Who cares about nursery carers?
SCHOOLS may be closed to most pupils during this lockdown, but nurseries are still open. Having owned a nursery for 16 years and previously worked as an earlyyears teacher in schools, I have long seen how this sector has been overlooked and undervalued in comparison to state schools, whether it be continued government under-funding or the perception that we are glorified babysitters. I am upset that it has been decided that though maintained nursery schools and primary schools will receive rapid Covid testing kits to enable bi-weekly testing of staff, the private and voluntary nurseries and child minders will not. We are also suffering the financial implications of remaining open with reduced customers, lower furlough rates and little or no access to government grants. A report by the Social Mobility Commission cited low pay, long hours, a high workload and lack of career development for early-years workers. Unlike teachers, we have minimum holiday entitlement and are unlikely to be part of a union. Despite this, we work with love, care and dedication. We are not only educators and carers, but often we are expected to take on the role of social worker, nurse, counsellor, health visitor, speech and language therapist, family support worker, special educational needs and disabilities teacher and even financial adviser. Many nurseries have stayed open through all the lockdowns, if only for key workers’ children. After the last lockdown, we welcomed back families despite staff being anxious about returning. It was business as usual. While other businesses adopted PPE, social distancing and Perspex dividers, this is not possible for us. School children are capable of social distancing, but early-years children aren’t. We comfort our charges with cuddles and clean them up after they sneeze and cough. Cases of Covid in young children are very low, but it is not known if they can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus. Despite this, nursery staff are not even a consideration when it comes to being classed as a priority group for the vaccine or lateral flow testing. I find this decision to not only be offensive, but reckless.
JESSICA WEBBER, Colne, Lancs.