I have gathered them together here to support everyone...
**Virtual friendship meetings**
A lot of childminders are telling me that they are worried about how they will feel working on their own, not meeting up with colleagues through the week.
My idea - why not set up virtual meetings with your friends at the same time each day? You can use online platforms such as Zoom or the new Facebook Rooms.
Choose a play leader for each day and think about what sessions you want to cover. Some ideas include –
- Story time
- Music and movement
- Arts and crafts
- Messy play
- Simple science
- Cooking etc
It will need a bit of preparation to, for example, get the resources together in advance and plan cooking ingredients but you will still be working together as a group and it's a good way of safely socialising until the restrictions are lifted further...
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**Nappies, potty training and toileting during covid-19**
A recent report in The Lancet states that there is some evidence Covid-19 may be present in faeces; other scientific studies are researching its presence in wastewater; some newspapers report bright yellow urine is an indicator of having the virus, but I cannot find any published clinical evidence from trusted sources.
While this ongoing research is not fully completed, it should be considered when changing nappies, agreeing to potty train children and dealing with toileting including the inevitable toilet accidents.
In the latest guidance (31.05.2020), DfE do not advocate PPE apart from if a child has symptoms of coronavirus (new persistent cough, high temperature or change to sense of smell) – however, this should not change your routines if, for example, you always wear single use gloves for changing nappies.
We cannot let coronavirus stop potty training if a child is ready – we cannot put children back in nappies - we don’t need to write a new policy or change our procedures.
We just need to ensure we are being sensible and –
**Handwashing thoroughly – children and staff - plan what to take with you on outings if handwashing is not available
**Ensuring regular access to the potty – consider where it is located for hygiene and privacy
**Cleaning the potty or toilet thoroughly between uses - not in the kitchen sink - use the 2-step cleaning technique (wash and sterilise)
**Changing gloves and / or washing hands between dealing with each child - gloves are only clean until you touch something, just like hands
**Changing wet or soiled clothes carefully and bagging up for parents to collect – if you want to wear gloves or, for example, an apron for dealing with bodily fluids, don’t let anyone stop you - you have to feel safe.
Supporting children: you might find some children regress in their potty training – once you’ve got the transitional emotions and routines sorted out, they should pick it up pretty quickly again. Be gentle and respectful and give them plenty of reminders; bag up clothes for parents; ask parents for plenty of spares to keep at your setting, including socks.
Risk assess: you should risk assess your individual practice and work closely with parents to follow home routines and support the child. I see a lot of childminders providing outside toilet facilities and buying or making hand washing stations – if that’s how you want to work and you think it might be helpful if your only facilities are currently upstairs - it's up to you.
Sources: Faecal transmission reported in The Lancet - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(20)30083-2/fulltext
The Express - https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1273269/coronavirus-symptoms-covid-19-infection-signs-urine-yellow-wee
Latest DfE guidance - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june
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**Separation anxiety at arrival time**
It is very likely that some children will struggle to separate from their parents on their first session back.
Their lives have changed beyond recognition over the last 10 weeks and some children may have been exposed to trauma. Finding out about their home and family lived experience before they return will be a very important part of the settling in process – you can put out toys they enjoy using at home, for example, to help them make the transition.
Coming out of social isolation will be hard for many adults, never mind the children and you will need to take it very slowly for everyone. Plus, children and parents will be getting used to new arrival procedures – knocking on a different door, doorstep drop off, no parent to take off their shoes, running in from a distance etc...
You need to put some thought into how you will separate children from the adult they have been with for the last 10 weeks, when DfE advice clearly states you need to social distance from parents. You certainly don’t want to take a screaming, spitting child off their parents. DfE advise you ‘work with parents and carers to consider how best to manage dropping off their children while maintaining physical distancing.’
Plan A - I am talking to all our families and little ones today to show them round (so they can see the changes we have made) and to remind them about how they can ‘say goodbye to mummy / daddy and run in’ but whether they will or not remains to be seen.
The baby will be in her buggy so a quick kiss from daddy and I will start talking to her as normal. She’s heard my voice a few times when listening to the stories I have read to everyone over lockdown.
What is your Plan B if Plan A doesn’t work?
See DfE guidance ‘reducing face-to-face contact with and between parents and carers’ –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-early-years-and-childcare-settings.
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**The problem with policies**
I am being asked a lot of questions about how to write and use Coronavirus Policies and my answer is always - I do not recommend a policy because a policy is inflexible and does not allow you to take individual circumstances into account.
For example, if your policy says 'I do not accept a child because...' then you have to follow that policy through for every family and it might not be relevant in some circumstances.
You do need that sort of inflexibility with a Medication Policy - for example, it has to say that you will not give medication without written permission. However, if a Coronavirus Policy says you do not allow children to be given any medication, you may be indirectly discriminating against children who may need pain relief for medical conditions not linked to coronavirus and you may also be putting a child's life in danger if they need regular medication for, for example, managing seizures.
Similarly, a policy may say 'you can only attend one setting' - which seems fine until you lose the child's funding or parents withdraw their child. It may have been better to treat each case on its merits instead of making a blanket statement that disadvantages your business.
A risk assessment, on the other hand, allows you to look at each family circumstance individually and to be flexible in your approach to things like medication, returning after illness etc.
This is one of the reasons why a Coronavirus Risk Assessment is recommended by the DfE - so you can be flexible and tailor it to your individual circumstances and to support families rather than taking a 'one size fits all' approach to your coronavirus response.
You will find a sample risk assessment for printing and scribbling on, to personalise it for your business and ways of working, here - https://www.childcare.co.uk/childminders/coronavirus-toolkit
I hope this clarifies MY thinking ... I am not saying 'don't have one' I am saying this is why I don't have one and don't recommend having one ...
Plus, there are only 2 written policies required in writing by the Childcare Register - Safeguarding and Complaints - why make extra work for yourself?
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**Funding update – 5th June 2020**
We are receiving a lot of questions about what Local Authorities can and cannot do with funding payments for the remainder of this term and next term. Questions can be tricky to answer because every Local Authority seems to do things slightly differently.
This is a general overview of the current situation - https://www.childcare.co.uk/news/early-years-funding-update
Please contact your Local Authority if you are unsure about how they are handling funding - and update childcare.co.uk/contact if you come across any unfair practices that you want them to take to DfE on your behalf.
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**Confirmation about outings from DfE**
DfE finally confirmed that childminders can take ‘small groups’ of children on outings. Small groups is up to 6 on an outing because 6 is the number allowed to gather in open spaces by the Government. This has been decided by the Health and Safety Executive.
You will find more information in this link –
https://www.childcare.co.uk/news/childminders-and-outings
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**Track / test and trace and permission forms 2.6.20**
I understand incorrect information is being shared so I rang ICO and asked the question 'do we need parent permission to give out their contact details to track / test and trace operators?' and I also spoke to a track / test and trace call handler to see what they are being trained to say.
ICO state that at least one legal basis must apply when anyone is processing data - https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/lawful-basis-for-processing/
In this case the legal basis appears to be either 'vital interest' - to protect life ... and / or 'legitimate interest' - legitimately required, necessary and balanced. This means that parental permission forms are not required and may actually do more harm than good because if parent/s say 'no' you would be placed in an impossible position ...
If there are any areas of practice you want me to explore, please ask.
Sarah