Covid-19 is here to stay ... there! I’ve said it ... it’s a worldwide public health crisis and it’s not going away in a hurry.
The Chief Medical Officers have said that Covid-19 will continue to be in the general population until 80% (ish) of the world population have been injected with a viable anti-virus. Given that we don’t have an anti-virus yet and nearly half of respondents on a recent Childcare.co.uk survey said they wouldn’t let their child have the injection, this health crisis is going to be around for a long time...
Survey - https://www.childcare.co.uk/news
So, we have to manage this situation and, as part of that, we might need to review our procedures and ways of working. We also need to be prepared to be flexible and adapt. All the Govt advice – and there is a heck of a lot of advice (links to follow) – says we need to risk assess and be proportionate in our response.
Let’s think about what we actually need to do. ‘Actions for Early Years’ says we need a ‘system of controls’, considering the risk to ourselves, our family, staff and children. You will find Actions for Early Years here –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures
Your ‘system of controls’ focus should be on prevention and infection control, for example...
- Hand washing – more often – thoroughly.
- Exclude staff / children if they are ill following the latest Govt guidance in this free Childcare.co.uk poster – https://www.childcare.co.uk/coronavirus/poster
- Provide tissues and a lidded bin and teach children how to ‘catch it, kill it, bin it’.
- Ensure cleaning routines are robust – using both a detergent and a bleaching agent (or a combined product). Remember to leave the bleach on for the time stated on the bottle (up to 5 minutes usually).
In addition to these essential controls, we must also be aware of the following...
- If we have older and younger children in the setting, DfE advice is to keep groups apart. This is especially important for out of school clubs and holiday clubs which care for children from different classes and might be impossible for childminders. Some childminders are being told they cannot collect from different classes in schools and this advice explains is why it’s happening – Public Health England don’t think it’s safe.
- Be ready to wear PPE if necessary – for example, if a child shows symptoms and you cannot be 2m distanced while waiting for parents to collect. This might mean having a basket or bag of PPE on a shelf, ready to use if it is needed.
- Be prepared to isolate if symptomatic or if you return from a holiday destination that is not within a travel corridor. This is relevant for you, staff and for children and their families.
- Engage with NHS Test and Trace if necessary and inform Ofsted and your local health protection team if there is a confirmed case of Covid-19.
- Risk assess before allowing anyone in the house - the ‘Actions for Early Years’ guidance states multiples times not to allow parents or visitors access inside the setting and DfE recommend putting together virtual tours for new parents. Again, reading between the lines, Public Health England don’t think it’s safe.
- Risk assess before going to toddler groups and use the controls for community settings as part of your risk assessment. These include, for example, cleaning the room and resources before use, adults and children staying 2m distanced, adults wearing masks, more hand washing and cleaning toys between use by different groups of children.
- Follow latest guidance – where possible, I put updated information in my blog and newsletter along with links so you can look things up at your leisure.
This is my personal blog, so I can have a personal opinion here – in my opinion, there are too many people arguing against DfE / Public Health England advice. The advice is there to protect us and keep us as safe as reasonably practicable – if DfE advises against us doing something, the advice there for a reason and linked to the science and what the scientists know about the virus and how it is changing.
For example, if the guidance says we need to keep to ‘small groups’ on outings, then we should risk assess whether larger groups are safe; if the wording is so restrictive for attending toddler groups then we have to ask whether they are actually safe to attend; if advice says only use a car if essential then (again) Public Health England clearly don’t think it’s safe.
We have a job to do - and we have lives to live - and we need to get on with them.
However, we also need to keep ourselves as safe as we can. We don’t want to be opening and closing like revolving doors, especially through winter when cough and cold season starts – that’s not sustainable, financially or emotionally. We need to do all we can to keep ourselves and everyone else safe.
Don't forget to update your risk assessment!
Further guidance documents
Some of the further advice documents you might find it useful to reference in addition to ‘Action for Early Years’ include –
- Cleaning guidance for non-healthcare settings
- Ofsted rolling update – keep updated with what Ofsted are doing
- NSPCC early years safeguarding briefing
- My blog to help you update your safeguarding Policy with a coronavirus addendum - https://independentchildminders.weebly.com/blog/keep-safeguarding-updated
- Consumer law guidance relating to contractual changes you might need to make so you are charging parents fairly and reasonably –
- NHS Test and Trace guidance
- Use of multi-purpose facilities guidance – for childminders who want to attend toddler groups
- Supervised tooth brushing guidance
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-supervised-toothbrushing-programmes/covid-19-guidance-for-supervised-toothbrushing-programmes-in-early-years-and-school-settings
- Local lockdowns and self-isolating after holidays guidance – including employment rights for staff
- Guidance on infection prevention and control
- Outings guidance – relating to gatherings in public spaces
- Out of school guidance for those looking after older children
- Childcare.co.uk frequently asked questions –
I am sure there are more relevant documents out there as well...
I hope you have found this quick round-up useful. Any questions or comments, please contact me and let me know.
Chat soon, Sarah