Childcare providers and schools call for clarity on plans to re-open settings to more children

Sector organisations are meeting with the children’s minister Vicky Ford today to discuss the plans for early years settings.

The Department for Education has confirmed it will be publishing further guidance setting out more information for early years, schools and colleges later today.

The plan is for England only, as both Scotland and Wales have not changed their guidance.

In his statement to the nation last night setting out the Government’s ‘road map’ out of lockdown, Mr Johnson said that he expected that primary school pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 would be able to return to school first from 1 June.

Although, Mr Johnson did not refer directly to early years and childcare settings directly in his speech, the DfE has signalled that the Government intends childcare providers to be included in its plans for reopening.

However, sector organisations and teaching unions have called for more clarity, with providers concerned about how the policy will work in practice and saying they do not feel safe.

Meanwhile a snap poll by the National Education Union revealed that the vast majority of teachers are against a wider opening of schools.

Commenting on Twitter, David Wright, owner of Paint Pots Nurseries in Southampton, said, ‘With respect, the Prime Minister did not mention childcare settings in his speech. We await your guidance. I trust it will contain specific, clear & workable information for the Early Years sector. It will be very disappointing if we are, once again, an afterthought.’

Childminder Sarah Neville of Knutsford Childminding said, ‘@educationgovuk no mention of #childminders #earlyyears #nurseries what do we say to those parents who have just been told to go back to work tomorrow? We do not feel safe #coronavirus’

‘The prime minister spoke about more people returning to work from this week which will naturally increase demand for childcare places. We will need clarity on which other workers will be added to the critical worker list and therefore able to access childcare places.

‘NDNA has joined with other early years organisations to call for more practical and financial support for nurseries as they are asked to accept more children. The safety of nursery children and staff must be paramount in any plans to ease lockdown. 

‘We have seen that in Scotland and Wales the guidance to childcare and educational settings is not changing, so we will need the different national governments to work together to address cross border issues.’

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘We are incredibly disappointed and frustrated that, while today’s announcement offered some clarity on plans to reopen schools, there was no mention of the early years sector.  

‘Nurseries, childminders and pre-schools need a clear plan of action on how they are going to be supported, both practically and financially, to re-open as lockdown eases, but as it stands, it is unclear how – or even if – they are included in the Government’s proposals. 

‘It is vital that the early years isn’t simply tacked onto the end of whatever plans government is making for schools. The early years is a unique sector with unique needs, and providers are going to face significant changes to the way they operate on a day-to-day basis, especially given the age of the children they care for.’  

Schools

Meanwhile, a snap poll by the National Education Union of 49,000 of its members revealed that  85 per cent of them disagreed with the plans to restart lessons for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from 1 June.

Ninety-two per cent said they would not feel safe with the proposed wider opening of schools. Of those with school age children, 89 per cent said they felt it would be unsafe or very unsafe to send their children back to school.

Dr Mary Bousted, NEU joint general secretary, of the National Education Union, said, ‘The Government must work with the unions to establish a position which gains the confidence of staff in schools. Tonight's announcement – so out of step with Scotland and Wales and with its confusion about social distancing – has resulted in 92 per cent of NEU members saying they currently feel a wider opening of schools would be unsafe. 

‘The prime minister describes this as a ''first sketch'' of a roadmap but our members think this sketch must urgently be re-drawn. 

‘The incoherence in this plan has generated genuine fear. For school leaders, the lack of clarity about what is expected before, or on 1 June, is simply unacceptable.’

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders union NAHT, which represents primary heads, said that ‘without explanation of why or how such a return is considered to be safe’ the announcement ‘will not pass the “confidence test”, with parents or school leaders.

'The Government will need to show some understanding rather than reckless determination if it wants to pass the confidence test. It will all be in vain if many parents still decide to keep their children at home despite the "all clear" from the Government.

‘School leaders do not want to see classrooms empty for a day longer than they need to be. But there is not a school leader in the land who wants to risk admitting more pupils unless it is perfectly clear that it is safe.

‘The Government must not lose sight of the fact that in many cases it may be physically impossible to bring back the number of pupils being suggested and maintain any sense of social distancing, especially in infant schools and small schools.’

In his statement the prime minister said, ‘In step two [of the easing of lockdown] – at the earliest by June 1, after half-term – we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

‘Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays. And we will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools and shops and on transport.’