Life After Lockdown for Little
Ones in Southport
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NO play dough,
sandpits, or water games, but plenty of reassurance from staff
and outdoor play in smaller groups, and 'NO' floor
markings for children's play areas or timed toilet breaks.
That's the life after lockdown plan for a Southport Nursery
provider, which has already reopened nurseries in countries 1st
affected by Covid-19, including Singapore and Malaysia. Busy
Bees, the UK's leading provider of quality childcare and early
years education, has confirmed that its health and safety plans
for its Busy Bees nurseries in Southport won't require children
to play in hoops as some Schools have suggested. Instead, it
will focus on dividing children into close friendship groups,
limiting the number of people children come into contact with,
reducing the space that children can explore and increasing the
time spent outdoors. All children and staff will have their
temperature checked upon arrival, and those families waiting to
enter the Nursery will be asked to stand two metres apart at
drop off and pick up. Regular temperature checks for both
children and team members will continue throughout the day, as
will frequent hand washing and disinfecting of communal areas.
Crucially, the childcare provider, which has 378 centres across
the UK and Ireland, will keep life as close to normal for
children, advised to cuddle their key children if they become
upset during the day and to only wear face masks for temperature
checks. The Nursery provider, which has kept over 100 of its
centres open throughout the crisis to support key worker
families and vulnerable children, and one of the largest
providers of childcare to the NHS, has looked to its colleagues
around the globe including:- Australia, North America and in
particular South East Asia for learning, and is confident its
measures will be enough to protect families in its care. Busy
Bees also plans to use its safety mascot Safety Buzz to help
promote safety, health and wellbeing in all aspects of
children's lives both at home and whilst in Nursery. The Safety
with Buzz programme is unique to Busy Bees and provides a range
of activities and information for educators and parents alike to
use to educate their child in a positive way and is designed to
help children understand risks and make good decisions on how to
stay safe.
Emily Brimson Keight, Head of Safety at Busy Bees, said:-
"There is much speculation about how life after lockdown could
look in nurseries and Schools, and parents are understandably
very anxious. The biggest priority for us is, and always will
be, the safety, welfare and happiness of the children in our
care. That's why we have been working hard behind the scenes to
prepare to open all centres, including those in Southport, since
they first went into lockdown, and we are constantly sharing
ideas and looking at best practice to ensure the personal and
emotional wellbeing for children and team members when they
return. We're committed to providing the best start in life for
children, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in;
which is why we're proud to have kept over 100 centres open to
provide crucial care, education and support for the children of
key workers during the Covid-19 crisis. Now the lockdown is set
to be relaxed, we're keen to offer assurance and debunk the
myths about the new normal for parents at this unique time, and
are confident our plans ensure the safety and crucially, the
development and happiness of children when we welcome them
back."
As part of its plans for life
after lockdown, Busy
Bees will also continue
its:- "School readiness programme, for those children
starting School this September using the time they still have
left at Nursery to prepare them for School. All of this will be
supported by Busy Bees digital learning programme Unleashing
Potential (UP) which helps to bridge the gap between Nursery and
home learning."
Insurer
reveals most common accidents during lockdown, with spike in
Wildlife being hit
THE Admiral is a UK
based insurance company that has been running since 1993.
Currently they are rewarding the firm's car and van customers,
for following UK Government advice and staying at home, by
giving back £110 million. And you don’t need to do anything to
receive your refund. For more information visit the Admiral Stay
at Home Refund
Page.
But
for those who still find themselves out and about, this they
have seen a very interesting change in claims being made. The
Head of Claims, at
Admiral, Lorna Connelly, said:-
"Since lockdown began, it's not surprising that overall the
number of road accidents has fallen as the number of cars on UK
roads have dropped, but they haven't stopped completely, and
we've seen a marked change in the types of accidents that have
been more common in recent weeks. A ⅕ of all motor claims we've
received since 23 March 2020 have involved drivers hitting our
customer's parked and unattended cars; that's an increase of 8%
compared to before the lockdown. Meanwhile, we've seen, claims,
where our customer has hit someone else's parked car, have also
increased, accounting for 9% of claims; that's 2% higher than
before the pandemic. There are several reasons why claims
involving parked cars are so common at the moment; firstly there
are simply more cars parked on our roads as fewer people are
using them, then there may be some drivers who are out of
practice behind the wheel and have lost confidence with their
parking or are struggling with spatial awareness. Recent reports
also suggest some drivers are taking advantage of the quieter
roads, increasing their speed, and exercising less caution than
normal. Sadly, we've also seen an increase in the percentage of
claims where animals are hit by vehicles. Before lockdown these
only accounted for 0.7% of all claims, but this is now up by 2%
during the lockdown. Wild animals are particularly susceptible,
with deer and pheasants being the two most commonly named
wildlife involved in these claims. We've actually had more
claims where deer and pheasants have been hit during the
lockdown period than the same period before. There have been
several reports of more wild animals venturing onto the quieter
roads and these could be catching drivers by surprise. There's a
risk that incidents involving wildlife could increase further
when people venture to rural areas and beauty spots as lockdown
measures are relaxed. If you see deer warning signs or are
travelling through a forested stretch of road, be sure to check
your speed and stay alert. If you see deer, dip your headlights
as this may cause them to 'freeze' so you should always be
prepared to stop. If you do have to stop, it's important to use
your hazard warning lights to alert other drivers. Don't be
tempted to approach an injured deer, as it could be dangerous,
instead you should notify the Police. Regardless of how many
cars are on the roads, it's important that drivers remain
vigilant at all times and stay alert to their surroundings while
behind the wheel. If you do hit another vehicle or wildlife,
it's important to contact your insurer as soon as it's safe to
do so. If you haven't driven for a while because of the lockdown
or are feeling less confident make sure you feel as prepared and
safe as possible before getting back onto the roads. Practicing
manoeuvres such as parking and reversing in open spaces such as
car parks could go a long way to increase your confidence before
you get back on the roads again.."
Total UK cases
COVID-19 cases - update for Liverpool City Region and
surroundings
THE total number of Coronavirus
(COVID-19) that have been laboratory confirmed, within the UK,
has risen by
2,959 cases
and the total number now stand at
257,154, that includes tests
carried out by commercial partners which are not included in the
4 National totals. The total number of deaths of people who have had a
positive test result confirmed by a Public Health or NHS
laboratory is
36,675. Daily number of COVID-19 associated UK
fatalities added to the total, was sadly reported to be
282
according to the Department of Health. In England, there are a
total of
32,666 confirmed cases. North West - total of
24,720
confirmed cases. The number of laboratory
confirmed cases within the following Local Authorities, in and
around the Liverpool City Region are as follows:-
► Liverpool, 1,581 confirmed cases.
► Sefton, 908 confirmed cases.
► Wirral, 1,227 confirmed cases.
► St. Helens, 742 confirmed cases.
► Halton, 387 confirmed cases.
► Lancashire, 3,485 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire West and Chester, 1,073 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire East, 1,170 confirmed cases.
► Manchester, 1,512 confirmed cases.
► Stockport, 1,037 confirmed cases.
► Trafford, 787 confirmed cases.
► Wigan, 1,146 confirmed cases.
► Bolton, 993 confirmed cases.
► Rochdale, 758 confirmed cases.
► Bury, 717 confirmed cases.
► Tameside, 674 confirmed cases.
► Oldham, 1,043 confirmed cases.
► Blackburn with Darwen, 402 confirmed cases.
These stats are according to Public Health England as of
22/05/2020. Last updated 4.02pm GMT.. UK total includes cases
detected through:- "Pillar 2" testing (tests carried out by
commercial partners) and therefore does not equate to the sum of
the 4 countries' counts, which only include:- "Pillar 1" (tests
carried out by NHS / PHE / Devolved Administration Labs)..
UK total includes cases detected through:- "Pillar 2" testing
(tests carried out by commercial partners) and therefore does
not equate to the sum of the 4 countries' counts, which only
include:- "Pillar 1" (tests carried out by NHS / PHE / Devolved
Administration Labs).
UK Government Coronavirus Press
Conference on 23 May 2020 Video