Nursery World - 'We're ready to welcome children back from June'

It's not an easy decision, says Sarah Mackenzie, Education Director of N Family Club, but she believes it's time to open nurseries to more children

Sarah Mackenzie: 'We have an enormous responsibility on our shoulders'

At the end of last week, the question of whether schools should be reopening in June was dominating the headlines. While much of the debate in the media seemed to forget the existence of early years, I doubt there was one of us in the sector who wasn’t focused on our role in this.

I know some of us feel sure that it is the right time, I know some of us remain unconvinced or opposed, I know some of us are still on the fence. Wherever you find yourself, we can all agree that any opinion or decision made in this climate isn’t easy. I hate to repeat the cliched phrase, but these are unprecedented times. We are all navigating uncertainty, all trying to make the best decisions.

Something I find reassuring, and keep revisiting, is that for many this isn’t a reopening, but an extension of a current offer. Numerous settings across the UK have been opening their doors to key worker children – often driven purely by a desire to help, rather than because it made financial sense to do so. I know many of us have been consumed with thoughts of our own key workers when we stand together clapping on Thursdays.

I know we want to understand the science the government keeps referring to. Many of us will have read and re-read the DfE’s overview of scientific evidence and will be eager to understand how this has translated in open nurseries during lockdown. On 16 May, the Children’s Commissioner quoted a survey of 62 nurseries in NHS trusts that have been open throughout this period. These nurseries were operating with an average occupancy of 46 per cent, and saw three cases in children, and while half reported cases amongst their teams there was no reported transmission within nurseries.

In the Covid-19 response group – a collection of more than 70 small, medium and large nursery groups and member organisations – a pulse survey showed that collectively the respondents had cared for 3,339 children during the crisis, with only three confirmed child cases and two team cases. None of this makes extending the offer in June risk-free, but it is encouraging.

In early years we’re used to balancing risks and benefits. It’s something we actively teach our children, and while we don’t all necessarily draw the same conclusions in our risk assessments, we are trained to balance risk and decide accordingly.

The Covid-19 response group can’t and doesn’t speak for all providers, but we have discussed reopening at length and have used each other as a sounding board – as I know many others have done through social media and through other networks – to help inform our decision making. As a group we believe it is in society’s best interests to slowly open up the education and childcare sectors.

We’re acutely aware of the challenges a lack of childcare presents to some families. We know there is a widening equity gap between children whose parents provide strong home learning support and those who cannot. We know that for some children their setting is their safest space, their best source of support, nutrition, learning and socialisation. We know how reliant parents are on us to enable them to return to work.

We have an enormous responsibility on our shoulders, we’re all-consumed with analysing the measures we can take to protect the safety and wellbeing of our children, families and teams. We’ve worked together as a group to devise Site Operating Procedures that we could adapt for our individual settings, and I have seen many of you doing the same thing in other forums.

We may make different decisions about reopening but I hope that as a sector we can support each others’ decisions. For those of us who are reopening or extending our offer we stand ready to play our role in easing the lockdown, as safely as possible, and we’re prepared to welcome children back from June.