Leitrim childcare providers ready to reopen next Monday

Leitrim childcare providers are busily preparing to reopen the service from next Monday, June 29.

Some 15 of the 34 providers in Co Leitrim are reopening under the guidance provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The guidance, developed in consultation with her department, focuses on a “play-pod” model. The “play pod” model restricts interactions between closed groups of children and adults as an alternative to social distancing, which is not possible with young children.

The purpose of ‘play-pods’ is to limit the number of people a child has contact with, to facilitate tracing, and to support close, positive interactions between children and their adult caregivers, like in a key-worker system.

According to the Department guidelines, this system will also reduce the amount of contact adults have with each other.

Where possible, there should be two adults in a ‘play-pod’, to allow breaks without need for floating staff. The maximum size of a ‘play-pod’ will be confirmed in the coming days.

Services will now be asked to apply the guidance to their setting and determine what capacity they may offer.

It is expected that a significant amount of capacity will be available in individual services that reopen in the summer, subject to, for example, their space, room layout and staffing availability.

The phased re-opening of early learning and childcare services will be asked to prioritise the children of essential or frontline workers if local capacity issues emerge.

Tommy Lavelle, Manager of Leitrim County Childcare Committee based in Drumshanbo, is welcoming the re-opening of facilities in the county but stressed that services won't be 'back to normal' for the foreseeable future.

He is confident that the providers are going to be able to meet demand in the months of July and August.
September, however, will pose more challenging with a higher demand due to the re-opening of the different childcare models including before and after school care and the introduction of a new Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.

Whilst there are 4,500 Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare services in the country, fewer than 2,000 of these normally remain open in July and August. This would account also for the remaining 19 services in Co Leitrim not yet re-opening.

Mr Lavelle said providers are speaking with families at the moment as are they in Leitrim County Childcare Committee on an almost daily basis.

He said they are there to answer any questions or queries parents may have in relation to childcare and they can be contacted on 071-9640870 or on their Facebook page 'Leitrim Childcare.'