Foundation Years Vodcast:

Preparing for wider opening ofearly years settings from1 June

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Overview

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Chair: Matthew Dodd, National Children’s Bureau

Host: Ada Simpson, Department for Education

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Aims and objectivesOur aims:

§ Share the latest information and guidance on supporting early years providers to prepare for opening to all children, aged 0-5, from 1 June in England.

§ Address key questions from stakeholders.

By the end of the vodcast viewers will:§ Have a greater understanding of the guidance at this point in time, and the

steps that settings should consider while preparing to open to more children.

§ Know where to go for further information.

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Who is this for?

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§ All early years providers in England: maintained schools; non-maintained schools; independent schools (including free schools and academies); all providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register; and all providers registered with an early years childminder agency (CMA). The vodcast may also be of interest to parents/carersand local authorities.

§ It should be viewed alongside the guidance documents summarised in these slides. These documents and the advice for early years providers are subject to change based on the best, latest scientific and medical advice available.

Introduction

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§ Since 23 March, education and childcare settings have only been open to priority groups (vulnerable children and children of critical workers).

§ On 10 May, the Prime Minister announced that education and childcare settings will be asked to open to more children from 1 June, provided that the 5 key tests set by government justify the changes at the time.

§ As part of this phased wider opening, all early years providers are being asked to prepare to open to all children aged 0-5 from 1 June. Primary schools are being asked to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6. Vulnerable children and critical workers' children of all ages can continue to attend.

§ As of 13 May, childminders can provide care to the children of one household, as long as they are not already caring for vulnerable children or children of critical workers. From 1 June, childminders can look after children of all ages, in line with their current Ofsted registration and within usual limits on the number of children they can care for.

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Guidance§ Guidance on the wider opening of education and childcare settings should be viewed within the context of

the government’s overarching COVID-19 recovery strategy, which sets out a roadmap for how and when the UK will adjust its response to the COVID-19 crisis through the phased lifting of restrictions.

§ The next slide highlights key pieces of guidance applicable to early years providers during the coronavirus outbreak period. These are subject to change as the scientific and medical advice changes and the government's coronavirus response measures change.

§ There are 3 main documents we are particularly encouraging early years providers to familiarise themselves with at this point to support reopening:

• Early years Planning Guide

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings

• Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak

Actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June

2020Sets out re-opening plans from 1 June across the

education and childcare sector. • Includes who can attend and principles that apply

during first phase of re-opening.• Provides an outline of what the latest science tells

us.• Outlines key issues that need to be considered

when managing the risk and rate of transmission including group sizes, staff availability and attendance.

Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care

• More detailed information on ‘hierarchy of controls’ that should be employed to reduce the risk of transmission or infection e.g. respiratory hygiene.

• Information on testing.• More detailed information on PPE including what

type of PPE is required for different circumstances e.g. in residential settings, foster care, transporting children etc.

• Section on what care should be taken in early years settings and whether PPE is required for tasks involving changing nappies or general care for babies.

• Lines on how to care for young children or children with SEN who do not understand the concept of social distancing.

• Information on disposing of PPE and face coverings.

Coronavirus: implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings

• Overview of effective infection protection and control including ‘hierarchy of controls’.

• Outline of the use of PPE in education settings i.e. only needed in a small number of specific cases.

• Position on shielding for different groups, including clinically vulnerable children and young people.

• Position on class or group sizes for different types of education settings as well as a steer on prioritisation of groups.

• Information on how to implement protective measures prior to wider opening from 1 June – including planning and communicating plans as well as steps to take once open.

• Additional Q&As including on testing, contact tracing and temperature checking.

Early years foundation stage: coronavirus disapplications

Statutory guidance note detailing the elements of the early years statutory framework which have been temporarily

disapplied and modified during the coronavirus outbreak.• The changes allow providers greater flexibility to

respond to changes in workforce availability and potential fluctuations in demand whilst still providing high quality care.

• Temporary changes came into force on 24 April 2020.• Modifications include using ‘reasonable endeavours’ to

meet existing L&D requirements, no EYFS profile assessment in 2020. greater flexibility on staff qualifications, and important 'best endeavours' requirements on paediatric first aid certification.

Summary of DfE coronavirus guidance documents relevant for the early years sector Cross-cutting guidance – in blueEY specific guidance – in yellow

Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak

• First published on 24 March 2020.• For all early years providers in England registered

with Ofsted and childminders registered with childminder agencies for children of all ages including nurseries and wraparound childcare, before and after school clubs and holiday clubs.

• Does not cover nannies or au pairs.• Includes information on re-opening for early years

settings, funding including CJRS and temporary changes to 30 hours free early education entitlements, Ofsted, data collection, early years foundation stage and a section on childminders.

Early years planning guide

• Outline of practical steps and considerations to take into account for settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June.

• Sets out the protective measures and approaches early years settings should look to implement.

• Covers preparing premises, reviewing staff availability, measures to reduce risk of transmission, communicating with staff, parents and carers on plans, planning 'small, consistent groups’ to reduce contact between groups children and staff, signposting safeguarding and SEND requirements as well as EYFS considerations.

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Key principles for reopening

The approach to reopening is underpinned by a number of overarching aims and principles:

§ We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows. Younger children are being prioritised because evidence shows the particularly detrimental impact which time spent out of early education can have upon them.

§ As settings prepare to open more widely, we are asking them to look at how they can implement a range of protective measures including small, consistent group sizes or ‘bubbles’, regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, frequent hand cleaning and encouraging good respiratory hygiene practices, and minimising contact between different groups of staff and children.

§ In early years settings, demand may be lower than usual at first, and existing space requirements and staff to child ratios for these age groups should allow for small group working.

§ Vulnerable children and critical worker children of all ages continue to be encouraged to attend educational provision where it is appropriate for them to do so.

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Key principles - 'clinically vulnerable'§ Staff and children should not attend their setting under any circumstances if they

have symptoms of coronavirus or are self-isolating due to symptoms in their household.

§ Children and staff who have been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable due to pre-existing medical conditions have been advised to shield. We do not expect people in this category to be attending settings.

§ If a child or staff member lives in a household with someone who is extremely clinically vulnerable, as set out in the guidance on shielding, it is advised they only attend an education or childcare setting if stringent social distancing can be adhered to and, in the case of children, if they are able to understand and follow those instructions. It is acknowledged that children in early years settings will be too young to adhere to strict social distancing and will not be physically distanced from other children and staff within their 'group or bubble'.

§ A child or a member of staff who lives with someone who is clinically vulnerable (but not clinically extremely vulnerable), including those who are pregnant, can attend their education or childcare setting.

Q&A break

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Early years planning guide§ The early years planning guide can be used by settings to inform plans to reopen to all children

from 1 June. It sets out 10 areas that providers will wish to consider in their planning.

§ This document and the government's advice on protective measures is subject to change.

§ It has been developed in consultation with a number of early years sector bodies, providers of a variety of sizes and types of setting, LAs and unions.

§ We recognise that every setting is different and will need to consider how to apply protective measures and approaches in a way that works for them. Providers are encouraged to use their professional judgement and we recognise they may choose to follow some alternative approaches to ensure safety, depending on their particular circumstances.

§ Providers should do so in conjunction with the information and advice you receive from your local authority, unions and other sector bodies to help you decide how best to implement this guidance in your setting.

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1. Prepare the premises§ Health and safety check the building and refreshing health and safety advice for children, staff and

parents/carers.

§ Risk assess all planned activities in light of coronavirus, in consultation with relevant staff.

§ Decide your expectations on cleaning and hygiene and make this clear to staff and to parents.

§ Consider your premises and how they can be best used to keep small bubbles of children and staff together throughout the day and away from other bubbles.

§ Remove unnecessary items from learning environments and remove soft toys, soft furnishings (e.g. pillows, rugs and bean bags) and toys that are hard to clean.

§ Review arrangements to the supply of food to the setting and agree an approach that suits the setting’s particular circumstances. Communicate this with food suppliers where applicable.

§ Consider instances where other suppliers and contractors may be in the setting, for example cleaners and site maintenance, and how physical distancing and hygiene measures will be put in place and communicated.

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2. Prepare to implement measures to reduce risk§ Consider the measures that you should implement to reduce the risk of transmission in your setting, using: Implementing protective

measures in education and childcare settings.

§ Unlike older children and adults, children in the early years cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff. You should therefore work through the hierarchy of measures set out in the protective measures guidance:

§ avoiding contact with anyone with symptoms;§ frequent hand cleaning and good respiratory hygiene practices;§ regular cleaning of settings;§ minimising contact and mixing between small bubbles of children and staff.

§ Keep children and staff together in small groups- a maximum of 8 children, while adhering to EYFS ratios, is preferable so groups are as small as possible. Providers are expected to ensure that there are no more than 16 children in a group in early years settings.

§ Consider how you can implement physical distancing measures between bubbles and that toys and resources shared between groups are cleaned between uses.

§ Ensure sufficient handwashing facilities and tissues and bins around the setting. Ensure surfaces that children and staff are touching, such as toys, books, doors, sinks, toilets, light switches, are cleaned more regularly than usual.

§ Reduce face to face contact with and between parents/carers by staggering pick up and drop off times and using physical distancing markers if they have to wait.

§ Keep windows open as far as possible to ensure ventilation, avoid the use of lifts unless essential and use outdoor areas as much as possible. Limit external visitors to the setting and they should only come into the building when strictly necessary.

§ Ensure that your setting is operationally prepared to implement these measures and that they are clearly communicated to all staff members.

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3. Review staff availability§ Conduct an audit to determine the availability of staff to work in the setting from 1 June. Consider

staff wellbeing, including any support that may be needed for those who have suffered bereavement, and discuss their needs with them.

§ Reviews of staff availability should be done in conjunction with official government guidance on shielding to determine which members of staff are not advised to attend the setting.

§ Anyone who is displaying coronavirus symptoms, has displayed symptoms in the previous 7 days, or lives with someone who has displayed symptoms in the previous 14 days should not come into work in any circumstances.

§ Consider the impact of staff availability and their qualification levels on staff to child ratios and on other relevant provisions in the EYFS framework, for example the requirement to have a designated safeguarding lead and expectation to have a SENCO. This should be done in conjunction with government guidance on temporary changes to the EYFS requirements during the coronavirus outbreak.

§ The availability of staff, as well as your own and family circumstances, may change, so agree a policy for updating your audit on a continuous basis and how you will communicate this with staff and parents.

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4. Agree a protocol to respond to a suspected case§ Amend your current policy on sickness management to ensure your setting has a protocol in place for responding

to a suspected case of coronavirus and that you are prepared with the resources and staffing levels to implement this if necessary.

§ Protocols should include:§ Anyone who begins to display coronavirus symptoms while in the setting should be sent home immediately. If

a child is waiting to be collected, they should be separated from their bubble and isolated with one member of staff if this is possible.

§ PPE (disposable gloves, a disposable apron and a fluid-resistant surgical face mask) should be used if close contact (less than 2m) is required with a child who is symptomatic and awaiting collection. See Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment.

§ Once the child or member of staff has left the setting, settings should follow COVID-19: Cleaning of non-healthcare settings.

§ Children and staff attending childcare settings are eligible for a coronavirus test if they develop symptoms, and should be encouraged to do so if this occurs. If the child or staff member tests positive, the rest of their bubble within their setting should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days.

§ Ensure that emergency contacts are updated in advance of reopening and consider where these may need to change, for example if previous emergency contacts are in a shielded group.

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5. Communicate with staff§ Communicate your plans for reopening the setting from 1 June with staff, ensuring they are

aware of and understand all new measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus and their roles and responsibilities.

§ Build in time for staff to review processes and procedures and to ask questions and raise any concerns in advance.

§ Ensure that all staff understand that those who have coronavirus symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, should not attend the setting in any circumstances.

§ Consider the instruction and training that staff will need on infection control, for example putting on, taking off and disposing of PPE. See COVID-19: personal protective equipment use for non-aerosol generating procedures.

§ Ensure staff are prepared to identify and support vulnerable children and parents that return to settings, e.g. by signposting them to appropriate local services such as health visitors, mental health services and domestic or substance abuse services.

§ Discuss any additional support that may be needed to ensure staff wellbeing and consider how this can be put in place in your setting.

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6. Communicate with parents and carers§ Communicate your plans for reopening the setting from 1 June with parents, ensuring they are

aware of all new measures put in place to reduce the transmission of coronavirus, how this impacts them and their responsibilities in supporting this.

§ Ensure that all parents and carers understand that if a child has coronavirus symptoms, or there is someone in their household who does, they should not attend the setting under any circumstances.

§ Ensure parents are aware that all children attending the setting, and members of their household, will have access to a test if displaying symptoms of coronavirus and they are encouraged to get tested in this scenario.

§ Remind parents of the complaints policy setting out the routes to accept and resolve any low level concerns that arise.

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7. Identify the children who will return to the setting§ Identify the children that are likely to be returning to or joining the setting on 1 June, working with

parents and with your local authority where relevant. This should be done in conjunction with official government guidance on shielding.

§ To minimise contact between bubbles of children and staff, children should attend just one setting wherever possible, unless it is essential that they attend different settings to accommodate parent or carer working patterns or because it is essential for their health and wellbeing.

§ If demand for places is higher than the setting’s capacity when measures to allow physical distancing between bubbles are in place, solutions might involve working with the local authority to support children attending a nearby setting on a consistent basis.

§ If necessary, settings should prioritise vulnerable children and children of critical workers, then 3 and 4 year olds, in particular those who will be transitioning to reception year in September, followed by younger age groups.

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8. Plan your ‘bubbles’ of children and staff§ Audits of staff and assessment of likely demand for places for children who will be

attending settings from 1 June should be used to plan bubbles, ensuring staff to child ratios set out in the EYFS framework are adhered to.

§ Providers should use professional judgement when planning bubbles but may wish to use EYFS ratios to guide this. It is expected that there should be a maximum of 16 children in a bubble in early years settings.

§ Sessional nurseries that have different cohorts of children at different times of the day will wish to consider having smaller bubble sizes to limit the number of children staff are in contact with.

§ As far as possible, the same members of staff should be assigned to each bubble and these should stay the same during the day and on subsequent days. Keep your staffing arrangements as consistent as possible. In instances where you do need to use staff from other settings or agency staff, ensure that this is agreed on a weekly basis, not daily, to limit contacts.

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9. Safeguarding, SEND and wellbeing requirements§ Plan how all children will be supported to address the specific issues that may have arisen due to

coronavirus, taking into account children’s individual needs and circumstances. Consider the mental health, pastoral or wider health and wellbeing support children may need, including with bereavement, and how to support them to transition into the setting after a long period of absence.

§ Identify and plan how best to support high needs groups, including children with SEND, vulnerable children and disadvantaged children when the setting reopens. If your setting usually works with external agencies to support children with SEND or with behaviour or other issues, discuss with your local authority or other providers of support services to ascertain whether or when these services will be available and plan accordingly to suit your setting’s individual circumstances.

§ Plan how to ensure your setting will have the staffing needed to support children with SEND at safe ratios, that there is a member of staff designated as a SENCO or interim SENCO and how this can best be accommodated in the planning of bubbles of children in your setting.

§ Consider how to encourage attendance of vulnerable children and the best way to support them to transition into the setting according to their needs and their individual family circumstances.

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10. Plan what children should learn§ The priorities at this time are helping young children to adapt to their new routines and supporting

children to settle back into the setting, especially where there have been staffing changes.§ Continuing to support their early language and communication skills is essential, especially for those

children who may not have had a rich home learning environment over the last few weeks. Children who have had limited opportunities for exercise should be encouraged to exert themselves physically.

§ Settings should use reasonable endeavours to deliver the EYFS learning and development requirements as far as possible in the current circumstances.

§ Plan how children can learn in age-appropriate ways about how they can keep themselves safe, including regular handwashing and using tissues.

§ Consider new approaches that will need to be taken to minimise the sharing of resources between bubbles, which all should be thoroughly cleaned before and after use by different bubbles. Consider which items cannot be cleaned and should not be used during this time, for example sand pits.

§ Plan how outdoor space, where available, can be used as much as possible, as this can limit transmission.

§ Consider how to continue to support the learning of children who are not able to attend the setting, including how these children can maintain contact with their key person and peers and how parents can be supported to provide a positive learning environment at home.

Q&A

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Useful links (1)Link to The Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-rebuild-the-uk-governments-covid-19-recovery-strategyLink to Actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020

Link to Coronavirus (COVID-19): implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings

Link to Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care

Link to Early years and childcare planning guide: 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-settingsLink to Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures

Link to Early years foundation stage: coronavirus disapplications: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2

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Useful links (2)Link to COVID-19: cleaning in non-healthcare settings: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settingsLink to COVID-19: personal protective equipment use for non-aerosol generating procedures: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-use-for-non-aerosol-generating-procedures

Link to COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

Final word

Thank you for your time and contributions.

Join the Foundation Years community at www.foundationyears.org.uk

Keep talking to us, we will listen:

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foundationyears@ncb.org.uk @FoundationYears Foundation Years