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?!

It could even be an amazing time which you cherish! err yeh we exhausted making memories baking and walking this last year as it is!

Nursery workers who have school age children are not supported by furlough and cannot work from home. This will cause nurseries to close because of staff shortages and shut down because they can’t maintain this without support they count as key workers, their children can go to school.

Really don't know what to do now as I'd expected nursery to be closed and fees to pause in lockdown.

DD attends 2 nurseries one being at the local primary school for 15 funded hours - surely the ones in schools will close??? Her other nursery she attends as wrap around care so literally for 45 mins in Mir I guess (then they walk the kids to school) and for approx 1.5 hrs after collecting the kids from school nursery -:I suspect the private nursery will stay open but unless they can change DD hours she can't really go for those sessions

Plus I so feel for the nursery staff I know some are terrified

This is all just so sh!t

I'm relieved as I was soon the edge of coping last time too like many others. I'm just about hanging on to my job so will continue to try and do this and send my child in but my friends with older kids are struggling to process having to do it all again and I really feel for them.

@SaveWaterDrinkGin

Thanks *@BertNErnie*

If your nursery has 30hr children who attend and your child is one of those you might be able to speak to the head to see if they can attend.

We are remaining open to full time critical worker nursery children as I recognise those parents rely on us for work as well.

So relieved!!! Why aren’t more reception classes open????! Our school has pre school and reception open why not more.

I’m surprised at the lack of empathy for the staff in early years settings on here.

My son is aged three at a private nursery. I also have a one year old so at home. I am fortunate I am not juggling work so my child will not be attending nursery, I really do hope they will only be used by those who really really need them, for the safety of the staff.

When we called up this morning to say we would not be bringing in our son in for at least the next month I was told me they were all feeling anxiety about being open.

It's the fees which are the issue, I suspect. It has (rightly) been made clear that nurseries cannot charge parents if they are closed to their children. So if the government wants nurseries to be open for key worker children, it needs to keep them open for all otherwise they will close and furlough their staff.

I am also delighted as we both work full time from home and our 2 year old is SO full of energy! Having experienced the first lockdown I was already very worried. It's not just juggling work and looking after him (which is nearly impossible, on the verge of mental), but he's now discovering the world. He's so curious, interested in everything, developing his vocabulary, learning his social skills....
He spend about 2 weeks at home with us over Christmas (in a tier 4 area) while we were off work. Even with our full attentions he was so bored in the end. Today he went back to nursery with a big smile and I have been told he's been so happy all day.

Our nursery is super small. There are about 4-5 teachers and in his bubble there are at the moment less than 8 children (I think today probably 5). Only one parent is allowed at pick up/drop off. And we have to wear a face mask. We are strictly not allowed in. Children wash their hands every time they step in and regularly during the day.

With primary/secondary closed I am also even more relieved I am massively reducing our risks. Of course we can't reduce the risk to zero, but if I add that we both work from home, don't have family in this country so no visitors, only shop online (haven't set foot in a shop in months, not even a supermarket) I feel ok sending him in.

I work in a nursery. Late 40s. I remember a couple of days after Christmas feeling my lungs getting worse and wondering if I'd end up in hospital, maybe on a ventilator. It was scary. We don't have PPE at work. We get coughed and sneezed at. Some of the staff have underlying health issues. I don't want to die. I don't want anybody I work with to die.

We matter so little to people.

@triceratops12

I am very very pleased. However the only reason nurseries are open is because they don't want to fund them shutting.

I think it's because staff don't have a union

@Bringonspring

So relieved!!! Why aren’t more reception classes open????! Our school has pre school and reception open why not more.

Wow this is really interesting and I can imagine a very big relief for some families. I don't know any schools who are opening reception and nursery if attached to a school but if schools decide to follow the EYFS guidance then I guess they can open that way?

I’m delighted about this - was utterly convinced they would close. All my working friends with under 5s are incredibly relieved this evening. Between this and playgrounds staying open it looks like someone in the higher echelons of government has realised that babies, preschoolers and their mothers were completely let down during the first lockdown.

There’s a fairly narrow window for each of the developmental leaps that children make during the early years, and keeping them isolated from their peers and cut off from the outside world during this vital time is a recipe for huge long term damage. It’s also impossible to WFH effectively with small children, who need constant and engaged interaction, have short attention spans and don’t have the daily structure of school work to occupy their time. Tragically there has already been at least one child death recorded due to parental inattention while (mainly) mothers attempted to combine work and childcare. There would have been more had all early years childcare options been removed again.

@alex1889 every school year is fucking crucial in my opinion. Toddlers learn through play. They go to school to play and socialise. Yes, it’s important but not attending nursery is not going to fuck them up and leave massive gaps in their learning is it?! Unlike my DS with significant SEN whose hair is falling out and who has retreated in to himself so badly I don’t know how he’s ever going to recover. To say your toddler has ‘suffered’ because they haven’t gone to birthday parties or had a holiday is ridiculous and SO insensitive to those who have actually had their lives and families ripped to pieces by Covid.

I'm mixed. 17 month old loves nursery, and whilst I'm concerned about her catching it we are otherwise quite isolated, not in any bubbles. so if they open I will send her in for now.

But as they may have staffing issues due to primary closures then I will support if they choose to close.

And I'm happy to keep paying regardless as I want the nursery to survive and for dd to go back there.

Ours is staying open for which I am hugely grateful, we are both frontline keyworkers can't work from home 80-90% and our area has a large hospital and I know lots of the other parents are medics. So far side they re-opened they've had zero cases desire the fact that most families have parents out working hand to hand with the public. God bless them

Do you think it’s because nursery staff are less unionised than school staff? No one is shouting at the government to protect them 😕

@BertNErnie yes it’s interesting isn’t it. Early years is Nursery AND reception. Why haven’t more schools followed this approach? It is up to the schools discretion though to open if the nurseries attached to the school though.

I’d assume part of the reasoning for keeping them open is that parents are much more likely to draw on informal childcare bubbles for under 5s, which actually then just makes mixing worse/tracing harder.

I’m thrilled they’re staying open. Ours had one case last year and it didn’t spread at all so I feel v comfortable with their hygiene measures. And my son LOVES it there.

@Bringonspring. Purely financial reasons, I suspect. The government would like to close all nurseries but can't if it wants places for key workers' children.

Please mumsnet bullies.. you banged on for months about schools closing - you have your wish.. but ffs, do not start with the nurseries.

Do not send your child if you don't want too. You have a choice.

But it is imperative for us working parents that that age group can be in nursery so we can keep our jobs.

Mine is staying open abd I am delighted.

It's crazy. I just don't understand it at all.

It could even be an amazing time which you cherish!

Having to completely ignore and neglect my 2 year old child whilst I attend several zoom meetings a day and answer phone calls and emails, whilst feeling incredible guilt for having to neglect my child so that I can keep my job and pay my bills, really does not feel like time I would “cherish”.

If you can keep your child off nursery as you do not work, or you have the capacity to care for them fully at home, by all means please do. But don’t try to make those of us who have no choice feel bad for our decisions.

For what’s it’s worth I think all settings should be closed. Yes it’s awful for parents and children alike but we are in the middle of a pandemic! England is now level 5 on the covid system which means Nhs is likely to be overwhelmed. Back in April we were only level 4. The virus is out of control,everything needs to shut nurseries,pre-schools,garden centres etc.

@Chill08

I work at a nursery half of us are 40+. I'm absolutely lost for words that we are to stay open.

Me too. No thought for our safety at all

Early years staff should be in a union - probably UNISON.