesn't seem fair this I don’t understand! Surely if you pull your child out now you’re only liable for the 1 month you originally agreed/ signed up to

Our nursery has said they won't charge any fees if people decide not to send their children in June, which I thought was really good. They're also reducing the notice period for changes so people can reduce hours if they wish.

I'm also very concerned about sending my 2 year old back to nursery as I'm 8 weeks pregnant. I imagine as I'm classed as vulnerable I shouldn't be sending him back...

@Lazzajm I am in the same boat, very early days pregnant so now vulnerable.
The gov has actually explicitly said in its guidance that children living with a pregnant family member can attend from 1st June, but it seems like a risk.
Would so love my toddler to have some socialisation though so it’s a tough decision, and one I’m flip flopping on constantly

Lots of conflicting views out there, including from my local council and mp's. I may hold fire for now as it seems a bit of a shambles and don't want to be part of the experiment.

I found out there is a group of mums at my nursery taking the owners of our nursery (a large chinese company) to court for a) charging for not providing a service b) changing terms and condition mid flight to a 3 month notice period.

Will probably be cheaper than paying the 3 month notice fee.lol

Our daughter returned to preschool last week as we are both classed as keyworkers. We could have managed juggling our work, it was getting difficult, but we have no more right to have it easy than non-keyworkers. We sent her back because young children need to be around other children and different adults in order to learn communication and social skills that she will need for the rest of her life. She is an only child, and therefore more affected. Also she does not engage with learning at home (despite our best efforts). She needs a proper classroom environment with trained professionals who can engage her.

We are very happy with the arrangements currently in place at our nursery.

By the way, people who do need to go back to work are not greedy. They need to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads.