Nurseries conflicted over test and trace responsibilities over Christmas holidays

Guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) and Public Health England (PHE) requires early years settings and schools to be available for six days after closing for Christmas to assist with the tracing of contacts of any positive Covid-19 cases that may be identified.

A nursery manager in west London, who wished to remain anonymous, said, ‘I just want to relax and spend time with my family over Christmas. I feel track and trace is a big responsibility and it is asking a lot of us, especially as we are not a high paid profession. A lot of my colleagues feel the same way.

‘We have been stuck between a rock and a hard place doing the best we can for the families since March but we also have to look after ourselves and get some balance. We are now losing patience with all that is being asked of us.’

Writing on social media, another nursery manager said, ‘I’m turning my phone off, my emails off and enjoying my well earned Christmas break unless the Government wish to pay me otherwise!’ 

Other early years leaders, while agreeing that it is frustrating, have said that it is their ‘duty’ to be available to engage with contact tracing. ‘It needs to be done to reduce the risk of Covid spreading,’ one stated.

In a notification to local authorities last week, the DfE stated, ‘We know that school and further education leaders, teachers and staff, as well as nurseries and childminders, have worked tirelessly over the last term. This has included their important role in contact tracing, to help in the national effort to limit the spread of the virus. We are aware that this has led to additional work over weekends and holidays and we are incredibly grateful for this.

‘We recognise the challenges of this responsibility at the end of term. PHE has agreed a six day window after the final day of teaching in which schools and further education providers are asked to remain contactable so they can assist with contact tracing where necessary. This will allow enough time for positive coronavirus (Covid-19) cases to be identified and confirmed by a test and for relevant contacts in the education setting to be traced.’

Responding to the requirement, Jo Morris Golds of the Champagne Nurseries on Lemonade Funding campaign group highlighted that early years practitioners will not receive additional funding for providing the further support during the Christmas period.

‘Many early years settings remained open throughout lockdown, providing essential childcare for our emergency and key worker families and our vulnerable children, many of those that closed due to family’s being able to care for their children at home continued offering virtual or phone support to our families, once again proving how essential we are as a sector,’ she said.

‘The requirement for us to continue to support track and trace, while closed for Christmas, with no financial support to do so, places more pressure on us at the end of a highly pressured year all round although it’s understandable and, of course, we want to continue to support our families, staff teams and the national effort to control Covid.’

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said that settings will need to plan for how they will respond to any reports of positive Covid cases while they are closed over Christmas.

‘We know the Christmas holiday is a time when early years staff will be looking forward to a well-earned break. However, many are usually open up to Christmas Eve for children and to support working parents,’ she said.

‘This means settings will need to think about what happens if a child or staff member tests positive in the days after they close for the holidays. They may need a way for parents to notify them as well as staff. Someone within the setting will also need to have relevant information to hand, like public health contacts, as well as bubble or group configurations from the days before they closed. People will be hoping for the best over the holiday period but they should be prepared for the possibility of positive cases.’

The NDNA will be producing a Christmas checklist to sit alongside its toolkit on how to respond to reports of positive Covid-19 cases within the setting.

‘We have also raised the situation with the DfE and understand their helpline will be closed for a few days,’ added Ms Tanuku. ‘However, they have reassured us that more information will be made available to settings in advance and that public health officials will be on hand 24/7 to support anyone who needs advice on what to do in the event of a positive case.’