This is the advise letter from Department of Education

Advice to All Parents

Dear Parents,

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to pre-school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for a PCR test (the normally available test type) and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. 

All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 10 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

The 10-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home.

If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.

Household members staying at home for 10 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19

Do

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Further Information

Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

If parents need any help or support or just a chat please phone Anne Marie.

Weather

All parents are reminded that when the weather is due to be hot your child MUST have a sun hat and must have suncream applied or they will not be allowed to play outside.

We are always monitoring the weather for the week ahead so we can inform parents.

Our policy has always been "No hat no play".

This is to keep your children safe in the sun.

In the past we have been able to supply children with one of our spare hats however due to COVID 19 we are no longer allowed to do this.

We always have up to date newsletters on here and on the main entrance doors. If you have any questions please ask a member of managment.

Evaluation on 2 bubbles:

Observing how the children have reacted to the two bubbles, we have been extremely pleased on how well it has worked. The setting seems to be a lot calmer within the smaller areas, with less running around. The younger and less confident children have really thrived and our little ones with special needs all seem to feel more secure in a smaller space. The children generally seem to be more focused and spend longer periods of time engaging in activities. We will keep the two bubbles for the foreseeable future and continue to evaluate the situation.

Many thanks for taking the time to complete the feedback forms and for the lovely comments and very positive feedback.

26/04/21

Parents please find below some links that you may find helpful at home with your children during lockdown

Dear parents, 

please find below infomation on why we are still allowed to remain open.

The Department for Education has provided the below response to queries on why early years providers have been asked to remain open while schools have been instructed to close, following our meeting with children and families minister Vicky Ford earlier today: 5^th January 2021.

• The reason schools have been restricted is not that they are unsafe but because additional measures are needed to contain the spread of the virus. The wider restrictions in place as part of the national lockdown to contain the spread of the virus in the community enable us to continue prioritising keeping nurseries and childminders open, supporting parents and delivering the crucial care and education needed for our youngest children.
   
• Early years settings remain low risk environments for children and staff. 0-5 year olds continue to have the lowest confirmed rates of coronavirus of all age groups, and there is no evidence that the new variant of coronavirus disproportionately affects young children. Evidence shows that pre-school children are less susceptible to infection and are not playing a driving role in transmission. There is no evidence the new strain of the virus causes more serious illness in either children or adults and there continues to be strong evidence that children are much less susceptible to severe clinical disease than older people.
   
• PHE advice remains that the risk of transmission and infection is low if early years settings follow the system of controls, which reduce risks and create inherently safer environments.
   
• Early years settings have been open to all children since 1 June and there is no evidence that the early years sector has contributed to a rise in virus cases within the community. Early evidence from SAGE showed that early years provision had a smaller relative impact on transmission rate than primary schools, which in turn had a smaller relative impact than secondary schools.
   
• Early years childcare providers were one of the first sectors to have restrictions lifted last summer, in recognition of the key role they play in society. Childminders and nursery staff across the country have worked hard to keep settings open through the pandemic so that young children can be educated, and parents can work. The earliest years are the most crucial point of child development and attending early education lays the foundation for lifelong learning and supports children’s social and emotional development. We continue to prioritise keeping early years settings open in full because of the clear benefits to children’s education and wellbeing and to support working parents. Caring for the youngest age group is not something that can be done remotely.

Foundation Years - Hungry little minds-

https://mailchi.mp/ncb.org.uk/foundation-years-practitioners-survey-1298577?e=4a7479c005

FREE - EYFS Reception School Closure Home Learning Resource Pack- https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/eyfs-school-closure-home-learning-resource-pack-t-tp-2549362

COVID-19: guidance on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing-

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing?utm_source=fa3d37ff-b04e-4a75-b247-6fc3a89d94b0&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate