Concerns about nursery, school and COVID-19

Sending your child to nursery or school for the first time, or indeed if they’ve been attending for a while and are going back to school, can be quite a daunting prospect during the Covid-19 outbreak.

We’ve adapted well to most of the new rules and procedures laid out for us; we’ve got that hang of queueing to get into the supermarket and we follow the one way signs. We have learnt how to use social media and technology quite well too for staying in contact with family.

The same principle will apply with starting nursery or school or indeed returning to school. It won’t be the same as it was before. Each nursery setting or school will run their day a little differently. The thing to do to help your concerns, is communicate ahead of time, find out what it’s going to be like, and then you and your child can be prepared.

If you’re worried and aren’t sure where to turn, start by speaking with your childcare provider or school. They’ll have completed numerous risk assessments, be following guidance from the Local Authority and the Government, and their plans will be individually tailored to suit their own setting. Make contact sooner rather than later, as preparation is key in settling your child to a new routine. They’ll be able to talk you through the steps you can carry out at home to make sure your child is happy and settled.

Talk to your child. If they’ve never been to nursery before, explain what it will be like. If they’ve been to nursery or school, explain how things will be a little different and they will have to play and learn in a different way. They may not have the same teacher, and they will probably not have all their friends in their class. Mealtimes and playtimes may be different. Drop offs and collections will also be different, to ensure the social distancing of parents and carers, so make sure you explain this too before you turn up.

Make sure you carry out your own risk assessment – that is, make sure you and your family are symptom free before you consider a return to nursery or school. Make sure your child understands the importance of hand hygiene as well as what to do if they cough or sneeze. Help them to understand not getting too close and trying not to hug, kiss or jump on their friends too!

Your early year’s providers and staff will be on hand settle your children as they return but they may want to take a comforter, dummy or special blanket. It may help to settle in the first few days, but again – always check with your provider first.

If your child has ADHD or autism, you probably have extra concerns about them returning to school. You may find this information from Autism Berkshire useful, which covers such things as getting into a routine and talking openly with your child.

One final point I would make is, try to avoid reading stories on social media about other schools. There are lots of scary stories about what it’s like at schools now with COVID-19, but the only way to find out how your child’s school or nursery is dealing with the situation is to talk to them. Talk to other parents who have children already at the setting if you can.

I suppose the one thing that is the most important is keeping up that continuous communication between you, your child and your setting. Bear in mind the changes being made are for the benefit of everyone, and safety and protecting one another is the most important thing at the moment.

If your child is due to start Reception in September, or starting nursery or school for the first time, look at our other blogs on early years and school readiness.

If you want to read more... Check out the Gov.uk guidelines for schools regarding COVID-19 to find out more about how it will all work. There's a free audiobook about going back to school or nursery after COVID-19 from Tales of Me books which you can personalise.

If your child is struggling to sleep, the NHS website has some useful tips.

Gov.uk has produced some useful leaflets for parents with primary and secondary school aged children about returning to school.