Just because we can, should we...?

Just because we can, should we?
Like thousands of others around the country I prepared to watch the Prime Minister’s address on Sunday evening with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. I finished watching with a mix of anxiety and confusion. There was also a fair amount of irritation arising from the lack of immediate availability of guidance to flesh out the ‘recovery plan’. We had to wait until 2pm on Monday for that and with it came even further confusion. In spite of the guidance advising Early Years settings, and primary school year groups of Reception, Year One and Year Six to prepare for opening from 1st June, the statement on page 26 of the plan that said, ‘The Government is also amending its guidance to clarify that paid childcare, for example nannies and childminders, can take place subject to being able to meet the public health principles at Annex A, because these are roles where working from home is not possible. This should enable more working parents to return to work’, threw the childminding workforce into disarray. Did this mean Childminders should be opening from this week or from 1st June along with the rest of the childcare sector, and since when did Childminders not work from their own homes?
Fortunately, both PACEY and the Early Years Alliance were on the spot and able to obtain confirmation from the DfE that Childminders should be preparing to open from 1st June along with other Early Years settings, and not immediately; a point also made by the Prime Minister in his speech to Parliament yesterday afternoon. It would appear that the author of ‘’OUR PLAN TO REBUILD: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy’’ misunderstood the role of a Childminder or used the incorrect term in error, perhaps intending it to mean ‘Home Childcarers’ who do provide care in the child’s home.
Since this initial guidance the Government have gone on to release a number of sector specific documents giving further details of what might be involved in the reopening process, such as who will be eligible to attend schools and settings and what measures should be in place, as well as guidance for parents on what to expect (see below).
As with all the guidance and documentation coming out at the moment it has been written in haste but with good intention. There are errors and inconsistencies which are to be expected in the circumstances. In places it is as clear as a muddy puddle and certainly open to interpretation. However, critique it as we may, it’s all we have to work on at present, though no doubt there will be numerous updates and additions over the coming weeks.
So where do we go from here?
As I said in the title, just because we can, should we? Although there is provision within the Corona Virus Act 2020 to enforce opening of registered childcare settings this does not apply to Childminders, who have been specifically excluded from this element of the legislation. Childminders have a choice. There is no single answer to the question of whether to be open or not, or to open for some children but not all, as every setting is unique and so will have to make a decision based on many factors. This blog is aimed primarily at Childminders but many of these factors are relevant to all settings. This list is not exhaustive:

• Attitude and feelings of the Childminder/provider
• Attitude and feelings of the Childminder’s family/household members
• Attitude and feelings of staff (where applicable)
• Parent opinions and concerns
• Children’s worries
• Ability to minimise direct and indirect transmission using recommended hygiene practices and distancing measures
• Availability and organisation of space to enable appropriate distancing measures
• Willingness to take on the extra burden of additional cleaning and organisational measures
• Ability to provide appropriate resources to support play, learning and development within the constraints of hygiene measures
• Underlying health conditions of Childminder or someone on their household, or of a child or one of their household.

Attitudes and concerns:
A large number of headteachers, teachers, childcare managers, staff, Childminders and parents have made it very clear on social media and via the news media that they strongly believe it is far too soon for children to be returning to school and childcare, and that the age groups selected are the wrong ones, believing the focus should be on those older children who are approaching exams and who are able to follow social distancing practices.
People are rightly fearful of the risk of infection and a potential ‘second spike’. Too little is known about the transmission of the coronavirus to be sure that allowing young children to mix in numbers is safe. Although it is known that children are less likely to transact Covid-19 and that if they do, their symptoms are more likely to be mild. Government have cited this a one of the reasons why they believe it is going to be safe for children to return. What about the adults caring for those children though, or the adults bringing and collecting the children given that far less is known about children’s role as carriers and their transmission of the disease to others? Is it safe for these adults to be mixing?  The government guidance freely admits that social distancing between young children is not possible, but it is also not possible for the adults caring for these children. Young children NEED physical contact to feed their emotional well-being, in the same way that they need to eat to feed their physical being. They need hugs and cuddles, comfort and tears wiping (and snotty noses and pooey bottoms!). These are requirements of healthy development and cannot be denied. Osfted have made a number of suggestions on their Facebook ‘Childcare Registration’ page as to how settings might manage some of the challenges, most are quite reasonable but this one stands out as particularly unhelpful:
‘’Reducing the number of people you come into contact with at work; if you are a nanny, not mixing with other nannies and household members, if you are a childminder, not allowing other household members to come into your childcare space’’
Given that the 'childcare space' is the whole house (registered premises) obviously this would be unfeasible, but even if a Childminder only uses downstairs how can they tell their partners and children they cannot move around freely in their own homes, especially given the restrictions already being placed on them. If the childminder has young children of their own this is obviously impossible. Even with older children or a separate playroom it is problematic
Childcare settings are opening to enable parents to return to work, but should providers be accepting children if their parents are at home? The guidance for workers remains unchanged and says that they should continue to work at home if possible and only travel to their workplace if they cannot work at home. For some parents though, working whilst caring for a small child is not easy, and often impossible. In these situations, it would be entirely appropriate to accept these children into the setting. If the parent is successfully managing their work-child balance there is no obligation for them to change this, especially as attendance at an Early Years setting is not a legal requirement. Government are keen however that parents take up the opportunity to send eligible children to school and are strongly encouraging this, but even so, have not made it compulsory.
In addition to fears around getting the virus there is also understandable resentment around the logic of it being suitable to accept unrelated children into the Childminder’s home and to have direct contact with their parents but not be able to see their own grown-up children or their grandchildren, due to social distancing rules. For parents who have previously relied on grandparents to provide children there is similar resentment. The government argue that grandparents are at increased risk due to age, but not all are over 70, and many may not even be in their 50s yet.
Before going forward and making any firm decisions regarding opening, Childminders will need to talk to their families first to make sure they have their backing, before then discussing the options with their minded families. They also need to think about themselves and their own mental and physical health. Do they feel ready and able to go back?
If the childminder decides to proceed, they will need to address any concerns the parents and children may have. They will need to update policies, procedures and contracts to cover any changes they are implementing, such as doorstep and sickness policies and think about how best to communicate these to parents, including getting them signed. They will need to ensure their child record details, including emergency contacts are updated and gather new starting point or ‘all about me’ information about the children – a lot will have changed in 11 weeks. They should ask questions about how the children have been affected by the lock down. For some children it may have been a very traumatic experience, and some may have lost loved ones to the virus.  
Logistics
Before reopening the setting, Childminders will need to think about how they can adapt their space, organisation and routines in order to fulfil guidance on hygiene and distancing.
The first step will be a risk assessment, remembering that it is about minimising risk rather than eliminating it, as the latter is simply not possible. It is also about balancing children’s needs against safety.
Things to consider include:

• Staggering drop off/collection times so parents and children from different families do not arrive together
• How to manage drop offs and collections whilst social distancing from parents.
  • This will be affected by the age of the child and any separation anxiety they may have. For babies, I have seen it suggested that they be placed in a receptacle such as buggy or car seat for the other adult to then pick up from. Personally, I feel this is a step too far, and that the risk of passing the disease between the adults during the fleeting time they are in contact is much lower than the risk to the child’s emotional well-being in this situation.
• How you will ensure areas and resources used by children are cleaned frequently, following government guidelines
  • This may involve limiting the spaces in which children are allowed to be in and reducing the toys available to ones easily cleaned, including removing soft toys, dressing up and furnishings unless these can be washed daily. Messy and sensory play may have to be restricted to avoid potential disease transmission. Furniture may need to be covered with the coverings washed daily. You will need to allow time during quiet points in the day and at the end of the day to clean, following the hygiene practices in the government guidance.
• Consider making increased use of your outdoor space and keep rooms used by children well-ventilated
  • Virus transmission has been shown to be much less outdoors and we know that being outside is highly beneficially to all of us, both physically and emotionally. Guidance is not clear regarding taking minded children to public outdoor spaces. From 13 May the government have relaxed some of the restrictions but the rules state that going to outdoor public spaces can only be with members of your household and that if you meet up with anyone it must be on a one on one basis at 2m apart. Minded children are not part of your household, but we await clarity on whether they can be counted as such for this purpose. If not, outdoor play will be restricted to your setting’s garden, yard or drive. If you do go out to a public space will this be limited to walkable locations? If not, how will you reduce risk in the car to prevent spread of infection? Public transport is to be avoided.
• How you will manage daily routines such as nap times and meals.
  • Are there changes you need to make such as no longer offering children the option of ‘buffet style’ food? Will you need to change your opening times, such as closing earlier to enable more time to clean without it impacting further on your family life?
• How you will you encourage social distancing within the setting.
  • Young children are not able to distance effectively. Even those children who understand the concept will not remember when deeply engrossed in their play. Older children however can be encouraged to keep apart where space allows. It may be possible to rearrange your play areas to create segregated areas. For group settings children should be kept in small key groups with dedicated staff, and these groups should be kept separate from each other as much as possible. Where there might potentially be too many children to facilitate this, settings have been advised to prioritise which children return, starting with 3 and 4-year-olds. Also consider mixing between settings: will you care for children who attend more than one setting, or who are also at school, given the increased risk this poses?
• How you will reduce the risk of spread of infection through good personal hygiene routines:
  • Supervise frequent hand washing for 20 seconds, especially after using a tissue, being outdoors, before and after eating and petting an animal
  • Use of hand sanitiser where soap and water are not available
  • Remind children to keep their hands away from their faces and promote the idea of ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ when coughing, sneezing, wiping noses etc. – have a ‘snot station’
  • Consider if you want to wear apron and gloves when dealing with bodily fluids, such as nappy changing. Some practitioners do this anyway. PPE, including wearing masks, is not being recommended for general use in childcare and education settings but may be appropriate in some situations, such as when attending on a child or other adult who starts to show symptoms whilst at the setting. Masks are problematic with young children who rely on being able to see the mouth moving as part of speech and language development and to aid in reading other people’s emotions. They are also, quite frankly, a bit scary!
  • Consider any additional measures such as taking temperatures on arrival, providing changes of clothing on arrival, storing coats, bags and shoes outside etc. Government guidance specifically warns against temperature taking as it is not accurate enough and might give false reassurances. Change of clothing for children is also not recommended but may help you and parents feel safer.
• Consider what you will do if you, a member of your family or staff, or a child become ill whilst at your setting.
  • Do you have an area where you/they can be isolated? How quickly can parents get to you? Think about emergency contacts as technically the child cannot mix with anyone outside their household. Make sure you are up to date with current requirements regarding self-isolating following this. Organise a virus test if anyone in your household develops symptoms.
• Looking to the future, and business sustainability, think about how you will recruit and welcome new families.
  • How will you share paperwork? How will you show them your setting whilst maintaining social distancing rules and so them not being allowed inside your premises? Could this be done doing an online platform such a Zoom?

So, what is the answer?
It’s up to you to decide!
Personally, I am very wary of opening as I am not sure that even by the 1st June it will be safe to do so but I also know that the time may never feel right or at least not for a long time anyway. Coronavirus is not disappearing any time soon and might never go away completely. Government are working towards a principle of slowed down infection rates whilst possible herd immunity builds and a vaccine is developed, but these are unknown factors and cannot be relied on. We have to go back to work sometime, we cannot afford not to. This will not be work as we have known it in the past but some form of normal will emerge.   
I am still considering my options, keeping dialogue open with my families and awaiting further government guidance. I’m sure there will be many more late-night updates over the weeks to come.
Watch this space!
 
Guidance for settings:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020?utm_source=3daf3f8c-87d9-4a78-90ec-6196e4a070e5&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings
Guidance for parents:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/reopening-schools-and-other-educational-settings-from-1-june#contents
The recovery plan…
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-rebuild-the-uk-governments-covid-19-recovery-strategy
NB
Where I have talked about settings going back, opening or reopening, this is not to assume all settings have been closed. I am using these terms to refer to settings that have been open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children who will be opening to a wider range of children as well as those who have been fully closed and are reopening for the first time.
o edit.