Nannies and childcare

Nannies and childminders will be able to go back to work from June 1 as part of the efforts to free up employees forced to stop working due to parental commitments.

Restrictions on paid childcare will be eased, providing that those returning to work are able to comply with social distancing measures.

In line with the gradual reopening of primary schools, young children will also be allowed to attend nursery again from June 1 providing it is safe to do so. The Department of Education will now work with providers to develop more detailed guidance and to help them to prepare.

However, nursery leaders have called on ministers to draw up a “clear plan of action” specifically for the sector, warning that it has unique needs. They point out that preschool social distancing will be almost impossible and have called for clarity on whether personal protective equipment for staff will be required.

There is also an apparent mismatch between eligibility for nurseries, which are currently only permitted to accept children of key workers, and the Government encouraging all workers who cannot do their job from home to go back to work where it is safe to do so.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said that publishing a “vague outline of a strategy” was “unhelpful”. He said: “Nurseries, preschools and childminders need a clear plan of action on how they are going to be supported, both practically and financially, to reopen as lockdown eases. While the road map states that the Government expects children to be able to return to early years settings from June 1 – and for childminders, from as early as this week – the sector urgently needs more detail.”

Guidance from the Department for Education said last night: “Because early childhood is the most significant time for cognitive, social and emotional development, early years settings will be able to reopen to all preschool children from June 1. Childminders will also be allowed to look after children of any age, in line with their current Ofsted registration from June 1.”