Childcare options for summer holiday

Allow nurseries, holiday and after school clubs to provide some childcare provision over the summer holidays,

Why the contribution is important

This would allow parents time to be more productive working at home or to attend work (or find work). Not everyone has alternative childcare outwith formal providers and shielding will make the use of family members more challenging. Allowing even limited access to nursery or after school provision over the holidays which is traditionally quieter anyway would also allow children to socialise with their peers and adjust to lie outside the home again.

by MarysiaMorkis on May 05, 2020 at 01:51PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.5
Based on: 8 votes

Comments

  • Posted by DMF May 07, 2020 at 09:43

    I completely agree with this idea. Children are often cared for by grandparents during the summer break. That absolutely cannot happen this year, as they are likely to be in the more vulnerable groups. If parents are to return to work there needs to be some kind of summer school system in place. Classrooms won't be full all the time, because parents will still have annual leave to take, but grandparents should be protected this year.

  • Posted by Daddy_Daycare May 07, 2020 at 16:07

    I also agree with this idea and there are advantages for the government that have not been mentioned. It would be useful to have children mixing and spending time together before the new school year so we can find out if this will cause a second wave of infection however simply opening up schools/nurseries early may be too big a step. My suggestion would be to open 50% of nurseries and any summer holiday clubs for primary school aged children, ensuring that only settings registered with the Care inspectorate can open as they will follow the COVID-19 operating guidelines. Only a small percentage of the children in Scotland attend summer holiday clubs so it is a low risk move and if the settings were made to use the track and trace app sickness could be monitored and dealt with promptly to avoid spread. Summer holidays are 7 weeks long which is plenty of time to gather information on what steps work and what doesn't, feedback which could then be given to schools to ensure when they open they are as safe as possible.
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