Covid cases rocket in nurseries as managers demand isolation exemption

Covid cases in nurseries have soared with 1,153 early years providers reporting at least one Covid-19 case for the week 5 July 2021 - up from 103 on 3 May.

The latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show the number of providers with a positive case is up from 753 the week before (28 June 2021).

Nurseries must notify education watchdog Ofsted of any serious illness or accident to a child in their care and positive Covid cases at early years settings are now at their highest level since February 2021 when 2,384 cases were reported.

Nurseries having to ‘turn children away’ in pingdemic

Jonathan Broadbery, director of policy and communication at NDNA, said: “When community infection rates rise this always has a knock-on effect on positive cases being reported in early years settings, but it is worrying that these are now at their highest level since February.

“It follows that higher case rates in communities also leads to more staff having to self-isolate as contacts, regardless of their vaccination status. This means more nurseries having to close rooms and turn children away from much-needed places."

Early years organisations representing nursery managers including the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), Pacey and Early Years Alliance have written to the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson asking for childcare staff to be exempt from having to self-isolate.

It comes as the government moves to limit the damage caused to businesses in certain sectors by putting them on an self-isolation exemption list to protect them from the so-called ‘pingdemic’ which sees workers forced to self-isolate for 10 days. Instead sector workers on the list are required to take daily lateral flow tests. In a letter to Gavin Williamson, early years leaders “urge the department to immediately amend the current list of critical services to include early years practitioners.”

The letter stated that requiring fully vaccinated staff to continue isolating “causes unnecessary disruption for young children and their parents and has the potential to leave other critical workers without access to childcare.”

Critical workers 'left without the childcare they need'

Mr Broadbery added: “If early years staff cannot work, other critical workers could be left without the childcare they need to be able to do their jobs. Despite the critical role they play for children and working families, the Government has not named vaccinated nursery practitioners as being exempt from self-isolation rules.

"Many nurseries also offer vital holiday care for schoolchildren during the summer weeks.

“We have called on the government to urgently review this decision so parents who need to work can. We have already seen nursery closures rise through this pandemic and the government needs to act with real, targeted support for the early years sector, to prevent temporary closures becoming permanent.”