Message from the Local Authority agreed yesterday with the Department for Education -

Message from the Local Authority agreed yesterday with the Department for Education -

Please advise your parents that the government have requested these key principles are followed:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home safely, then they should be.
2. Parents should not rely for childcare on those ‘who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category’. This includes grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
3. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

The Government has requested that all early years providers and schools provide optional care for a limited number of children.
These are:
• Children who are vulnerable i.e. those who are:
o Supported by Social Care
o Children in Care – known as Looked After Children (LAC)
o Young carers
o Disabled Children
o Or have an education, health and care plan (EHCP)
• Children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

All other children will need to stay at home, so please inform parents that not to send their child/ren into the setting or school from Monday onwards.

The government has also published an updated list of critical workers.
 The guidance has also been revised to outline that this support is for children with at least one parent or carer who are identified as ‘critical workers’ by the government. This, of course, is also the case for single parent families where the parent is considered a ‘critical worker’ within the government’s list.

Jonathan Lewis, Service Director - "I want to reiterate the key message about the closure plans: Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be. We absolutely understand that families are worried about being able to work, but these are unprecedented times and we are all having to make some very difficult decisions and sacrifices. However, with the challenges we face with our own staff and the national social distancing policy, we wish to minimise any risks where we can. Therefore, where children are attending it should only be in circumstances where the guidance has deemed it essential for them to do so. "