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.
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
Posted by clairemcduffy May 05, 2020 at 13:28
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Posted by Fifewifey May 05, 2020 at 13:30
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Posted by Teacher2020 May 05, 2020 at 13:31
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Posted by jamezon May 05, 2020 at 13:33
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Posted by Nicpidgeon May 05, 2020 at 14:28
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Posted by DMacDonald May 05, 2020 at 15:13
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.
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Posted by Claireg2807 May 05, 2020 at 15:18
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Posted by VapourTrail May 05, 2020 at 16:56
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Posted by poppetandmog May 05, 2020 at 19:10
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Posted by Laura89 May 06, 2020 at 02:51
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.
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Posted by MairiMac3 May 06, 2020 at 14:58
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.
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Posted by Nurseryowner May 06, 2020 at 18:40
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Posted by scottjmcgrane May 07, 2020 at 09:35
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.
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Posted by Kim May 08, 2020 at 11:33
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Posted by WBRnotes May 08, 2020 at 20:20
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?
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Posted by Fiona123 May 08, 2020 at 20:53
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.
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Posted by Glasgal82 May 09, 2020 at 14:53
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Posted by JustANumber May 10, 2020 at 11:23
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Posted by SAR May 10, 2020 at 16:00
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.
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Posted by Kgal May 11, 2020 at 21:31
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