Earlier today education secretary Gavin Williamson announced in the House of Commons that the use of ‘bubbles’ in childcare settings and schools will end from 16 August and that new guidance for schools has been published.
Nursery World has contacted the Department for Education (DfE) for confirmation as to whether there will also be new guidance for early years settings.
The Early Years Alliance criticised the education secretary Gavin Willamson for focusing on schools and colleges and pressed for ‘greater clarity’ for the sector on how the changes will work in practice as soon as possible.
Chief executive Neil Leitch said, ‘We know that many providers have struggled to cope with the impact of repeated bubble closures due to self-isolation rules over recent months, and so steps taken to ease this pressure are welcome.
‘That said, the safety and wellbeing of the early years workforce and the children in their care must always be a priority – and once again, the education secretary’s focus on schools and colleges has meant that the guidance for the early years sector is severely lacking.
‘While testing for pupils is already a regular part of secondary school and college life, this is not the case for children in early years settings, and with young children often presenting no or atypical symptoms, many in the sector will feel understandably nervous about these proposed changes.
‘With many younger early years staff yet to be fully vaccinated, and cases in early years settings rising once again, it is vital that any steps to ease restrictions on providers are balanced with measures to ensure that early years environments remain as safe as possible.’
The National Day Nurseries Association said it would be 'scrutinising' any new guidance from the Government 'in more detail and raising any issues with the DfE.'
Deborah Lawson, assistant general secretary (Voice education and early years section), said, 'Workplaces must be safe, and employers should remember that they are duty bound to provide a safe working environment.
'Voice Community is calling for evidence to show that these proposals for testing without the need for isolation will be effective at limiting the spread of Covid-19 and protect vulnerable pupils and staff.
'This is especially important in nurseries and primary schools, where pupil testing does not happen. And we want assurances that settings can implement control measures where the evidence suggests they are necessary and proportionate.
'We have yet to hear the evaluation of the daily testing pilot scheme that the Government were promoting as an alternative to self-isolation, and have hopes that this may provide some answers.'
Schools
Teaching unions have also raised alarm over the effectiveness of the new measures replacing education bubbles from next month.
Unison accused the Government of ‘abandoning children to the risks of Covid’ in its approach.
Assistant general secretary Jon Richards argued, ‘Safety measures like bubbles and self-isolation are proven to reduce the spread of the virus.
‘With around one in ten pupils reporting symptoms of long Covid weeks after infection, this is a dangerous gamble from the Government.
‘The only way to minimise risk is for tried and tested safety measures like masks, good ventilation and self-isolation to stay.
‘Allowing the virus to spread rapidly amongst unvaccinated pupils provides an ideal environment for new variants to emerge.’
The National Education Union (NEU) shared the same worries.
Joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said, ‘Schools have so far been the most effective part of the test track and trace system.
‘It seems clear that the Government policies are based on a new form of herd immunity strategy - they are hoping that the increase in vaccination rates and the increase in infection rates across the summer will eventually get cases to fall simply because there is no one left to infect.
‘The Government should be seeking to improve ventilation in schools by providing CO2 monitors and HEPA air filters, planning mass asymptomatic testing in schools organised by PHE, and encouraging JCVI to come forward with its thinking on the vaccination of secondary-aged children.
‘We can all hope for the best, but we must now plan for something that is less than the best.’