�°������ϲʹ�������

By Rachel Lawler

The Department for Education has published new guidance for providers recording places on the early years census in the light of the ongoing impact of Covid-19.

The guidance states that where providers are currently open children who are “reasonably expected to attend” the setting and the place remains available to them, should be recorded in the Early Years Census.

The guidance states: "This means children who, were it not for the impact of coronavirus on either their own personal circumstances or on the operation of their Early Years setting, would be attending Early Years provision. This includes children who have previously attended the provision and children who were expected to start attending the provision in January.​"

Local authorities and providers are instructed to record the expected weekly attendance of children where the child is:

• self-isolating in census week
• ill in census week
• absent due to parent/guardian caution (fear of Covid-19) if the provider remains open to the child and have not altered their parental declaration relating to expected hours
• absent due to parent/guarding choosing to care for the child at home, only if the provider remains open to the child and the parent/guardian has not altered their parental declaration relating to expected hours
• clinically extremely vulnerable and therefore shielding in line with government advice

If a parent/guardian has informed a provider that they are reducing their child’s hours (i.e., a change in the parental declaration), local authorities and providers should accurately record the new hours for the purposes of the census.

A census return for 2021, recording the contracted/expected hours provided, should be made in situations where:

• the provider has attempted to remain open, but has closed for a period of time for reasons such as:
• staff shortages due to illness
• staff shortages due to self-isolation
  
  • the provider has closed due to government guidance, for reasons such as:
    temporary inability to access the site premises (for example, a PVI setting whose landlord or trustees have temporarily refused permission to operate on the site for COVID-related reasons).
  • numbers of staff shielding make it impossible to provide the funded entitlements.

A census return for 2021 should not be made in situations where a setting has chosen to close and not provide the entitlements due to limited anticipated attendance or staff caution.

The full guidance is available .