Bubbles and multiple settings

[Gotobloodysleep]

I'm in early years, in a nursery based on a large academy site.

We will be returning on the 1st June. Although I am anxious, I am looking forward to getting back to some sort of routine.

However, on a group chat with all the staff today management mentioned our after school and breakfast clubs and how they will start up. We take children from two different primary schools for these clubs and staff who run them also help out within the setting during the day. I just don't see how this will work if children are meant to be keeping in own bubbles. When I questioned this I was shut down and made out to be seeing problems that aren't there. It just seems crazy.

Ive read on here that childminders are not allowed to have children from different settings - so they can have children all day, but not combine care with school or nursery. However, I have no source for this so it’s effectively hearsay.

AFIAK, they shouldn't be doing this. After school care is allowed if bubbles can be maintained.

There's detailed guidance here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings

I'd argue your school's plans contradict points such as:

*In addition, childcare settings or early years groups in school should:

consider how to keep small groups of children together throughout the day and to avoid larger groups of children mixing*

and

ensure that children and young people are in the same small groups at all times each day, and different groups are not mixed during the day, or on subsequent days

and

ensure that the same teacher(s) and other staff are assigned to each group and, as far as possible, these stay the same during the day and on subsequent days, recognising for secondary and college settings there will be some subject specialist rotation of staff

It might also be worth pointing out that if any of the children showed symptoms of coronavirus or tested positive, all staff who had contact with them would have to be off until they could get a negative test or for 14 days. The more staff who have contact with each child, the more staff who would have to be off. If you're mixing staff members between groups, this could lead to a large number of staff off and a large number of children not being able to come into the setting?

Do you have a union rep you can talk to about this?

Sorry, there's a bold fail in that post, but hopefully it makes sense!

@SansaSnark thank you for pointing those bits out.

I'm hoping that when the ey guidance is out it will be a bit clearer. You can always live in hope.