Essential childcare only in tier 4

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Please tell me that you don't think this means nurseries will be closed? ie does essential mean only open for keyworkers? I can't find clarity in the published guidance

Scottish nurseries closing from Boxing Day until at least 18 Jan for all except key worker and vulnerable children. Announced on Twitter this morning, because apparently that’s how we get told about things now

This is as much info as there is right now. Childminders can still open though.

Nurseries are closing until the 18th at least. Childminders are able to open more widely but still not completely.

I feel like screaming

Me too

Ok so I just checked Twitter and the Scottish govt advice is totally confusing and contradictory. They link to the parent club which says as attached. So are nurseries open for all workers or not?!

ParentClub website is out of date. Also says schools will stay open. Fuck knows why they’re linking to it without checking.

Someone told me they think it may not apply to private nurseries, but I think that's unlikely.

I'm devastated. My son is only just recovering from the last lockdown. He is adopted and this is likely to trigger more feelings of loss which will result in regression and challenging behaviour. Except it's worse this time as last lockdown I was on adoption leave, now I also have to somehow work as well. Honestly don't know how we'll cope.

So sorry @poppet31. It's just awful, I honestly don't understand the reasoning behind closing the nurseries. Where we are our numbers aren't awful. I thought nursery age children were considered low risk in terms of transmission compared to school age children? What's more, as a result of the last lockdown work is terrible, my workload is insane. I don't know how I will be able to work with the kids at home. I barely managed it last time. I would say childcare is bloody essential if parents are working full time, key worker or not! What doesn't qualify as a key worker is also arguable! They need to expand the definition. My job is also under threat because of the impact of the last lockdown. So what will happen now! I'm just completely overwhelmed

Oh bloody hell, now I've just seen another thread saying what if it's cos the new strain is more dangerous to children? And now I'm stressing about that. I hate all this - I don't know whether I'm coming or going

Seriously 😳 I didn't think it would include private nurseries. Usually the nursery would have contacted everyone if that was the case but I wonder if they are trying to seek clarity before contacting parents. Agghhhh we are going to be super busy in work for January it was already looking like overtime just to get the work done and now who knows as there's quite a few of us with kids at nursery 😫 Maybe timelines will just need to get pushed out a further month 🤷🏻‍♀️

Our private nursery have confirmed the will only be open to key workers until ‘at least’ the 18th of jam. I could honestly cry. I’m under so much pressure at work this feels like the last straw

Why are they doing this? Especially after such severe Christmas restrictions. I don't understand the reasoning this time because there's too much contradictory stuff going on

It all feels like a lot on top of the Christmas news eh?

Last time barely any nurseries in my area opened & only accepted children if both parents were key workers.

No idea what we will do if it's the same again this time.

I think if there was any evidence that this new variant was more dangerous for children, schools and nurseries would be off in January in London and other Tier 4 areas of England that are the hardest hit. If this strain has been around for a couple of months they should have some data about this. Personally, I think it's quite reassuring on this front that in England scientific advisors are clearly saying that the best place for children to be is in school (and that there is no evidence this strain is more dangerous, just that it is potentially more infectious).

I really don't see any scientific justification for closing nurseries in Scotland given that the accepted 'truth' is that young children really don't spread the disease that much (which is why under 12s are exempt from household meeting numbers etc.). Couple this with closing the border to England, and I have an awful feeling NS is having another go at 'zero COVID' and will keep us all locked up until cases are really suppressed, so probably the Spring. The cynic in me thinks that she's losing popularity after the enhanced restrictions in the summer led to exactly the same situation as the rest of the UK (so what was the point) and she desperately needs to out-perform England in the COVID stakes before the elections in May. She doesn't have any personal insight into just how difficult she is making life for parents, so maybe figures its worth risking the parental vote.

I think you're right @Y0uCann0tBeSer10us

You've hit the nail on the head. This is all about politics now.

Islington Council and Greenwich Council were both already told by Public Health England to close all schools immediately. You're onto plums if you think everything's ok and schools will open normally post Christmas in London.
Also it's not the FM trying to 'one up'. France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Israel ( to name a few) have all done the same.

@Shelby30

Seriously 😳 I didn't think it would include private nurseries. Usually the nursery would have contacted everyone if that was the case but I wonder if they are trying to seek clarity before contacting parents. Agghhhh we are going to be super busy in work for January it was already looking like overtime just to get the work done and now who knows as there's quite a few of us with kids at nursery 😫 Maybe timelines will just need to get pushed out a further month 🤷🏻‍♀️

Childcare provider haven't received any official communications- those of us who know found out from fricking twitter so your nursery might not be aware yet. All settings except childminders told to close until 18th.

@Outsidemum1 we're just talking about nurseries rather than schools

given that the accepted 'truth' is that young children really don't spread the disease

No, the approved truth as it suits the government. Like all respiratory illness children are driving forces which is why lockdown 2.0 didn't work

Why are childminders and informal childcare arrangements allowed but nurseries aren't?

@Regulus while its true that most respiratory infections are widely spread by young children, the bulk of the peer reviewed literature seems to suggest that this isn't the case with Sars-CoV2. Over the age of 10-12 it gets murkier, and there is an argument that older teenagers maybe spreading the virus in schools, but nursery age children by the government's own evidence are negligible risk.

In a sea of monumentally stupid decisions, one thing the Scottish government got right was recognise this and exclude young children from social distancing requirements.