Nurseries staying open

[meow1989]

To coin a mn phrase: is Boris on glue?!

So now I will have to pay to keep my toddler off to keep him (and us) safe?!

Of course nurseries should stay open. The amount of small children who suffered set backs when they closed nurseries last year . It's also not easy to tell if a child is vulnerable or not at that age, they need structure, routine and social contact with their peers!

The early years are crucial for development and I for one I am so happy that my daughter can go! Don't want to send your kid? Don't, but you should pay the fees.

@Perfect28 alot of children, especially only children, thrive in an early years educational setting so they should be able to go.

@MessAllOver I agree, it's not fair to keep changing things at the last minute. Some children went to school for ONE DAY before being told actually, schools are closed until potentially March?!

My DD went back to pre-school today, she loves it there - if they close, she isn't going to understand why she went for a day and now can't - it's unfair.

Well, acting irresponsibly is selfish. Government has not been making a lot of wise decisions recently that is why we are where we are. I have spent the majority of the time at home, work from home, don't go to the shops, get shopping delivered and haven't seen my family/friends since February. I have to be really creative about working in a way to have my little one included and occupied during the day with activities etc. It is hard and costs energy, planning and commitment but it can be done. I think if we all followed rules since the begging od this pandemic we wouldn't be where we are now.

I’m a bit confused by the mask comments - my DD’s nursery workers have worn masks since the pandemic began and they wear gloves and other equipment for changing and so on. Do some other nurseries not do this?

We haven’t had a case of Covid at her nursery to date and we’re in one of the worst areas for it. I must admit I’m happy DD can still go but DP isn’t and wants to take her out. I do the bulk of the childcare and my job will suffer more if we do this. I’m a key worker but can work from home.

I’m sorry to all the workers who don’t want to stay open. I wish they’d give you the vaccination.

@Bl77

Well, acting irresponsibly is selfish. Government has not been making a lot of wise decisions recently that is why we are where we are. I have spent the majority of the time at home, work from home, don't go to the shops, get shopping delivered and haven't seen my family/friends since February. I have to be really creative about working in a way to have my little one included and occupied during the day with activities etc. It is hard and costs energy, planning and commitment but it can be done. I think if we all followed rules since the begging od this pandemic we wouldn't be where we are now.

God what an awful existence - I’ll take my chances with the virus if the other option is don’t leave my house for a year

I have to be really creative about working in a way to have my little one included and occupied during the day with activities etc. It is hard and costs energy, planning and commitment but it can be done

What you mean is that in can be done in your job. What if you're answering the phone/making calls all day? When all childcare was closed people overlooked hearing a toddler in the background, now it's absolutely not doable in some jobs.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

The government allow it but they have made a lot of mistakes already. You choose to use it because you are selfish and are putting yourself (and your family) first and nursery staff last. I hope they put themselves first and you and your child last. I understand that most people are putting themselves first at this time but you genuinely seem to think that others should be happy to sacrifice things for you.

I don’t work in a nursery so I don’t need to hand in my notice and ‘wrap myself in cotton wool’ but if that is your response to people putting themselves at risk for you, why do you think your situation deserves kind words and sympathy?

As others have said, it is really about the NHS though. If the government suddenly realise little children are contributing to community transmission, they will close the nurseries too. You will discover your needs count as little as those people’s you are currently ignoring. Good luck.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones. What do you want parents to do? They have limited options. Nurseries won't give them their money back because they are still open - most parents can't afford unpaid leave/alternative childcare AND to pay for the place.

Many people on here have said that they would be happy to keep their children at home if the government shut nurseries since they wouldn't have to pay fees then.

I work in a nursery and i'm really anxious about opening back up .
I'm 44 and have already lost a family member to covid and the 3 other members of staff i work with are late 50's early 60's so vulnerable .
We have no PPE but are expected to cuddle the children whilst being sneezed and coughed on .
i have a 12 year old at home that is also homeschooling and requires help and feel stuck between a rock and a stone .
Were not invincible :(

[quote Jenasaurus]For those anxious about nurserys being open there is a petition below

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/566718[/quote]
Signed thanks for sharing this

@problembottom

I’m a bit confused by the mask comments - my DD’s nursery workers have worn masks since the pandemic began and they wear gloves and other equipment for changing and so on. Do some other nurseries not do this?

We haven’t had a case of Covid at her nursery to date and we’re in one of the worst areas for it. I must admit I’m happy DD can still go but DP isn’t and wants to take her out. I do the bulk of the childcare and my job will suffer more if we do this. I’m a key worker but can work from home.

I’m sorry to all the workers who don’t want to stay open. I wish they’d give you the vaccination.

I don't think any nurseries in my area are allowed to wear masks. The nursery my dd works in is only allowed to wear a visor whilst changing nappies or preparing food. No masks at all due to the children being unable to see their face. My dd's nursery has had several cases, both children and staff.

I do wonder if the fact the early years have not been given funding to help with ppe costs has something to do with it. From what I can gather nurseries have been completely screwed over by the government during this pandemic.

@Katmercer41. I think it really should be at the discretion of nurseries whether they stay open or choose to shut (with financial support available from the government for those which choose to shut). That way, those with predominantly young staff who aren't at risk to the same extent could continue to operate. Also outdoor nurseries - nurseries which operate in the open air are a much lower transmission risk. While those with an older/more vulnerable staff demographic could shut or furlough at risk staff.

Parents with children who need to be home-schooled have been thrown under the bus. Could you request furlough for childcare reasons?

“ If the government suddenly realise little children are contributing to community transmission, they will close the nurseries too.”

I don’t think anyone is in any doubt that nurseries are highly likely to close, are they? The sense that some people want parents generally to get some sort of comeuppance is rather unpleasant, but par for the course now it seems, which is sad

I’m really saddened that some people view you’re automatically selfish to send their children to nursery. Can people not recognise there’s a number of competing interests?

i.e you can recognise the risk to nursery workers but also recognise the very really prospect of becoming unemployed, with bleak reemployment prospects and the very real threat of poverty as a subsequence.

Is that risk to our children ok?

We can work together to a degree but if we’re just out for ourselves the whole infrastructure of society will fall apart.

@Katmercer41

I work in a nursery and i'm really anxious about opening back up . I'm 44 and have already lost a family member to covid and the 3 other members of staff i work with are late 50's early 60's so vulnerable . We have no PPE but are expected to cuddle the children whilst being sneezed and coughed on . i have a 12 year old at home that is also homeschooling and requires help and feel stuck between a rock and a stone . Were not invincible :(

I really do feel for you. I don't know any early years people who don't really care about their children and families but it seems so unfair that early years is being treated so differently to schools. Only sense I can make of it is money - the government just don't want to fund nurseries and are quite happy for hard-working families to either make the decision to take their child out (and still have to pay for their place) or keep them in. Keep early years in-line with schools and there would be no decision to make.,

I am really shocked by some of the responses on here, some of you are coming across as jealous in a way that nurseries and early years have remained open? I get that those of you with young children who now cannot go to school are in difficult positions with work, etc but are you really of the mindset well if we can't, why should they - in terms of parents who can and are sending their children to early years and nursery??

I have already said on here, our pre-school is tiny and all of the workers want to stay open! Not all early years and nursery staff want to close, I am sure some do but let's not make out that none of them want to remain open!

Our pre-school will probably end up closing for good if they are forced to close again.

@PegLegTrev

I’m really saddened that some people view you’re automatically selfish to send their children to nursery. Can people not recognise there’s a number of competing interests?

i.e you can recognise the risk to nursery workers but also recognise the very really prospect of becoming unemployed, with bleak reemployment prospects and the very real threat of poverty as a subsequence.

Is that risk to our children ok?

We can work together to a degree but if we’re just out for ourselves the whole infrastructure of society will fall apart.

@PegLegTrev I think the issue a lot of people have is the difference between how early years staff are treated compared to schools. Why is it not safe for schools to be open but ok for early years? Why is it ok for a 4 year old to go to nursery but not school. I know it's difficult for people with young children, but young children who need a high level of attention are also at infant school. Why is reception class deemed unsafe but pre-school is "safe".

Risk of unemployment isn't just for people with pre-school children.

As others have said, it is really about the NHS though. If the government suddenly realise little children are contributing to community transmission, they will close the nurseries too nurseries opened in June, there wasn’t a massive spike in infections.
Fact is it’s a balancing act, we can’t all hibernate until this virus, that has killed a few hundred under 60years old without underlying conditions, disappears.
You should have heard the cabbie on the radio this morning, can’t afford his mortgage or to put fuel in his car. It’s not a case that we can furlough everyone ffs

"God what an awful existence - I’ll take my chances with the virus if the other option is don’t leave my house for a year"

Well if you have had someone at your household who needed to shield or lost a loved one or a family member to Covid, maybe you would have also considered to take up more selfless attitude, bearing in mind other vulnerable people and NHS.
I don't regard my existence as awful. I believe I do everything in my power to support others and myself during this pandemic.

Why is it ok for a 4 year old to go to nursery but not school. I know it's difficult for people with young children
Well for the millionth time, it’s not less safe for the child it’s about the wider community transmission ie. the size of the school, number of adults etc.
And because the cut off has to be somewhere, you can’t say nurseries can be open for 1-2 yr olds but not older.
And there is a difference working from home with an 18 month old and working around a soon to be 5 yr old!

@nettii2414. It's not about which poses the greatest risk, it is about funding. Nursery workers are completely justified in thinking the government has thrown them under the bus... it has.

The government is gambling that closing schools will be sufficient to reduce transmission rates. It is not interested in the safety or wellbeing of individual families, nursery workers or children. Instead, it is hoping to avoid the difficult question of who pays for nursery closures by keeping them open.

There are three options for who would pay:

• Nurseries. Most run on incredibly tight margins already. With the furlough scheme available, they're unlikely to stay open if they can't charge parents. But the government needs them to stay open to look after key worker kids so it can't just tell nurseries to get lost.
• Parents. Not going to happen. It's against consumer law to charge parents for a service they're not receiving and many will be unable to pay since they're reducing their hours/ taking time off to care for their children. Many may give up work altogether, give notice to the nursery and become SAHPs. The demand for childcare is down hugely since last year and that's not a good thing economically... it means less working parents and less tax being paid.
• The government. But they won't.

but the government didnt close schools because they care about staff nor are they keeping nurseries open because they dont.....it's got nothing to do with that. it's about closing down vectors of transmission.

My son has gone back to preschool this morning. I have a job that I can do from home but not one that I can do while simultaneously making sure that a preschooler is safe and more or less occupied. I could, however, use up some annual leave at short notice for a couple of weeks or possibly negotiate some unpaid leave. We could cope as a household financially if I became a SAHM but I am not willing to throw my career down the toilet. In any event my notice period is three months!

I very much admire and respect the staff in my son’s nursery. The nursery has been clear that parents must still pay if they do not send the kids in, or lose the place. (One month’s notice needed if giving up the place).

Many of the messages on this thread seem to suggest that I should not send my son to nursery unless it is absolutely essential for me to work to keep a roof over our heads. The rationale is that I am endangering staff health and/or increasing community transmission by availing myself of the “luxury” of nursery. However we are being very careful- click and collect shopping only, not seeing anyone outside our family of 3, strict mask wearing and hand sanitising. We have been going to playgrounds though.

I don’t feel that my son is personally increasing the risk to nursery colleagues very much, and if he brings it home to us (which is more of a worry for me to be honest) then we won’t spread it further. If we took him out and stopped paying fees then the nursery might suffer financially.

Am I really being selfish by sending him in even though I am not a keyworker?