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Original poster

Who is not sending their dc to nursery?

108 replies

rolliy · 07/01/2021 11:10

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?

OP posts:
MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 13:54

State schools have closed their nurseries (probably have KW in haven’t asked)

Private are open with good mitigation

MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 13:55

Actually not all have good mitigation but ours is very good

maxfusion · 08/01/2021 13:59

I'm sending my 2.5 year old in. I don't really know the other parents (barely talk to them due to social distancing at pickup) so no idea if they are mixing/breaking the rules, but we aren't mixing with anyone else. No cases at the nursery at all, I consider it to be low risk and she needs the socialisation as an only child.

MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 13:59

@EssentialHummus

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.

Yup, this. I'm keeping DD off because (with some effort) I can. I am doing my best to do interesting things with her that are a bit closer to what she might do at nursery, so that she doesn't miss out, because she loves the interaction with other kids at nursery as well as painting, messy play etc. So keeping her off is to her slight detriment IMO, but in the context of 1 in 30 people testing positive in London that seems like a fair trade off.

Do you work? And are you still paying?
EssentialHummus · 08/01/2021 14:04

What does good mitigation look like in a nursery marsha? Handwashing, temperature checks, masks at the door?

Ours does all that - and in general DD has never come home with "nursery bugs" so I feel like they're doing something right - but even with all those things all you need is one parent taking the piss, or frankly even one parent who is a front-line worker, and you can be exposed.

I'm not asking just to be controversial/provoke - I'm keeping DD off, it's tough, I'd love for her to go in, but I just don't see how even the best nurseries can mitigate the risk enough.

MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 14:16

Essential when I looked around last September I was a bit shocked at the difference tbf. So one nursery all in room, not many windows, fewer staff, lots of children. My main thought was blimey Covid has not undone this that’s pretty lucky.

The alternative was a nursery attached to private school with huge room, few children, more staff. Temp checks, PPE but importantly they spend most of the day outside. She goes in in loads of layers and new coat.

She was already at above one but I checked the different one as where she is doesn’t do 30 free hours as they pay staff more. So it’s a big difference in cost. I mostly chose it as dd doesn’t like too much noise (back in Feb) but has turned out to coincide with good mitigation.

Very long. But it would be a shame for a good business to be forced to close as the staff are valued and stay a long time.

On seeing both one looked lucky to escape with low cases and the other well suited to situation.

MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 14:18

Essential do you still pay if your dd isn’t in? For how long? Ours is whole term

Gooseygoosey12345 · 08/01/2021 14:31

I've not sent DS yet, but there's not many kids in his Pre-school anyway, and a lot of those aren't attending either. I'm going to keep him off as long as it's not affecting him and as long as the staff are happy to be in (fairly friendly with them and I think they would say).

EssentialHummus · 08/01/2021 14:46

Essential do you still pay if your dd isn’t in? For how long? Ours is whole term

Last time round we didn't, this time I'm waiting for guidance from them (they decided to close this week anyway as a precaution, opening next week). TBH it's an incredibly cheap nursery anyway - it's a funny one that isn't attached to a school but gets lots of Lottery and other funding, so they wildly undercharge - and she's just eligible for her 15 hours. So the most I'd pay even if the free hours couldn't be used would be £300ish/m for the 2.5 days she normally does. We're in a position to pay that and not send her, so for now that's what we're doing.

I don't know. I trust them, they're great on hygiene, small room, lots of outside space, but I still feel inclined to keep her home for the mo. We're in the guts of London, case numbers nearby are very high.

Northernbeachbum · 08/01/2021 14:50

Friends and I all discussed it and decided it was the right thing to do to protect the staff and remove our children (we are NOT seeing each other I want to point that out) as we just about can manage without nursery.

We are still paying full fees as we dont want our wonderful nursery to close

MummaBear4321 · 08/01/2021 14:52

I have decided to keep DD out. DH works in peoples houses so we were more worries about her bringing something in unbeknownst to us. Bar DH going to work we basically arent going anywhere or seeing anyone. We have no support bubble either. However, my SIL is on furlough but is still putting her son in nursery 4 days a week because she 'cant be expected to have him all the time'. She is also still going to my MILs for a cuppa every day and dropping her son off at the weekend so she can have 'a break'. Peoples attitudes are very different.

MummaBear4321 · 08/01/2021 14:54

Oh and I am still paying for DDs place. We decided to just take the financial hit, and we are lucky we can. We dont want our nursery to close. It's been amazing for DD.

mynameiscalypso · 08/01/2021 15:00

I am having a bit of a wobble today about sending DS back next week as we are also in London where cases are very high but I do really need to be able to work 9-5 which just isn't possible with him here especially as his sleeping is all over the place and, frankly, he's bored at home and will only get more bored. I just hope it's the right decision.

PolkadotGiraffe · 08/01/2021 15:02

@missyB1

Oh apparently Nurseries have a magical invisible force around them that stops the spread of Covid - well according to this Government anyway!
It's not a "magical forcefield". It is data. Test and trace data shows 24% of reported infections were linked to primary and secondary schools, whereas for nurseries it is below 2%. Therefore the detrimental impacts of closing nurseries would hugely outweigh the reduction in infection rates from doing so.

There are various reasons why this seems to be the case, including better infection control protocols in nurseries, deep cleaning going on continuously, more time spent outdoors than at school, generally much smaller bubbles, more space to social distance, and the effect seen worldwide which is that small children appear less likely to be infected (and even if they are, they are largely asymptomatic and therefore have less viral load so are less infectious to others).

It makes sense in this context to leave it to parental judgement, as nurseries are not one of the main vectors for Covid entering wider societies as schools were. Some parents who are at risk or have regular contact with those at risk have chosen not to send their children. For other families who need to work, and have mitigated risks of passing anything on by working at home etc, sending them in is on balance the right choice. Nurseries and schools are not comparable.

Pissedoff1234 · 08/01/2021 15:04

DD2 is not going to nursery while the schools are closed. I don't see the difference and can't see why they aren't closed to all but KW.

MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 15:04

Great post Polka and good to see stats on here for a change.

PolkadotGiraffe · 08/01/2021 15:06

@MarshaBradyo

Great post Polka and good to see stats on here for a change.
Thank you. It makes me happy that they are well-received for once! Grin
mynameiscalypso · 08/01/2021 15:06

Thank you @PolkadotGiraffe - that's exactly what I've been thinking re nurseries but it's good to have some stats to back it up and is very reassuring

PolkadotGiraffe · 08/01/2021 15:11

It's also worth looking at this, if you've mot seen it already. No increase in serious illness has been noted for small children with this new strain of virus. I found this very reassuring. I took from this that my children can go to nursery fairly safely, provided we ensure we have no other contact with other people.

www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/rcpch-responds-media-reports-increased-admissions-children-young-people-covid-19

Teeninabeanie · 08/01/2021 15:13

It must be nice for all the parents who are able to take a “calculated risk” to send their children in. Shame the staff don’t have the same choice.

mynameiscalypso · 08/01/2021 15:15

@Teeninabeanie

It must be nice for all the parents who are able to take a “calculated risk” to send their children in. Shame the staff don’t have the same choice.
Well nursery staff have the choice to give up their job and stay home in the same way that I have the choice to give up my job and keep DS at home.
PolkadotGiraffe · 08/01/2021 15:15

@Teeninabeanie

It must be nice for all the parents who are able to take a “calculated risk” to send their children in. Shame the staff don’t have the same choice.
I believe our nursery has furloughed vulnerable/ older staff to minimise this risk also.
PolkadotGiraffe · 08/01/2021 15:17

@Teeninabeanie

It must be nice for all the parents who are able to take a “calculated risk” to send their children in. Shame the staff don’t have the same choice.
This kind of comment frustrates me so much. Life is never risk-free. We take calculated risks multiple times every day. Every time we cook hot food or drive a car or cross the road or take a shower. People have to live and life inherently involves risk. The risk to young, healthy staff members of being infected by pre-schoolers and then becoming seriously ill is vanishingly small.
MarshaBradyo · 08/01/2021 15:18

@Teeninabeanie

It must be nice for all the parents who are able to take a “calculated risk” to send their children in. Shame the staff don’t have the same choice.
You can give in notice from a private nursery.
Rover83 · 08/01/2021 15:21

I've taken my daughter out of preschool, the preschool manager emailed the other day to say that they have half the children in so about 25.

Preschool have had no cases at all and I trust them it's some of the other parents I dont trust. I feel guilty for keeping her off as it took her ages to settle back in and she's only just really made friends. She'll start primary school in September and she's very shy so she could benefit from being there. However I have her big sister and newborn brother at home so it made sense to keep her home too.