EYES Update 21 July 2020

Despite COVID-19 (coronavirus), Early Childhood Ireland’s Early Years Employer Service (EYES) is here to support you and can be contacted Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, by phone on (01) 405 7103 or by email on eyes@earlychildhoodireland.ie. The EYES team is here to help with a range of issues related to the running of an early years and school aged service, including your questions on COVID-19 (coronavirus). If you can’t get us, please leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will call you back when they are available.

Throughout the COVID-19 Crisis which saw the closure of settings and as we move to reopening, the EYES Team has remained operational and has been providing support, advice and guidance to our members. Since the closure on 12 March, the EYES Team have handled over 1,500 phone calls from members.

Unsurprisingly, throughout these months the main topic of queries was the closure of settings, the subsequent introduction of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme and, eventually, reopening. We have had a record-breaking number of months despite having moved to remote working and we appreciate the understanding, and support, offered by all our members during this time.

As always, the EYES Team are available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, by phone on 01 405 7103 or on eyes@earlychildhoodireland.ie. Due to the high call volumes previously mentioned, the team may not always be immediately available, however, we are available to support all of our members returning to work, and we are getting back to all calls, so please leave a message and Helen or Greg will be in contact with you as soon as they are available.

Well being and Mental Health Supports During COVID-19

During this difficult time, members or their staff members may wish to speak to someone about their experiences or mental health during the COVID-19 crisis. Although face to face supports may be somewhat limited, the HSE have compiled a list of organisations offering online counselling and support by phone or by text. You can find this here. We would suggest sharing this list with any staff, or parents and families, who feel they need somebody to talk to about their mental health.

The DCYA are also offering a number of supports including well being webinars co-hosted with Early Childhood Ireland which can be found here (see practice supports).

Question of the Week

Do I need to shut my service if a staff member or child is suspected to have COVID-19?

If a child/staff member in your setting is displaying symptoms of COVID-19 they should leave or be collected from the service immediately. They or their parents/guardians should be advised to contact their doctor. If testing is arranged for them, the childcare setting will be contacted by local public health staff to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken.

It is not necessary to take any action in relation to closing your service, partially or in full, until you have been contacted by and discussed the case with local public health staff. You should follow the advice set out in the HPSC’s “Infection Prevention and Control guidance for settings providing childcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic” in relation to cleaning rooms/settings where there was a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19. If a room is closed temporarily for cleaning and no other room is available, the staff/children using that room may have to leave the setting until the room is available again.

Do you have a question for the Early Years Employer Service team?

Please submit your question below and see it featured in upcoming EYES updates in Early Times Weekly.

[cforms name=”Anonymous SP Form”]