�㽶��Ƶapp

By Rachel Lawler

The Alliance has criticised the government after confusion over access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for childcare providers.

Guidance on ‘’ issued by the Department for Education (DfE) on 12 May, states that education, childcare and children’s social care settings and providers should use their local supply chains to obtain PPE, but that: “Where this is not possible, and there is unmet urgent need for PPE in order to operate safely, they may approach their nearest local resilience forum.”  

However, guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHLG) to local reiliance forums, who have been supplied with PPE by the government, does not include childcare providers on its list of organisations eligible to receive support.

While the DfE guidance states that PPE is not routinely required by childcare settings at this time, other than what is routinely required for intimate care, the guidance does also advise that staff will need to use PPE if a child starts to display symptoms while in their care.

Childcare providers across England have already reported that local resiliance forums had told them that they would be unable to supply them with PPE, despite the DfE guidance.

The Alliance  contacted all the local resilience forums in England and were told by several  that  the  Department for Education guidance was an error and that they were required to follow the guidance from the  MHCLG. 

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said: “"Those childcare providers planning on reopening on 1 June are working incredibly hard to ensure that they are able to do so as safely  as possible.