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

Wow really, that’s absolutely shocking I don’t understand how they can do this when there was 3 deaths yesterday and 0 today (according to the news). I know it’s about potential but it just seems so harsh for the circumstances.

The key worker status is online tonight. A few media outlets have published on twitter.

Thanks I’ll keep an eye on the news and on here as you all seem very knowledgeable

I can’t see anything about key workers published. Can anyone share a link?

I am worried that this is going to be going on way after 18th Jan, especially as Patrick Vallance has said this strain seems to infect children more easily. Like most in the thread I am not sure I will cope with 2 kids at home while attempting to work from home in a high pressure role. I am technically a key worker but last lockdown there were no places in my LA as it went on priority and as I was at home I was (understandably) lower down the last than those who can wfh.

ParentClub have edited their updated page to sound more positive since the last time I checked, if it helps anyone else find a brief glimmer of hope in this mire:

@ATieLikeRichardGere

I can’t see anything about key workers published. Can anyone share a link?

www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-childcare-provision-from-26-december-to-18-january/pages/vulnerable-children/

@poppet31 if you still have a social worker from your sons adoption then I’d imagine that you would be able to get him a place if they apply for you.
There were plenty of SW referrals in my dc school hub during the last lockdown

I’ve had my email today to register my dc as I’m a key worker from SG

Thank you @Bytheloch

Confirmed now: www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-childcare-provision-from-26-december-to-18-january/

So it remains their belief that the virus is not spread in childcare settings, but they’re going to shut them anyway. Also, as someone working from home, I can’t send my child to nursery to be looked after in the same smallish group every day by young, low risk people, but I can send them to their grandparents who are much higher risk, and will probably take them out and about to various different places.

That's exactly it @Y0uCann0tBeSer10us

"These exceptional arrangements are being put in place as a precautionary measure in light of the latest developments in the path of the virus. A range of previously published evidence has made clear that childcare settings are not high risk environments when the appropriate mitigations and safety measures outlined in the sectoral guidance are implemented, and this remains our judgement – there is no evidence that childcare settings are driving transmission of the virus."

Why can't they distinguish between nurseries and schools?

Agreed. Nurseries and schools are clearly very different in a number of ways - average ages of children, staff, and parents and the various implications of that, numbers of children per bubble, nature of learning environment, alternative care possibilities - are some factors which spring to mind. It doesn’t look like anyone has analysed this. It just looks like a big oversight to me.

So upset about this. I’ll just lock my toddler in a fucking box shall I? How are we meant to WFH with a nursery age child? My DH is a key worker but despite people making £million decisions based on what I do I’m not.

ParentClub have now changed the wording on plans three times.

Yesterday evening: "from 26 December until [at least] 18 January"
Yesterday night: "We expect all children to return to school and childcare from Monday 18 January 2021."
Today: "We expect all children to return to school and childcare as normal from Monday 18 January 2021 at the earliest."

I know it's all saying basically the same thing, which is 'hopefully back by 18th but who knows', but the emphasis does change things, and a BIT of consideration for those of us who are being put in really horrendous situations by this and are absolutely desperate to know how long we're being asked to do it for would not go amiss.

That guidance is pissing me off the more I think about it. They acknowledge that childcare settings are not contributing to significant spread, but then insist on closing them all anyway without even ATTEMPTING to justify it in any scientific way. They then link to ParentClub for 'advice' which is the usual patronising shite about asking employers to be flexible (you're supposed to negotiate this), which doesn't recognise in any way that for many of us we are already at the limits of the flexibility that is possible. There is no consideration given to parents who are in responsible roles and therefore have to be available, or to parents who are running their own businesses and will fold if they take an indefinite amount of time off.

And now, they're refusing to even confirm that this is time limited, and it could roll on indefinitely for months! What employer is going to put up with a worker who might be available or might not indefinitely, at a time when the economy is on the brink anyway? And women WILL be worse off because of this - they're not even pretending otherwise! Honest to God, if they sat down and brain-stormed a way to get women out of the workplace and back into the kitchen, looking after the children, they couldn't come up with better. Pointless, regressive, shite.

Ah but it's okay Y0uCann0tBeSer10us because we can send them to someone else's house for 'informal childcare'. After all, we've all got tons of trusted friends and family living close by who are ready and willing to look after our kids for the day, and the only reason we pay for childcare normally is because we just enjoy spending more than our mortgage payments on nursery fees.

Ah yes @GoldenOmber, I can send my toddler to their grandparents as informal childcare. They're in a much more vulnerable category than the nursery workers who are mostly in their twenties, and have medical conditions that make looking after small children difficult, but that's much safer right?

I seen a news article where a child died during the last lockdown as the mum was working and the child crawled into the hot tub outside.

How there is not more injuries and deaths I don’t know but it’s unacceptable. They called it a tragic accident.

@Whitewhite

I seen a news article where a child died during the last lockdown as the mum was working and the child crawled into the hot tub outside.

How there is not more injuries and deaths I don’t know but it’s unacceptable. They called it a tragic accident.

I saw that the other day. The poor woman was trying to work from home with TWIN toddlers 😕

I nearly had a nervous breakdown looking after one toddler.

@Whitewhite god that's awful.

We had a near miss with my pre-schooler during the first lockdown, I was on a call upstairs and he wanted to come up to see me and took a tumble on the stairs. Thankfully it was only a couple of stairs. I felt awful.

Us too @winterbabythistime. My office is upstairs, stair gate is always shut and the only doors open are my office and the toddlers bedroom. So if I’m working he can pootle about safely.

Except I didn’t realise one day my husband had let the gas engineer in who had gone into our upstairs living room where the boiler is and left the door open. There’s 4/5 stairs down to the living room 😕 god I felt awful.

Our nursery have been seeking urgent clarification on the guidance with Maree Todd mainly the aspects surrounding key workers and definitions especially as they have said its for local authorities and nurseries to decide on if a child needs to attend.

We are very fortunate in that my nursery fights hard for working parents my friends in the same LA have already been told unless 2 key worker parents and both out at work then their child cannot attend.

It's worth speaking to your nurseries as well as one of the grounds for allowing children is if it staying at home is likely to have a negative impact on parent or child's mental health/wellbeing. My son became withdrawn and terrified of people by week 4!