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Coronavirus: Childcare FAQs

The Government has stated that the coronavirus outbreak presents “particular challenges and risks to those operating in an educational or childcare context.” This is both because of the need or tendency for people to learn in groups and because of the harmful impact that a break in education may have on a child’s development and progression to further study or employment.

What is in the best interests of those in education and childcare settings during the outbreak will, the Government believes, “vary according to the level of risk which presents itself in a particular place at a particular time.”

This briefing paper provides brief information in response to some key questions regarding the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on childcare providers and parents whose children attend such settings, including:

• The position on the opening of childcare providers, including under the current national lockdown.
• Whether childcare providers are required to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework
• The financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak on childcare providers.
• What safety measures childcare providers are required to put in place.
• What happens when a child attending an early years provider tests positive for Covid-19.

The final section provides information on the current rules relating to informal childcare provided by friends and family during the coronavirus outbreak, including the forming of childcare bubbles and support bubbles.

This is a fast-moving issue and the briefing should be read as correct at the time of publication. The briefing covers England only.