BBC Breakfast interviewed Professor Calum Semple, a virologist and member of Sage (the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies), who when asked if he could give any idea why early years settings were remaining open when schools were not, said ‘No, I can't’, and said that the decision to do so may be ‘political’ as it was not ‘a scientific one’.
Professor Semple said, ‘The reality is that, under these circumstances every opportunity to remove social mixing and work mixing of human beings is vitally important.
‘So, if a political decision has been made here to keep nurseries open in order to keep essential staff at work then that could be tempered by restricting the nursery capacity to those essential workers. But if we’ve gone to the point of closing the universities, secondary schools and primary schools on the grounds of public health, then I would be looking to close all other non-essential activities. And it may be that a political decision has been made here that nurseries are essential, but it’s not a scientific one.’
Cabinet officer Michael Gove has said that childcare is needed to allow key workers to continue to work.
During a separate interview with BBC Breakfast, Mr Gove was responding to questions from viewers about why nurseries were still open, when as part of the new lockdown rules the Government has closed schools from today, except for key worker and vulnerable children.
One viewer, Nicola, was quoted as saying, ‘The level of Government disregard for early years staff is absolutely shocking.’
Asked why early years settings were being kept open when schools were closed, Mr Gove answered, ‘We believe it’s important to continue to provide childcare and the judgement that we’ve made is that by making sure that childcare can be provided we can ensure that some of the people whose work is so vital to getting us out of this lockdown doctors and nurses and others can continue to do their work.
'But again, I’ve got nothing but the greatest respect for those who work in nurseries, early years and childcare. A balance has always got to be struck between making sure that those doing absolutely vital work can continue to do their work but also to make sure childcare settings are safe.’
Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘It beggars belief that the Government still isn't able to answer one critical question: if it is too dangerous for schools to remain open, how can it be safe for early years providers to do so?
‘During an interview this morning, Michael Gove argued that childcare was needed to enable key workers to continue to work - but nurseries and childminders have been asked to stay open to all children, not just those of critical workers. How can it be that a senior minister doesn't even understand what the Government is actually asking early years providers to do?
‘Many of those working in the early years feel terrified and abandoned by the Government. They are being asked to remain on the frontline during the most worrying period of a global pandemic with no PPE, no testing and no access to vaccinations.
‘Add to this the fact that the Government is providing minimal financial support to help providers get through this incredibly difficult period and it's hard to think of many other sectors that have been asked to do so much while being been treated with such disdain.
‘The early years cannot be treated as an afterthought. We need protection, we need financial support and we need the appalling treatment of our sector to end once and for all.’
Nursery World asked the Department for Education to explain why early years settings were being kept open when schools were closing.
The DfE said, 'The reason we are closing schools is not because they are unsafe but because additional measures are needed to contain the spread of the virus in the community. Doing that enables us to keep nurseries and childminders open, support parents and deliver the crucial care and education needed for our youngest children.
'0-5 year olds continue to have the lowest rates of coronavirus of all age groups. Evidence shows that pre-school children are less susceptible to infection and are not playing a driving role in transmission.
'Early years settings have been open to all children since 1 June and there is no evidence that the early years sector has contributed to a rise in virus cases within the community.'
They added that, 'Early evidence from SAGE showed that early years provision had a smaller relative impact on transmission rate than primary schools, which in turn had a smaller relative impact than secondary schools.
'PHE advice remains that the risk of transmission and infection is low if early years settings follow the system of controls, which reduce risks and create inherently safer environments.'
