Who is not sending their dc to nursery?

[rolliy]

There has been 1 or 2 threads about who can access a space at schools & how they are overrun as everyone is now a critical worker.

The main concern is that this will not bring the R rate down.

However nurseries, pre school, childminders etc are open. So I presume lots of people are not using that provision?

I have withdrawn DS from nursery for at least the month of January. I'm about to start Maternity Leave and just not worth the risk imo unless absolutely essential for work reasons.

I'm just interested because so many are anti school attendance but seem ok with nurseries.

I would do the same in your position.

Oh apparently Nurseries have a magical invisible force around them that stops the spread of Covid - well according to this Government anyway!

My ds1 and dil have.
They have little help as both sets of grandparents are caring for elderly shielding.
They have an emergency bubble with some friends, as both families have babies under one.

I think the reason for the different attitudes is that schools are supposed to be shut, but apparently still have high attendance rates. Whereas nurseries are still open to all because of the magic anti-Covid force field @missyB1 has mentioned.

I am by the way as gps shielding

I have kept my DS off, and will do for at least a couple of weeks, if not for the whole time. The risk of catching it from nursery is a risk I don't want to take at the moment.

Im keeping my 3 year old back for at least a few weeks. I was going to send him but on reflection, getting this infection rate down is more important than him socialising and playing. I think we all have a responsibility to keep children home if we can.

Keeping mine at home at least for a few weeks. Its sad coz I was looking at the pictures the preschool sent us of dc doing all sorts of activities when at school and it seems like she is missing out on a lot. But cases are rising and I want to try and avoid us being part of the problem as much as possible . I am a sahp so don't need the childcare aspect of it. Cant really trust the government anymore. One day they say its safe for children to go into school and tell them to go in and the next day they close all schools saying the schools are still safe for children to go into but its then not safe for them to come out of. Idiots. Who can trust their judgement on keeping nurseries open.

Im sending DD, nursery hasn't had a single case the entire time, or anyone having to isolate. Staff are changing when they arrive, washing their hands every 20 mins and practically showering in sanitiser. All toys are being Miltoned every evening, soft stuff is minimised and the kids are being kept in mini-bubbles. I feel very confident in DDs safety there.

who can trust their judgment on keeping nurseries open
Well precisely! This Government instead of being proactive is distinctly reactive, which is why we are constantly chasing our tails with this pandemic. They wait for absolute crisis point before taking action- and we can see what effect that has!

Nurseries are not the same as schools though. On the negative side they require more direct contact. But they have much smaller numbers in. My DC comes into contact with fewer children than one class at the local primary school let alone the huge local secondary school. Regular cleaning through the day and rotation of toys to allow quarantining of them for a few days is more manageagable with smaller premise and fewer children.

And in general it is easier to work around a mid primary school age child upwards than a toddler who can't be put on Zoom to nursery with half an eye kept on them. (Obviously there are exceptions to the above but government look at population level stats and trends)

I've sent DD, we are both WFH and we would all struggle if she stayed off. I'm not trusting the government but weighing up the risks myself. Our nursery has had no cases, and I've been really pleased with all the precautions they have taken and their risk assessments. If that changed then I would act accordingly

My dc is in a nursery class of 30 same as reception & YR 2 child. All pretty much impossible to entertain & work alongside with but at least the 3 yr doesn't need to be educated.

Yes, I'm sending my 18 month old in as we both work (albeit from home). We have jobs that require us to be on calls most of the day - I tutor in HE for example and my husband does training and consultancy. We absolutely could not work with a toddler at home and we would have to tag-team on childcare and work well into the evenings to make up for it (like we did last time), which isn't always possible if your work involves teaching students.

Our decision to send her in is based on necessity. Yes, if the nurseries closed we would simply have to cope, but as long as they're not we'll be sending her 3 days a week as normal.

Our nursery is small and would simply not be financially viable if many parents withdrew their children. They barely survived the last lockdown and that was only because many parents, including us, continued to pay fees. I'm not sure many people are in that kind of financial position now.

I have kept mine home today (but he went earlier in the week), as it doesn't really seem worth the risk. I'd rather see how the numbers pan out locally in the next couple of weeks (I'm an infectious disease scientist), so I can assess the risk. The risk to him is low. The risk to the rest of us is more of an issue (I'm CV, dh is self employed and would lose a lot of income needing to self isolate for weeks, he works alone so otherwise can just get on with it, and the online learning for older one is going to be enough of a nightmare that having an extra one at home doesn't make much difference). I can manage with him at home for a few weeks before making more of a decision. I also can't help but think about some of the staff who are 50-60 and certainly have health issues. If I can prevent one of them being ill, then I'd rather do that. I'm paying for our place though because fortunately we can and we should.

@KarenMalice

I am worried the other children will make my gifted child (far above average)- more stupid.

It'll happen naturally at home dear, don't worry.

🤣🤣

I'm sending dd3 in. Only 2 days a week but it gives me time to home school dd5. And she loves it.

Dd3 caught coronavirus just before Christmas after one of the nursery workers in her room tested positive. She won't be a risk to others at nursery.

@mindutopia I’m glad you get it. It’s the risk to the community that people need to think about not the risk to the individual child. And yes I’m Early Years staff and I’m 52 and I’m nervous! There are no staff under 35 in our nursery and 4 of us in our 50s. I honestly think we should be open to keyworkers only.

Keeping nurseries open is a political decision not a scientific one. The government wants nurseries open so parents can work, and so they don’t have to pay for nursery places that aren’t being used. Of course they’re not safe - but safety isn’t the priority here. Money is.

I agree

DS is going as we would both be unable to work if he'd be at home. It's a calculated risk as there have been no cases in the nursery, we feel safe with all the measures put in place to contain it (masks at drop off/pick up, social distancing, no access to the inside of the building, strictly separate rooms and staff, hand washing...), stuff is young and there are only two small bubbles (currently of less than 8 children each).
On our side we both work from home, have no family in this country, we don't meet anyone not even for outside exercising, we have our shopping delivered and we haven't been to a shop probably since November.

Mine are both off I’m fortunate that I’ve been furloughed since the first lockdown and we have the means to pay to keep their spaces there. Not everyone is in the same position. Based on our circumstances it felt the responsible thing to do