mteb/FeedbackQARetrieval huggingface dataset:
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Childminders
Can childminders work with other childminders to look after more priority children together?
To align with the government’s position on nannies, we are updating our
guidance for early years settings to confirm that paid childcare can be
provided to the children of one household from Wednesday 13 May 2020. This
includes childminders, who may choose to look after the children of one
household, if they are not already looking after vulnerable children or those
of critical workers. From 1 June 2020, childminders can look after children of
all ages, in line with their current Ofsted registration, and within usual
limits on the number of children they can care for
Yes – up to 3 childminders (or a mix of up to 3 childminders and assistants)
can work together in the same domestic premises. However, if more than 3
childminders work together they will need to apply to Ofsted to register
childcare on domestic premises.
If registered to deliver childcare on domestic premises, 4 or more
childminders (or a mix of 4 or more childminders and assistants) can work
together in the same domestic premises, which would enable them to care for
larger groups of children and still meet ratio requirements. Further details
of requirements for childminders and childcare on domestic premises is
available.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Considerations for settings that are open during this period
Will children attend their usual childcare setting?
Our priority is ensuring sufficient childcare for vulnerable children and
children of critical workers. We are asking settings to stay open to do this,
but we acknowledge this may not always be possible.
Where a setting is unable to stay open, local authorities will work with local
settings to determine the best way to support vulnerable children and the
children of critical workers.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
What will happen to funding for free childcare places during this period of disruption?
On 17 March 2020, the Chancellor confirmed that the government would continue
to pay local authorities for free early years entitlement places for 2-, 3-
and 4-year-olds.
We have published guidance on the use of free early education entitlements
funding setting out
how local authorities can use their free entitlement funding differently,
redistributing it - in exceptional cases and only when all other options have
been exhausted - in order to secure childcare for the children of critical
workers, and for vulnerable children, where their usual arrangements are no
longer possible.
Local authorities will need to ensure there are sufficient childcare places at
this time, and to redistribute funding across settings accordingly – in a
clearly focused and targeted way. This ability to redistribute free
entitlement funding in exceptional circumstances will enable local authorities
to ensure that critical workers, including NHS staff, are able to access
childcare where they need it. Any setting which sees their early entitlement
funding reduced, in order to fund childcare places elsewhere, will be able to
increase the proportion of their salary bill eligible for the Coronavirus Job
Retention Scheme in line with DfE’s guidance on financial support for
education, early years and children’s social
care on access to the scheme.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
Are settings covered by their insurance during this period of disruption?
Business interruption insurance
For childcare providers which have a policy that covers government-ordered
closure and unspecified notifiable diseases, the government’s social
distancing instructions are sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim
against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their
policy are met.
Public liability insurance
For childcare providers with public liability insurance, the Association of
British Insurers’ members continue to offer cover to settings, whether open or
closed, with no change to terms and conditions to existing policies.
Providers should check their terms and conditions with their insurance
company.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Early Years Foundation Stage
What happens if staff need to renew their paediatric first aid certificates?
If PFA certificate requalification training is prevented for reasons
associated directly with coronavirus, or by complying with related government
advice, the validity of current certificates can be extended by up to 3
months. This applies to certificates expiring on or after 16 March 2020.
*[PFA]: paediatric first aid
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
I am not a critical worker and my child isn’t vulnerable. Do I still need to apply or reconfirm for the 30 hours entitlement if I’m not currently accessing a place?
We encourage all eligible parents to continue to apply for, and reconfirm,
their 30 hours entitlement, even when childcare settings remain closed to all
but vulnerable children and children of critical workers. This will ensure a
smooth transition back into childcare when settings fully reopen.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak

What arrangements do settings need to make about meals for children attending the setting?
Where maintained nursery schools are open for children of critical workers,
and vulnerable children, they should continue to provide free school meals to
children who would normally receive them.
In all other settings where free school meals do not apply, settings may
charge for meals in line with national entitlements guidance. As per existing
guidance, they should consider the impact of charges on disadvantaged
families.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Early Years Foundation Stage
What if a member of staff already has an enhanced DBS check but is moving temporarily to another early years setting?
Where members of the early years and childcare workforce are already engaging
in regulated activity and already have the appropriate DBS check, there is no
expectation that a new DBS check should be obtained for them to temporarily
move to another setting to support the care of children.
The onus remains on the receiving setting to satisfy themselves that someone
in their setting has had the required checks, including by seeking assurance
from the current employer rather than requiring new checks.
*[DBS]: Disclosure and Barring Service
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Prioritising children
How are vulnerable children defined?
The government encourages vulnerable children and young people to attend
educational settings, unless they have underlying health conditions that put
them at severe risk.
During the coronavirus outbreak, vulnerable children are defined as those who:

are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, including children who have a child in need plan, a child protection plan or who are a looked after child
have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, and it is determined, following risk assessment, that their needs can be as safely or more safely met in the educational environment
have been assessed as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities (including children’s social care services), and who are therefore in need of continued educational provision. This might include children on the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services, adopted children, those who are young carers, and those living in temporary accommodation
and others at the provider’s and local authority’s discretion

Vulnerable children’s attendance is encouraged, where it is appropriate for
them. A brief summary of attendance expectations, across the different groups
of vulnerable children and young people, is as follows:

for vulnerable children who have a social worker, attendance is encouraged where this is appropriate in line with the advice set out by Public Health England
for vulnerable children who have an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, attendance is encouraged where it is determined, following risk assessment, that their needs can be as safely, or more safely, met in the educational environment
for vulnerable children who are deemed otherwise vulnerable, at the childcare setting, school or local authority’s discretion, attendance is encouraged where this is appropriate

Educational providers, local authorities, social workers, parents/carers, and
other relevant professionals (where applicable), should work together closely
to consider factors, such as the balance of risk, including health
vulnerabilities, family circumstances, risks outside the home, and the child
or young person’s assessed special educational needs. Further detail on
supporting vulnerable children is set out in Supporting vulnerable children
and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19)
outbreak.
*[EHC]: education, health and care
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Considerations for settings that are open during this period
How can settings continue to offer care if staff are sick or self-isolating?
Childcare settings who are experiencing staff shortages should work with their
local authority to identify how appropriate provision can be put in place.
They can pool staff with another setting, or take on qualified and Disclosure
and Barring Service (DBS) checked staff from other educational settings
(including local registered childminders) which have been closed, or invite
local registered childminders to work with them at the setting. Registered
childminders can already do this under the 50/50 registration flexibility they
have.
Settings must obtain criminal records checks for new members of staff,
including volunteers. If an application has been made but the DBS disclosure
has not arrived, new staff and volunteers can still care for children as long
they are supervised by someone who has a DBS check. Under no circumstances can
an unchecked member of staff be left alone with children.
*[DBS]: Disclosure and Barring Service
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Early Years Foundation Stage
Can settings take on new staff (including volunteers) even if a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check has not been completed?
The requirements set out at paragraph 3.11 of the EYFS remain in place.
Settings must obtain criminal records checks for new members of staff
including volunteers. If an application has been made but the DBS disclosure
has not arrived, new staff and volunteers can still care for children as long
they are supervised by someone who has a DBS check. Under no circumstances can
an unchecked member of staff be left alone with children.
Where new staff are recruited, or new volunteers enter the childcare setting,
they should continue to be provided with a safeguarding induction.
[EYFS]: early years foundation stage
  [DBS]: Disclosure and Barring Service
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Childminders
Will early years entitlement funding continue for childminders?
To align with the government’s position on nannies, we are updating our
guidance for early years settings to confirm that paid childcare can be
provided to the children of one household from Wednesday 13 May 2020. This
includes childminders, who may choose to look after the children of one
household, if they are not already looking after vulnerable children or those
of critical workers. From 1 June 2020, childminders can look after children of
all ages, in line with their current Ofsted registration, and within usual
limits on the number of children they can care for
On 17 March 2020, the Chancellor confirmed the government would continue to
pay local authorities for free early years entitlement places for 2-, 3- and
4-year-olds,
We have published guidance on the use of free early education entitlements
funding setting out
how local authorities can use their free entitlement funding differently,
redistributing it – in exceptional cases and in a clearly focussed and
targeted way – in order to secure childcare for the children of critical
workers, and for vulnerable children, where their usual arrangements are no
longer possible.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
Can childcare settings continue to charge parents during coronavirus-related closures?
We are working hard to mitigate the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on all
parts of our society, including individuals and businesses. We expect
nurseries to comply with the law and take a reasonable and proportionate
approach to parents’ fees, in light of these unprecedented circumstances, and
to communicate any arrangements clearly with them.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
How do early years settings access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)?
The CJRS scheme opened for applications on 20 April and guidance on how to
access the scheme can be found at Claim for wages through the Coronavirus Job
Retention Scheme. Early years providers remain eligible for
the CJRS while continuing to receive early entitlement funding via local
authorities.
The CJRS guidance, published by HM Revenue and Customs on
26 March, states that where employers receive public funding for staff costs,
and that funding is continuing, we expect employers to use that money to
continue to pay staff in the usual fashion - and correspondingly not furlough
them. This also applies to non-public sector employers who receive public
funding for staff costs. Employers should not be able to receive public
funding for staff cost and furlough payments for the same staff.
On 17 April, DfE published guidance setting out how the CJRS and early
entitlement funding
interacts, confirming that early years
settings can access the CJRS to cover up to the proportion of its pay bill
which could be considered to have been paid for from that provider’s private
income.
A private provider should only furlough employees, and therefore seek support
through the CJRS, if they meet the following conditions:

the employee works in an area of business where services are temporarily not required and where their salary is not covered by public funding
the employee would otherwise be made redundant or laid off
the employee is not involved in delivering provision that has already been funded (free entitlement funding)
(where appropriate) the employee is not required to deliver provision for a child of a critical worker and/or vulnerable child
the grant from the CJRS would not duplicate other public grants received, and would not lead to financial reserves being created

If it is difficult to distinguish whether staff are funded through free
entitlement or private income for the purposes of meeting the first 3
conditions as listed above, then an early years provider can access the CJRS
to cover up to the proportion of its paybill which could be considered to have
been paid for from that provider’s private income.
*[CJRS]: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Childminders
Are childminders eligible for the Self-employment Income Support Scheme?
To align with the government’s position on nannies, we are updating our
guidance for early years settings to confirm that paid childcare can be
provided to the children of one household from Wednesday 13 May 2020. This
includes childminders, who may choose to look after the children of one
household, if they are not already looking after vulnerable children or those
of critical workers. From 1 June 2020, childminders can look after children of
all ages, in line with their current Ofsted registration, and within usual
limits on the number of children they can care for
Eligibility for the scheme is based on employment structures and not
professions. You can apply if you are self-employed, or a member of a
partnership, and have lost profits due to coronavirus, as well as meeting
further eligibility criteria. HM
Revenue and Customs will contact individuals who are eligible and invite them
to apply online.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Early Years Foundation Stage
Do other aspects of safeguarding requirements remain the same?
All other aspects of the safeguarding and welfare section of the EYFS still
apply, including requirements relating to child protection arrangements.
Providers should consider whether any refresh or review is needed of their
child protection arrangements, policy and procedures, in light of the
coronavirus outbreak.
Settings must continue to have a practitioner designated to take lead
responsibility for safeguarding. It is acceptable for the safeguarding lead
not to be based on-site if this is not practical, for example they may be
working from home, or be based at another setting, as long as they are still
available to provide support, advice and guidance to staff. It is important
that all childcare staff and volunteers have access to a trained designated
safeguarding lead or deputy, and know on any given day who that person is and
how to speak to them.
*[EYFS]: early years foundation stage
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
Is there any flexibility for parents who have missed the deadline for 30 hours codes?
Local authorities also have the ability to relax the validity dates on 30
hours codes where critical worker parents were ordinarily eligible and
expecting to take up a 30 hours childcare place between 1 April 2020 and 31
August 2020, but have missed the reconfirmation/application deadline of 31
March 2020. This will enable children to take up their places in the summer
term.
We are therefore asking local authorities and childcare providers who are
approached by the parents of vulnerable children, or critical workersm who
have missed the 31 March 2020 deadline, to accept their codes, having first
checked the child’s date of birth to ensure summer term eligibility. To be
eligible for a summer term 30 hours place the child must have turned 3 before
1 April 2020.
At this time, only the children of critical workers and children who are
vulnerable, are able to access childcare. A list of children prioritised for
education provision can be found in guidance on Critical workers who can
access schools or educational
settings. We have asked all
early years settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020, and will
update the guidance on 30 hours in due course.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Funding
Can parents continue to claim their 30 hours free early education entitlement?
We are making some temporary changes to the 30 hours free entitlement so that
all eligible parents, including critical workers, are not disadvantaged during
the coronavirus outbreak.
Specifically, parents who will not meet the minimum income threshold (16 hours
per week at National Minimum/Living Wage) due to lower earnings as a direct
result of coronavirus will be treated as meeting that test during the
outbreak. This will apply only to parents who need to apply for, or reconfirm,
their 30 hours place during the outbreak this year.
Subject to parliamentary approval of a temporary amendment to the 30 hours
free childcare regulations, we intend to allow critical workers who exceed the
maximum income threshold (£100k per year), due to increased hours as a direct
result of the coronavirus outbreak, to remain eligible for 30 hours for the
current tax year.
These are temporary changes in response to the coronavirus outbreak which will
be reviewed as the situation develops.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Prioritising children
If childcare settings are open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children, can they accept other children if they have enough staff and space?
No. At this time, settings should only care for children of critical workers
and vulnerable children.
If a childminder is not looking after vulnerable children, or the children of
critical workers, they can provide childcare for the children of one household
who are not critical workers or vulnerable children.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Prioritising children
Is it necessary to prioritise children?
The first aim of the partial closure of educational settings has been to
reduce the overall population of children and families moving around local
areas, as far as possible, in order to reduce the number of social
interactions, and thus flatten the upward curve of the coronavirus outbreak.
The second aim is to continue to care for priority children – those who are
vulnerable, or whose parents are critical to the coronavirus response, so that
they can continue to work.
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Early Years Foundation Stage
Does the Early Years Foundation Stage still apply?
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory
framework sets the standards that schools and childcare settings
must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5
years old.
We have amended legislation to allow for the temporary disapplying and
modifying of a number of requirements within the EYFS, giving settings
flexibility to respond to changes in workforce availability and potential
fluctuations in demand while ensuring children are kept safe. These temporary
changes came into force on 24 April 2020.
Full details of the amendments can be found in the guidance on early years
foundation stage statutory framework
(EYFS), which also includes details about how the temporary
arrangements will be brought to an end. Settings and local authorities should
fully familiarise themselves with these changes to ensure they understand the
flexibilities available to them and are meeting the modified requirements,
especially in relation to paediatric first aid, during the coronavirus
outbreak.
*[EYFS]: early years foundation stage
Guidance Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Early Years Foundation Stage
Is it still a requirement for early years settings to have a separate baby room for children under the age of 2 during this period of disruption?
The EYFS requirement to have a separate baby room is a safety issue for the
protection of very young children particularly when they are asleep. Paragraph
3.59 of the EYFS already allows for the mixing of children when this is
appropriate. If the layout of the premises does not allow for a separate ‘baby
room’ with its own door, a suitable area may be partitioned off to provide
safety for younger children.
*[EYFS]: early years foundation stage