finleysmaid

Mornings update...we have doubled our numbers !😂 It's low because we closed due to vulnerable staff (to which one of my parents asked if we had employed some new ones then!! she was being serious!) I suspect you are right about the union thing..not enough of us, maybe because you have to pay and we already work in a low paid industry?

Im glad for you that they are not coming in. But i agree this isn't really helpful in terms of numbers and reporting, sadly i feel many parents will not force their children to have a test for fear that the children may not like it !😔

well after our start with 2 we are now down to one for next week. I have invited the three from the next group in and they are not keen yet....so i have one little one with two staff for 2 and a half days next week!😱🤪 ....thinking long walks and cookery !!!! I'm finding everything strange ...i seem to be really busy but i don't know what with! and lots of angst all around me On another note has anyone found themselves thinking about joining a union ? I'm not a union sort of gal. but i really don't feel well represented at the moment

Just wanted to add that i assume you are in a school from the way you have written this.I would suggest you talk to your SMT about it as it is obviously worrying you. I don't have any issues with children saying they love me, i usually respond with some like "and you are very lovely" or "well that's a lovely thing to say" . They don't need you to tell them that you love them back, they just need to know they are appreciated and their feelings are respected.

I wonder if they have been on twitter....lots of threads going on about contacting people in person or by face time rather than by email. Making people feel valued and recreating connections.

write a risk assessment. If you prove it's not safe for your team don't allow it. If you are a private business it is you who will be liable for any issues with your staff and children. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few ! !

I would concur! ask them to get them tested or stay away for 10 days!

What is worrying you about this? Does she exhibit any other worries or is this simply a young child expressing love for someone who is really important in her life at the moment? Children of this age have little emotional literacy...they use words like love and hate !

why? apparently it's safe working in early years so why so important to go and get tested?!?!?!? Anyway so to todays issues (anyone feel that is all they deal with !??!?) we are open for 2 children (SEND) for 15 hours...10.30 today dad rings...really sorry ive just been tracked and traced ....we have tests booked ill come and get him now!!!!!!! we have only been back open for a day😱

yeah i read the british medical journal stuff yesterday ...false negative are a big issue ...and of course they are only useful for the moment you take them....2 seconds later you could be infected!

interesting my staff aren't really keen How quickly are your pCR tests coming back? ....have to say my husband is having a fit that we are even thinking about the lateral flow tests as he would have to stay off work too if one said we were infected ...only to potentially find out it was wrong!

this question about testing keeps cropping up....can i ask if you are testing your staff, why? what do you hope to gain by doing this? is it something they wanted or has it come from the management? have you had staff refuse ? any help gratefully received !!!

You can buy test kits online...but they are expensive if you are going to do them regularly and only cover you for the immediate time you take them!

im so sorry you have had to deal with all of this. Try to rest a little over the weekend. (there but for the grace of god go all of us😔)

Oh blimey..presumably not the child you were having issues with?

Don't think schools will be open till after easter!

Oh so many BIG questions to consider.😪 The funding is a problem ...the DFE have produced a document which suggests they will not fund LEA's if they are not supplying childcare, so i'm not actually sure it's the LEA's we have an issue with but the DFE. if as a setting you have proved that you cannot open by doing a thorough risk assessment then i think getting your legal team on board may be the way to go if the LEA are forcing you back. However that may prove that you cannot open it does not force them to pay you😪(especially if they are not getting the money from the DFE) However we all need to look at our staffing teams and assess the risk and then act on this. If there is a risk of death then we may be sued if we open and deliberately put them at risk. rock and hard place comes to mind. I am now debating opening for vulnerable ONLY for the first 2 weeks of feb . There will only be 2 staff available to work so if one of us is ill then we close. we will only be able to offer 15 hours and they will not be able to mix settings . I have reduced the risk to the minimum i can. we will be outside for the majority of the time. Other than raid flow tests i can't see what else i can do but when i come home i will be up to the shower and not touch anything ! My phone is going to be sterilized regularly !!!!! (apparently the worse thing for germs) If parents don't follow my rules then we shut at short notice. Intend to terrify them all and hope they chose not to send then ...then i can say i'm open but they have chosen not to attend and that sorts out the funding issue. 😪😪😪 not really sure this is any help to anyone.

Well the problem is that we don't actually KNOW this! Although i agree it appears more likely that staff are getting it from other staff or parents, there is no conclusive proof that we aren't getting it from the children. We have currently had to close because i have 3 vulnerable members of staff...i cannot put them at risk. (may i just add at this point that the two oldest are not in this category!!!) I hope to partially reopen shortly as long as the rates keep going down in our area (currently at the top of the sliding scale!!!)

I'm not sure anyone can actually say what the rates of covid in the under 5's are since many people have not had their small children tested.

Story sessions always popular ...we are currently doing requests! ABC does has a whole host of ideas collated from settings . Ours are in to ice blocks and dinosaur eggs at the moment (so excavation experiments) if you want something IT try the Quiver app ...you draw a picture and then it makes it come to life in 3d!

Thanks so much really helpful xxx

Welcome Fluffmonster , Do you have the links for this info please?

no its not just you. The team are working hard to sort this...its because all of us are on it !!!!😂

Currently i appear to be fire fighting at home !!!!!🤪 I have realised that those children who started with us in September have never had ordinary pre-school and we have a very weird relationship with their parents.....this appears to have bitten me in the bottom this week! but in a sensible answer to you question my lovely staff are working hard to produce stories and games on tapestry , sending links to appropriate on line content, doing social media, making phone calls and setting up video messaging . There is no expectation that this has to be done it is purely there to help with ideas should anyone need it. Some parents have sent me things their children have done (through tapestry) and i have given them ideas as to how to extend this learning at home. Anything that can be assessed will also be added to their learning journals

the info from the government is clear "parents and carers SHOULD keep their children at home if they can."