On Wednesday it was announced that schools across the UK would close their doors on Friday - except for vulnerable pupils or children of key workers. A full list of key workers will be released and parents not on the list would be made aware immediately that their child wouldn't be offered a place in school. The list is said to include NHS workers, school staff and delivery drivers.
But what does this mean for parents who are not on the list of key workers but still require some form of childcare? Many families, when alternative childcare is required, call on grandparents to step in as a helping hand. However, during the Coronavirus crisis, grandparents are at risk of severe complications which is why alternative Coronavirus childcare during this time is essential.
If you do not currently have a nanny for your family and you are wondering what options you have, we believe that the best childcare option for you would be either a temporary nanny or a nanny share. A temporary or emergency nanny will be able to step in and care for your children if you are unable to work from home or you require someone to look after your children while you focus on your work at home.
While we understand you may be feeling tentative about bringing someone into your home at this time, it is important to remember that everyone needs to be vigilant with their health and hygiene to avoid the spread and contraction of coronavirus. All childcare candidates that are placed with Little Ones are required to have a valid paediatric first aid certificate. All childcare candidates that completed their paediatric first aid certificate with Little Ones will have completed a section on the importance of health and hygiene and how to encourage children to be thorough with their own health and hygiene. Ensuring everyone in your home is as thorough as they possibly can with their hygiene, especially washing their hands is currently the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones and everyone around you.
Little Ones has been helping families for over 15 years to find temporary care, this means we have a vast database of professional nannies that have been vetted and interviewed personally by our temporary nanny consultants to pull from during this time.
Our specialist consultants have spent a lot of time building the relationships they have with our temporary nannies, this is because we know that by having an open, positive and continuous relationship with each and every nanny we work with, we are able to rely on our nannies to be there for you during this challenging time.
Our temporary nannies are utter professionals who are either career nannies who have decided to do temporary placements while they work out their next permanent nanny position or nannies who work full time as a temporary nanny.
Alternatively, if you believe that a longer term solution may benefit your family, a nanny share is a way you are able to receive childcare and share the costs with another family. Parents share nannies to give their children someone to play with, to give their nanny a pay rise, and to save on childcare costs. There isn’t a legal limit on the number of children a nanny can care for in a nanny share, but a nanny can only look after two families’ children at once. In practical terms, the key question is how many children the nanny feels they can look after. This will likely depend on the ages of the children, their temperament or needs, and the nanny’s experience. Nanny shares with two or three children in total are most common in this type of arrangement. During this time, it is suggested to keep childcare within homes, so if you are sharing a Nanny with another family, it would be a good idea to set up a schedule. This schedule can be anything that works for both of you, whether its the children being at your home in the mornings and at the other in the afternoons or sharing full days throughout the week.
A nanny share has a higher hourly rate than nannies that are working with single families. The hourly rate for a full time live out Nanny will depend on the amount of experience they have, qualifications they hold and any languages that they are able to speak. The typical hourly rate for a live out Nanny in London is currently between £11 and £13 net per hour. A nanny working in a nanny share will earn between £14 and £17 net per hour, however, this will be split by the two families. This would make the nanny’s salary between £7 and £8.50 net per hour for each family, which is considerably less than a nanny working for a single family.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding what childcare will be available and suitable for your family, our team of consultants are always on hand to provide advice and guide you in the right direction.
Another alternative childcare option to consider is a part time nanny. A part time nanny will provide flexibility if you are not looking for someone full time. A part time nanny can either work a few hours each day or a couple of full days during the week. Our part time nanny consultants are able to work with you to find a solution to your childcare requirements with premium part time childcare candidates. A part time nanny will provide you with time to focus on your work without the distractions that can come with supervising kids in the home.
If your children are sent home, spending the entire time on a tablet is not really ideal, however limited tablet time may need to be relaxed. Social media is filled with easy and fun arts and crafts videos your children could try, board games and card games are a great way to spend a few hours together inside. Alternatively, reading is always a great option. If you have a digital reading device the internet is your library. Share your ideas around with other parents, while they may not be completely in the same boat as you, they will still have bored children at home getting restless and will appreciate the thought.
It may also be a good idea to have another look at your broadband provider. With children at home, there will most likely be an increase of devices in use at the same time. If you do not have enough devices at home for everyone to use one at the same time, it is important to remember you are all in this together, work together to find a compromise and ensure that everyone is happy.
Coronaviruses are a common type of virus. They typically cause fever and a cough, which may progress to more severe pneumonia, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties in some people. Covid-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China. The current evidence is that most cases appear to be mild similar to that of a cold or flu and most of those who have died in Wuhan appear to have had pre-existing health conditions. Little is known about this new strain of the virus due to it being so new so it is not clear how it is spread, however, similar viruses tend to be spread by coughs and sneezes – so the way the infection gains entry to the body is the same as the way it exits and spreads to others.
It is also possible that the virus may be spread by touching a surface or object that has been coughed or sneezed on by someone with the virus – such as by touching a doorknob or shaking hands with someone and then touching your face. There is currently no specific cure for the new coronavirus so treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms.
Although the Department for Health has described the virus as a "serious and imminent threat" and raised the public risk level from "low" to "moderate", the risk to individuals remains low.
It is also important to remember that while people of all ages can test positive for coronavirus, older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease) are more likely to become severely ill with the virus and are most at risk. The symptoms of Covid-19 are similar to those of the common cold and the flu. The three main symptoms of coronavirus are a cough, a high temperature and shortness of breath. If you think you might have coronavirus or you have been in close contact with someone who has it, stay at home and avoid close contact with other people, do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital at the risk of spreading the disease and use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next. The 111 coronavirus service will tell you if you need to continue to stay at home or if you need medical help. It is important that you and your family take all the necessary precautions you can to ensure the safety of your loved ones and well as preventing the spread of Covid-19.
