Half of practitioners don’t feel safe at work, according to new Alliance survey
By Rachel Lawler
Half of early years practitioners do not feel safe at work, according to a new survey conducted by the Alliance and independent analysts Ceeda.
Conducted between 15 and 19 January 2021, the survey also found that nearly one in 10 practitioners at nurseries and pre-schools and one in 12 childminders have tested positive for Covid-19 since December 2020.
Nearly two-thirds of nurseries and pre-schools say that there is a “moderate to high risk” that their whole setting may need to temporarily close in the coming weeks due to staff shortages caused by Covid-19.
"Stay at home"
Dr Amelia Massoura of Stepping Stones Pre-School in Sittingbourne, Kent, said: "As a setting, we are seeing very low numbers of children attending as parents are understandably concerned about extremely high levels of transmission and are keeping their children at home. This makes sense to us as government guidance says to stay at home in a national lockdown situation: the DfE are sending directly conflicting messages to parents.
“Out of six members of staff, four have contracted Covic-19. Fortunately, all have recovered well. We feel that there is a lack of evidence to suggest that children do not spread the virus and that practitioners are being put in a very vulnerable situation. It is also very disheartening to be treated, again, as the poor relations in education."
Vaccination priority
The survey also found that 94% of nursery and pre-school staff and 87% of childminders believe that the early years workforce should be prioritised in the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
65% of both nursery and pre-school staff and childminders would prefer to be included in the Department for Education’s mass lateral flow testing programme, which has already been made available to maintained nurseries, schools and colleges.
Risk to staff
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, commented: “These shocking findings should, without a doubt, be cause for serious concern. While we know that early years settings are low-risk environments for children, it seems that no one has been asking whether or not the same is true for those working in the sector.
“With Covid rates among early years practitioners so high, it is no wonder that so many in the sector don’t currently feel safe going into work every day. We know that nurseries, pre-schools and childminders have worked incredibly hard to ensure that they offer a safe environment for those children still accessing care and education – but someone needs to be doing the same for them, and so far, the government has failed to do so.
Lateral flow testing
“It is clear from these findings that the government must, as a matter of absolute urgency, roll out regular lateral flow testing directly to all early years providers, and ensure that the early years workforce is given priority access to vaccinations in Phase 2 of the roll-out. Anything less would be reckless and irresponsible – it is simply not acceptable to ask the sector to work during the most worrying period of the pandemic to date, and not provide the practical support they need to be able to do so safely.
“Equally vital is the need for government to provide greater financial support to ensure that early years providers are able to remain viable during this difficult period. Providing funding at pre-pandemic levels is a critical part of this – if the government was willing to do this during the autumn term, then there is absolutely no justification for not continuing this support now when the take-up of childcare places is even lower.
“Support for providers facing a substantial loss of private income is just as important and we urge the government to make sure that these settings are not forgotten when looking at the urgent need for financial sector support.
“Early years providers are the only part of the education sector that the government has asked to remain open to all families. It is surely not too much to ask for the protection - both practical and financial - needed to ensure that we can continue to do so?
“For weeks now, the government has been talking about how important the early years sector is, and what a valuable role providers play in supporting both children and parents. There is no excuse, then, for the government to drag its feet in taking the action needed to ensure that all providers are able to operate safely and sustainably, both now and in the future.”