No limit on informal childcare bubble size during second lockdown

In response to question from Nursery World, a Department for Education spokesperson has confirmed that 'there is no size limit on childcare bubbles just like there is no size limit on support bubbles which is why a limit is not included.'

The Government has said that families can support each other with informal childcare for children under the age of 13.

New National Restrictions from 5 November, published by the Cabinet Office, states that parents are able to form a ‘childcare bubble’ with one other household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under.

A childcare bubble is different to a support bubble, which allows a single-person household to meet and socialise with another household of any size.

A childcare bubble is where someone in one household - for example a friend or relative - provides informal (unpaid and unregistered) childcare to a child aged 13 or under in another household.

The Independent reported (4 November) that parents can only form one childcare bubble. In other words, the bubble must always be between the same two households, and that grandparents can be part of a family’s ‘childcare bubble’, but it must always be the same set of grandparents.

The Government has previously allowed informal childcare to continue, with health secretary Matt Hancock announcing on 21 September a ‘provision for those looking after children under the age of 14’.

Referring to interhousehold mixing restrictions in local areas of intervention at the time, Mr Hancock said that childcare would be exempt.

He said, ‘I know how vital all types of childcare are for family life. Whether a friend, relative, or a professional carer, it is essential that our children or dependents are well looked after and loved.

‘I have listened to concerns that have been raised around the ban on interhousehold mixing in place for local areas of intervention, and have now introduced a provision for those looking after children under the age of 14 …I truly sympathise with everyone who lost those vital extra hands to care for a child or loved one, and I hope that this eases their burden.’