Early years services should be kept open and funding flexible in future lockdowns, says children's commissioner

Funding for private childcare providers should also be flexible to ensure that nurseries in lockdown areas do not face financial crisis.

Commissioner Anne Longfield has set out the key actions needed to ensure children are at the heart of planning for any future coronavirus lockdowns, including making sure all children are back in school in September.

Ms Longfield said, ‘Too often during the first lockdown, children were an afterthought. Despite the welcome decision to keep schools open for vulnerable children, too few attended. ‘Those schools that did bring back more children before the summer holidays often found classes were only half full. That must change in September. 

‘The Government’s promise that all children will be back to school after the summer holidays is a step in the right direction. However, if a second wave occurs, children must be at the heart of coronavirus planning. That means schools must be the first to reopen and the last to close during any local lockdowns. Regular testing must be also in place for teachers and pupils, to reassure parents. 

‘If the choice has to be made in a local area about whether to keep pubs or schools open, then schools must always take priority.’

In a new briefing, the commissioner for England says that reducing Covid-19 transmission in the community is very important, but it should not be automatically assumed that this requires closing schools – except as a last resort.

Compared to adults, children play a smaller role in spreading Covid-19 and are less likely to get ill from it, especially younger children, the paper says.

If any local or national lockdown takes place, schools should be the last places to be locked down, after pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops. 

‘Just as we must keep schools open wherever possible, we must also have a proactive approach to maintaining services for children in the early years,' the briefing says.

‘Lockdown has made many thousands of babies less visible to services due to reductions in health visitor attendance and birth registrations.

‘Midwifery and health visitor visits should be maintained wherever possible, and guidance should set out how children’s centres could continue to operate safely.

‘Birth registrations should not be stopped as they were during the previous lockdown.

‘Funding arrangements for early years provision should ensure that flexibilities in funding private providers are available beyond 2020 to prevent nurseries in local lockdown areas facing financial crisis.'

‘If pubs can be opened, then so should playgrounds’

Government guidance on permitted activity should explicitly recognise the need for children to be able to play and make clear that this is allowed, as play is the way in which children exercise, the briefing states.

Local authorities should not be instructed to close parks.

Advice for families should take account of this, explicitly setting out that outdoor play is permitted (for example ball games within a household unit).

‘If pubs can be opened, then so should playgrounds,’ it says. ‘This advice should be clearly communicated to the public so that families are confident in their rights. The police should adopt a child friendly approach to the enforcement of lockdown rules, particularly in the case of teenagers who are at risk of criminalisation where they struggle to meet strict lockdown rules.’

Testing

The briefing calls for regular testing of pupils and teachers – regardless of whether they have Covid-19 – which is essential for keeping schools safe by both providing assurance that they are safe and preventing entire ‘bubbles’ or year groups from having to be sent home once a case of Covid-19 occurs.

It says this will be particularly important in the 2020/21 winter flu season when clusters of flu could be mistaken for a Covid-19 outbreak and result in unnecessary closure or interruption. 

The Government should also hold a press conference aimed at children and children should be allowed and encouraged to submit questions to any press briefings, just as adults were in the previous daily press briefings.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said, 'We agree with the children’s commissioner that it is vital to get children back into school as soon as possible. Virtual learning can never replace the many benefits of face-to-face teaching and care. We also agree that it might be sensible to prioritise the attendance of younger pupils in the event of further restrictions, as we know they find it hardest to access online learning and require more support from parents.'

But he warned that it was important to ensure that the outbreak of Covid-19 did not get worse as schools return and said the Government needed to ensure that everyone knew what actions they should take to keep everyone safe.

'School leaders are currently preparing their schools for all children to return in September, and are following all the Government and health guidance they have been given in order to make it as safe as possible. But the success of September’s return to school rests as much on what happens outside the school gates as within.'

Councillor Teresa Heritage, vice-chairman of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, supported the children's commissioner's call to keep schools open for as long as is possible.   

'Councils have been working closely with schools throughout the coronavirus pandemic to ensure they remain open for vulnerable children and families, and where needed, councils have delivered vital IT equipment for children,' she said.

'As we look to return to normal from September, councils will continue to work with all schools and local partners but it will be essential that councils have the capacity and necessary data to play their full part in the Test and Trace programme.

'Any local decision to close a school will need to be based on the scientific advice.'

The Department for Education said it was its plan that all pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. In the event of a local outbreak, some schools may be advised to close temporarily to help control transmission if necessary.

The DfE has asked schools to prepare a contingency plan in case of this scenario, which might include the school remaining open to vulnerable children and the provision of remote education for all other pupils.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said, ‘Getting all children back into the classroom, full-time at the start of next month is a national priority, as this is the best place for them to be.

‘We have always been and will continue to be guided by the best scientific and medical advice, and our detailed guidance sets out protective measures for schools to implement ahead of a full return in September.’

• The briefing is available here