enuffsenuf

I know I was a bit shocked today...When we discussed coming back one or two of our parents were "No it's too soon we def dont want them back yet and nor are we sending our older children back to school....a sentiment I could understand. So we went back with our school leavers and had a bit of wriggle space if we decided to invite some of the younger ones. On Weds. things had been going so well I was considering this but then a parent of one of the 4 year old's said she'd only allowed her child back because the group size was so small and she might withdraw them if the group got much larger...so at that point our team discussed it and agreed we have a good grasp on the children we have (not physically of course as that's not very eyfs😉) and felt perhaps we were getting a tad over confident as things were going smoothly so decided for the remainder of this term we will stick with our school leavers and the one EYPP 3 year old we have.....well today I am so glad we decided this. One of the "ooooh not sending my children" today enquired when their child might be coming back so I thought I'd grasp the nettle and informed them all "not until Sept...explaining the reasons why etc. ten minutes later on their social media that same parent posted a stack of pictures from their "mini holiday" last week down in the west country!👿

I wondered this..I cannot start any of the new children because I am unable at present to offer all my existing children a place...so it would seem unfair to welcome new children in when old established faces are being told there's no room at the inn. Maybe their setting was quieter and had plenty of spaces.

that sounds like a grand plan!

We have been lucky there we decided to go back to good old "biscuits" with our Milk & Water as we thought we could open a new packet each morning and no hand needed to touch anything and the children could eat these without making too much mess or having anything spat out like we sometimes get with fruit etc. Then one of our parents mentioned they were a Manager at Morrisons and would we like anything we said the only thing we really needed would be biscuits and a bottle of washing up liquid (which we had forgotten about) the next day they turned up with whole box of washing up liquid, a whole box of hand sanitisers and three giant boxes of biscuits!

Well almost the end of the first week back...for those of us who did . So how are we all coping? Any issues ? We arrived to open on Monday all a bit scared to be honest, worried about how things would go but we soon realised we had made the right decision when we saw the joy on the faces of our four year old's as they arrived. We also realised some of our best laid plans weren't going to work (individual bubbles and tool sets etc) so we just decided to go with the flow. Tuesday they were all a bit grumpy (tired from the previous day). Weds we had to remind ourselves that we needed to remember why we were working like this because it was so easy and comfortable we thought we might get a bit complacent. Today was quite frankly bl**dy freezing outside having been used to the hot weather for so long and despite our plea for "appropriate warm clothing" when we saw the forecast some of our children came in in their skimpy clothes....so I have had to read the riot act to parents about that, following the one way system and keeping to their time slots...and no you can't come in and use the toilets! .😝. The children have asked questions like "do you have Covid?" and "Is lockdown finished" which we have answered as honestly and carefully as we can. We are hoping that the gazebos will still be standing after the forecast winds this coming Saturday, our hands smell of Milton and we have all felt like we have needed a nap on returning home...we forget how much energy it takes! but all this has been outweighed by the hugs I have had from some of the children this week and yesterdays game of tag. Glad to be back you betcha!🥰

well three days in done and dusted and so far we are having lots of fun, day one great excitement from children, Tuesday grumpy tired bunnies worn out from Monday, Wednesday was mostly spent playing ring games (eek touching) and chasing each other around the garden playing "it"....Im not sure what today or tomorrow will bring but so far we are all very happy to be back and feel like we were never away (even though we are operating in the twilight zone!).🧑‍🤝‍🧑

I have made a bag of playdough colur coded for each day (so at the end of the session it will be chucked) and don't really see it any more of a risk than any other resource which might be shared/mouthed....until you get it back out you can educate them on the new rules....and you wont really know whats workable with your group. I tried separate bags of resources for each child yesterday and that had failed by the time the fourth child came int as they all wanted to explore what each other had got in their little bag.....so we gave up worrying.

not feral at all doing what they should be doing and as many of them might have been caged for 9 weeks they need to express themselves and move.

That's what we were saying at the end of the session when working on what to clean /how etc and we concluded that we would do everything as though we ha had a possible "infection" even though we only hand a smallish group yesterday and so develop the "habit" of the new practices because even though it was wonderful to be back and all went great we still have to remember why we are working this way...

we had a fab morning.... we arrived apprehensive and discussing the issues about face masks etc (would we wouldn't we...what ifs etc).....The system we put in place worked brilliantly, the parents arrived on time and mostly followed the one way system (with a few prompts).....The first 2 children walked in a bit sheepish but after the third it was like they had never been away. We relaxed into it and went with the flow business as usual. Our one set of tools for each child went out the window pretty early as it was obviously just a step too far for them...We had bubbly water, chalks, cars & mountains, bikes and the wendy house with wooden kitchen units but no food. We had snack spaced out in a circle. We weeded the garden, planted beans and there was loads of chatter. One little one asked a staff member "Do you have Corona virus?" to which my colleague said "No I dont...have you been worried about that?" and the little one said she had so we said that she was safe and that's why we were washing our hands a lot ....to keep us safe.....the morning flew past and we sat the children in a spaced out circle and sang our favourite songs whilst the staff started to throw equipment into net bags and into Milton....tables , chairs, bikes and gazebo legs were all wiped and I am really looking forward to tomorrow feels so good to be back! I hope everyone else's day went as wonderfully as ours.....

Thank you Cait...and likewise good luck everyone, stick to your plans and don't take any rubbish from anyone!

we can each only work with what we have and isnt that the whole point of risk assessing..If someone is just opening because they think they should as they have been asked to or because XXXX down the road is...then that's very risky. We need to stay safe and do our jobs well and sometimes that means saying actually we can't do that and keep everyone safe so we cannot comply....anything else is just tokenism..so stay safe and just do your best (starting to sound like a very very old girl guide now)

Well tomorrow many of us will re-open our doors for the fist time since March....we have all worked hard to establish a way we can work, risk assessed, spoken with parent's, had difficult conversations with staff and made our decisions....no rights, no wrongs just doing our best.....so to everyone who like me is simultaneously chomping at the bit to get back in the saddle and terrified that I or someone I love might fall off, Best of luck! I have no doubt that some of my plans will unravel as we go back but like all good early years practitioners I am armed with scissors, pritt stick, sticking plasters, soap and a good sense of humour......so I can fix anything Hope it all goes OK tomorrow...stay calm, try not to worry and in the words of hill street blues....Be careful out there!☣️

Our problem is that we cannot get the children we have all back at the present time so it seems very unfair to say to someone who hasn't started yet, yes you can come and join us when I've already had to say to existing parents, it's highly unlikely we will get your child back before September, It may well be that I lose some of those who might wish to join us but its like a shop saying to someone who's shopped there for years, sorry I cant serve you and then advertising for new customers.....it just doesn't sit right with me. Once I've worked out how I can get all 26 children back, at the same time and keep everyone safe and follow the guidelines then I will start to take new children again.

I think we are all bog eyed and bambooozled......for those of you old peeps like me I feel like I'm participating in the Krypton Factor and this is the strategy test....

I just wanted to say thank you to a few (dare is say old?) familiar faces and of course to some new ones...this forum used to be my spiritual home and was what helped me get through my level 3, 4 and degree....then with the advent of social media I had found I wasn't on here so much but because of all the stress in the last few weeks over , you know what.....I revisited and you pulled up my favourite chair, sat me down and we started off as if we had never been apart...so thank you to those who knew me from old and those who now know me a new and I promise to stay active and get back in the flow xx.

I think some of that has been driven because some of the nursery chains(who often use the stretched offers) have still wanted fees paid despite not operating.....I guess that works both ways

Indeed and I have a child with split funding who does more hours elsewhere so they are returning there next week however mum isn't as sure they are quite as on the ball with their plans as we have been and its a much larger setting so we have said that if after the first week or so (or even day) she decided she doesn't feel it's safe then the child is welcome to come to us full time without the additional funding because at the end of the day safety is the bottom line and parents mental and emotional well being also has to be accounted for....it shouldn't be a financial pressure that makes the choice.

It will be like my favourite policy "The lost child policy" our aims...not to lose them.....I suspect if I have to write a C19 policy at the moment it may well say "we aim not to get it" ...but I may patch in your netting idea in case!

I thought reduced hours /staged returns was one of the pathways identified as a safe way to return for a while?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings section on effective infection & Control Measures... point 3. Re the gov docs I think there's more chance of me dying under an avalanche of paper at the moment all referring me to other bits of paper than there is of contracting Covid......sorry black humour is how I'm feeling at the moment ...swamped

Its only because its in all the "return after Covid" official bumpf....they expect us to adopt...and I dont think I will!

I'm just about to do some laminated signage for when we go back "outdoors" post C19 ....and I have a real issue with "Catch it, Kill it Bin it!" because its saying something that doesn't happen..simply sneezing into a tissue (wiping or indeed coughing into etc etc) doesn't kill anything it merely (hopefully) contains it from passing on to someone else...the virus/bacteria whatever is there lives on in the tissue. One of the big issues we have probably all noticed during this whole saga is how ignorant people are about what a virus is, how it works and how we best protect ourselves from it...and lovely and catchy as the "preferred choice" of words is for us to instil good hygiene practices into our little tots....It's wrong! It's misleading....... Does anyone know of a better phrase or idea to use instead? I have a bin specifically for the little ones to pop their tissue into after use and want to make a "tissue station" area and would like something to prompt a learning opportunity but "Catch it , Kill it, Bin it" really isn't something I want to use....(or am I just being a pedant?

fellow professionals, as we know from working with children if you give mixed messaged for example saying "please don't do that" with a cheery smile on your face and a happy tone of voice.......it has very little effect on the murder that's just about to be committed by Sally as she aims her cricket bat at Jenny for the third time that morning.....like wise you cannot say to people "It is safe for your child to go to school and sit near 15 other children from various homes with standards of hygiene" and yet at the same time say "its not safe to go to the beach and sit as a family on a picnic blanket building sandcastles near others engaged likewise"...It's a mixed message...so I suspect a lot of people are now thinking "I have to go to work" "My children can go to school/nursery" "I can queue up for 30 minutes in Costa for a coffee"........"what's the problem?" Let's just hope if there is another spike that we are all safe......or....maybe the sun has just gone to their heads!

ah but then we have to remember the guidance was written by people who never were children, pay other people (often several) to their own children and have never worked in childcare......so they probably think each child has their own little tub of dough which they grip onto for dear life, never sharing, throwing on the floor and jumping on...then having noticed the pattern their shoe left put it back on the table and press their jumper into it, then pressed it onto their hair to see what that does,,then having had help to remove it from their hair trying to eat it..because obviously it tastes really good.....let alone wanting to mix the colours up!