The Scottish Government has now published the latest update to our operating guidance. This includes a number of important changes linked to wider changes in COVID-19 protective measures for the public including discontinuing routine asymptomatic testing in favour of focusing enhanced protective measures on those at highest risk (i.e. hospitals and care homes).
These changes to our operating guidance will not come into effect until 18 April 2022.
This marks a major next step in the Scottish Government’s strategy for responding to COVID-19 which has been made possible by significant progress in vaccination and corresponding increasing levels of immunity in different age groups across the population, as COVID-19 has become endemic. While cases are still high in some parts of Scotland, and have risen a little again recently, levels of hospitalisation and deaths are much lower than at earlier times in the pandemic and the evidence now supports these changes. Given that some of these changes mark a significant change in approach the updated guidance has been published early in order to allow providers time to digest the details.
Event for all those working in childcare on 24 March
The Scottish Government is hosting an event on Thursday 24 March at 7.30pm to discuss the evidence behind the changes to guidance and testing programmes. The event will feature a public health expert, the Scottish Government policy team and colleagues from the Care Inspectorate.
The event is open to anyone working in childcare, across all sectors, and will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. If you don’t have the Microsoft Teams app you can access the session via a web browser. Anyone wishing to join the event can do so by clicking
HERE. The event will last for 45 minutes and any questions should be submitted in advance
HERE.
Summary of Main Changes to Operating Guidance (from 18 April)
New form of guidance document
- the new guidance combines the previously separate guidance for childminders, nurseries and school-aged childcare settings into a single, streamlined, simplified and much shorter guidance document;
- the guidance focuses on what are called ‘routine protective measures’ based on where we currently are with COVID-19 and aims to link social measures aimed at the wider public and measures within our operating guidance for consistency i.e. when the public are required to self-isolate, self-isolation continues to apply within our guidance. Similarly, advice on mask wearing for the public and in our guidance will also be consistent;
- the guidance also represents a fundamental change in that it moves away from a prescriptive national requirement to enabling childcare providers to have more autonomy.
Discontinuation of asymptomatic testing
- in line with the changes for the public, childminders and other childcare staff will no longer be required to routinely undertake asymptomatic testing for COVID-19.
Visits to settings by parents
- the previous restrictions on parental visits to settings will be removed. However, childminders and other providers will have the autonomy to risk-assess and control the number of parents in a setting at any one time including considering if staggered times are required. This is particularly important for the majority of childminding settings which are small and it would not be desirable at this point in the pandemic to have groups of parents all visiting at the same time in a relatively small space.
Mask wearing
- masks are still to be worn by childminders and parents at drop-off and pick-up and when parents are in the setting.
Reporting of suspected outbreaks and cases
- there will no longer be a need to inform local Health Protection Teams of all suspected outbreaks, or single cases of COVID-19.
Managing outbreaks
- an outbreak is still two confirmed cases;
- managing single cases: children advised to stay away and self-isolate if they have symptoms or test positive; if a child in a setting becomes unwell and has symptoms this can be managed by self-isolation in the setting and with parents collecting them ASAP.
Self-isolation
- self-isolation is to continue for those with symptoms or testing positive (both within the wider public and in the operating guidance);
- as noted above, if a child has symptoms or tests positive they should stay at home and not attend a setting;
- current arrangements will continue regarding a childminder’s family member(s) – if a family/ household member is identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and is required to take a test, the childminding setting can remain open provided the family/household member is receiving daily negative test results. However, if the family/household member has symptoms or tests positive the setting must temporarily close.
We recognise this is frustrating, but this also still applies to other businesses operating from home (e.g. physiotherapists etc.). Public Health Scotland (PHS) has advised that this should become less of an issue going forward, as the large majority of people over 18 years and 4 months are now fully vaccinated, and there are very few ‘non-household’ contacts being identified as requiring to isolate. However, if a member of the childminder’s own household tests positive, the childminder should be isolating too and the setting must close. PHS has also stressed that the most effective way for people who live with childminders to avoid having to isolate (and to protect themselves and others from COVID) is to get vaccinated.
Remember, all fully vaccinated people, and those aged under 18 years and 4 months do not have to isolate if they have a negative LFD result each day for seven days (the normal isolation period). If the household contact can take daily LFDs then they are not isolating and the business can operate. Also, as another option, if the COVID-19 positive family member can isolate in a different household the childminding setting could remain open.
Cleaning
- for the last two years the operating guidance has required enhanced cleaning to be carried out;
- the new operating guidance includes a new definition of 'routine cleaning' which is to be enhanced temporarily during outbreaks. For clarity, this new definition of 'routine cleaning' is higher than what would previously have been considered routine before the pandemic and closer in nature to enhanced cleaning, but with some discretion for childminders.
- a full routine clean should take place at least daily, which includes touch surfaces such as door handles, telephones and keyboards. This should then be followed by a second clean later in the day of touch surfaces only
- the guidance provides further detail including recommending –
- toys and equipment that children access should, as far as possible, be cleaned daily, if visibly contaminated or if groups of children change during the day, on a sessional basis;
- sand does not need to be changed daily and standard cleaning and changing protocols should suffice if good hand hygiene is carried out prior to and following the use of the sand;
- if soft furnishings (such as throws and bedding) have been used by a child who shows symptoms of COVID-19, they should be removed and laundered as quickly as possible at the highest
recommended temperature in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;
- children are allowed to bring toys from home to the setting, but if visibly contaminated in the setting or shared among other children then the toy should be cleaned appropriately.
- SCMA accepts that we are still at an important point in the pandemic, in which caution and some routine protective measures are still required. We believe that the new guidance is not as prescriptive as before and does provide childminders with a little more autonomy to decide how far to implement the recommendations i.e. by recognising that where groups of children may not change during the day a higher level of cleaning may not be required. We are acutely aware that the requirement to undertake enhanced cleaning over the last two years has had a disproportionate effect on the childminding workforce - the majority of whom are sole workers – and has required childminders to extend their working day, unpaid and into the evenings to undertake this cleaning. It has also been disproportionate to many childminding settings which are much smaller than nurseries, and have smaller groups of children who may not change from day to day. As such, we do not believe a higher level of cleaning is sustainable and that as we emerge further from COVID-19 cleaning measures for childminding settings must become more proportionate. We will continue to advocate this position.
Childminding Groups and Visits/Trips
- restrictions will be eased and these will be able to take place while following usual risk assessment procedures and observing the relevant social guidance at the time.
As noted earlier, the new guidance will not come into effect until 18 April 2022. Until this date you should continue to follow the current Childminder Services Guidance.
Members are encouraged to read the new guidance - which can be access
HERE - and familiarise themselves with the detail and what this will mean for their practice from this date.