Permit private nurseries to reopen with restrictions

Private nurseries are completely different to state schools, and should be treated as separate entities rather than being lumped in with schools and universities. They are small businesses, reliant on turnover to survive, and the wider economy cannot afford them to collapse, as is being predicted in today's BBC News bulletins. Staff salaries are not paid by the public purse, and they are either furloughed or out of work at present.

Attendance is voluntary and parents can make an informed choice about whether to return their children to nursery. These institutions provide absolutely essential services for parents attempting to work - it is impossible to educate/entertain pre-schoolers for 10-12 hours a day while working to any significant degree.

Nurseries are also far smaller than schools, with comparatively tiny volumes of daily traffic - presenting a relatively low risk of the virus being able to spread. And this could be mitigated even further by staggered drop-off/collection times and by permitting nursery returns on a part-time basis at first , so children only attend for half as much of the week as they previously did.

Why the contribution is important

The behavioural and emotional harm that has been done to some young children during lockdown may take many years to undo, and every week small children are estranged from their peers and teachers is hugely detrimental to their long-term progress and education. The ages of two to four represent absolutely critical stages of development, and our own child has regressed by around six months in many behavioural respects during the last six weeks of lockdown. With CAMHS waiting times of several years pre-lockdown, it is absolutely imperative that pre-school-age children are able to socialise with and learn from their peers at the earliest possible opportunity.

by ProtestTheHero on May 05, 2020 at 01:18PM

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Comments

  • Posted by clairemcduffy May 05, 2020 at 13:28

    I am concerned about my 3 year old's development. She was just starting to form social friendships and I fear these will be severely damaged the longer she is aware from peers. It is impossible to homework with children of this age and she does not get anywhere near the stimulation she requires. Even 1 day a week back at nursery would be greatly welcomed.

  • Posted by Fifewifey May 05, 2020 at 13:30

    If people are to return to work then private nurseries are essental

  • Posted by Teacher2020 May 05, 2020 at 13:31

    Consider testing all children and staff in nurseries

  • Posted by jamezon May 05, 2020 at 13:33

    Completely impractical in isolation- if parents can 'choose' to send their kids in can they 'choose' to not pay their fees?

  • Posted by Nicpidgeon May 05, 2020 at 14:28

    I agree with what is being said, neither parent in my household has been furloughed and we’re both required to work full-time to pay the bills. Trying to care for a 2 year old is completely untenable and affecting all of our mental health. I worry about the longer term implications of my son, as such a formative age, been completely isolated and removed from any social interaction with friends or relatives. We would welcome even a partial return for private schools or at least the option for those who feel unable to balance work and home-childcare.

  • Posted by DMacDonald May 05, 2020 at 15:13

    Very much support the original post and the excellent follow-up comments. While physical distancing is completely impractical for young children, private nurseries are excellent at getting children to regularly wash hands etc.

    I am DEEPLY concerned by the mental health impact on my 3 year old son of not interacting with other children his age for 6 weeks. He is in desperate need of interaction with others for his long-term development. The mental health impact of lockdown is likely to be significantly more long-term than the short-term lockdown so would urge government to carefully consider this.

    In addition, private nurseries are at huge risk of closing due to financial challenges which will leave us with a shortage of childcare as the government tries to restart the economy so would ask them to think as long-term as possible.

    Let parents make a choice about whether they feel it's safe to let their children return to nursery.

  • Posted by Claireg2807 May 05, 2020 at 15:18

    I agree as above, I am a one parent family with a nearly 4 year old & still having to work 35 hours a week which is very stressful for me & my little boy. He is missing a routine & stability needed for his last year of nursery before he starts school next year.

  • Posted by VapourTrail May 05, 2020 at 16:56

    Nurseries need to open (safely) as a priority. Children of nursery age need to spend time with their peers, even just a few weeks away from similars to play with/talk to/interact with could create lasting issues for young children, especially those with no siblings. At the same, time parents of nursery age children who could attend work or work from home will not have been able to deliver anything like “normal” outputs during lockdown.

  • Posted by poppetandmog May 05, 2020 at 19:10

    I am in full support of the original poster. My son had just settled in to nursery before the lockdown forced his private day nursery to close. He is adopted and as a care experienced child, is classed as 'vulnerable' however there was no nursery provision put in place for him. He has significantly regressed over the last six weeks and we worry the longer nuseries are closed, the harder it will be to resettle him . His behaviour can be extremely challenging and nursery was our only restbite. We are struggling as a family and are desperate to give him back some sense of normality. For a child who has experienced multiple losses in his life, this change in routine has set him back massively.

  • Posted by Laura89 May 06, 2020 at 02:51

    This would spread infection like wildfire.
    Think of these setting similar to a care home setting with regards to square footing per child and the level of hands on car these children require.
    Absolutely not!
    Think of how a tummy bug or chicken pox spread through a nursery.

  • Posted by MairiMac3 May 06, 2020 at 14:58

    Those with an outdoor focus must surely be given the green light to open up?
    Not all parents can work successfully from home.
    Our already strict infection control procedures & the low risk of the spread of CV19 make it a good place to start.

  • Posted by Nurseryowner May 06, 2020 at 18:40

    Our nursery has been open to Key Workers' children throughout. We have risk assessments in place, rigorous hand washing, drop off and pick up outside the building etc, but I would like to point out that we have had NOT A SINGLE suspected or confirmed case, which is the same for the vast majority of nurseries which have remained open. We already know that there is an extremely low risk of transmission of this particular virus with young children. So allow the private nurseries to re-open, to do our jobs caring for the children, and help bring the economy back from the brink.

  • Posted by scottjmcgrane May 07, 2020 at 09:35

    As a parent in a household attempting to work alongside my wife and look after our very energetic 3 year old, the reopening of nurseries are absolutely vital in enabling parents to get back to work. Not only that, the mental health strain on the entire family (as several others have mentioned above) is becoming a significant challenge too. Each case will be individual, but our daughter had development issues after a very dificult birth and she was behind with her areas of her movement and speech. Just when she was getting to make great strides in both (where the nursery played an integral role in this) and her social interactions, the closures (rightly) happened. Now she's only had mum or dad for the past 7 weeks now, and while she's quite happy, we want her continuing to grow and exploring with the excellent nursery staff, care workers and her friends.

    The FM has said all along that she'll follow the science and guidance from her key advisors on making decisions. To that end, she and her team should be looking at the evidence that's allowed nurseries in Denmark, Norway, German, Austria etc to reopen. Consider the following conclusions from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health:

    "COVID-19 does not appear to be as severe in children than in adults: children are often asymptomatic or have a mild course. There is evidence of critical illness and death, but it is rare. The role of children in transmission is unclear, and although it seems likely that they do not play a significant role, evidence that they are not a reservoir of disease does not exist. Symptoms are non-specific and most commonly cough and fever. Laboratory and radiological investigations may be normal or mildly altered. There is no clear evidence of vertical transmission, and early evidence suggests both infected mothers and infants are no more severely affected than other groups. Early evidence suggests no significant increased risk for children with immunosuppression, but further data is needed."

    The "further data is needed" bit is key (as in any scientific study), but as with any other scientific study, you can only work within the confines of the available data. At some point, a decision will need to be taken, and the conclusion of "limited significance" should provide sufficient confidence to enable reopening early year childcare facilities.

    To fully restart the Scottish economy, a number of pillars are going to need to be satisfied. While ensuring public health in the workplace is undeniably a primary focus for many right now, ensuring safety on public transport and childcare provisions to enable workers to return to work are also primary areas to address.

  • Posted by Kim May 08, 2020 at 11:33

    Nurseries should open, children need routine, they need to develop their social skills and parents need the support to allow them to work

  • Posted by WBRnotes May 08, 2020 at 20:20

    Social distancing would be an impossibility in nursery-aged children so I find it impossible to imagine this working in practice although I understand the concerns and frustrations expressed here.

    Also, if nurseries were to limit how long children could be in the nursery, what happens when the parent has to work a full day but has only half a day's childcare?

  • Posted by Fiona123 May 08, 2020 at 20:53

    Reopening nurseries is vital to let parents get back to work - whether at home or usual workplace.
    Managing looking after 2 young children and working 35 hours a week at home is impossible.

    Children are also loosing out on valuable socialising skills.

    I understand that social distancing will be difficult but if the nursery’s are closed too long and end up going out of business then it will be very difficult for parents to continue their jobs in the longer term. Perhaps starting with reduced numbers eg only attend 25% of usual time.

  • Posted by Glasgal82 May 09, 2020 at 14:53

    Our son’s nursery is following the same guidelines as schools. If it is true that schools in Scotland won’t open until August then I don’t know how I am going to hold down my job. I’ve been signed off with stress but I can’t remain like this long term. If we are expected to work eventually then we need to have private childcare options. The nurseries need to open sooner.

  • Posted by JustANumber May 10, 2020 at 11:23

    I don't have any problem with parents deciding whats best for thier toddlers. Being childless I observe many parents are possibly overly protoctive of thier kids so they are unlikely to take a high risks with thier well being. That said some parents think because they have a 'right to have' as many kids as they like it is thier belief that childless people should be forced by government to pay for thier lack of responsibility for having too many kids in the 1st place.

  • Posted by SAR May 10, 2020 at 16:00

    It makes me sad that people are prepared to put their children’s lives at risk.
    You can’t just go out and buy a new child like most other things in today’s society.

    Nursery workers are not well paid. Many will be using public transport to get to work which increases the chance of contracting the virus.

  • Posted by Kgal May 11, 2020 at 21:31

    Agree with original poster. Nurseries need to be treated differently from schools. The current trajectory suggests schools will not re-open until August and I think nurseries should open sooner - ideally as soon as possible. It simply isn't possible to productively work from home with pre-school children. It is unsustainable.
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