Key worker childcare places in schools

As part of the national lockdown, schools have been closed for the majority of children. However, education settings do remain open for children of key workers. The guidance is clear and the expectation nationally remains that all parents and carers who meet the eligibility criteria should indeed receive a place in schools for their children.

All professional groups, as well as those employed to deliver NHS commissioned services and those directly employed by the NHS, are eligible for the key worker provision.

In a recent statement, the Department for Education (DfE) has said ‘…there is no limit to numbers of these pupils who may attend and schools should not limit attendance of these groups. This is because we are reducing overall social contact across areas and the country rather than individually by each institution.’

Where a school is not following DfE guidelines, and you are experiencing difficulties in accessing a school place for your children, you can raise these issues in the first instance through the Local Authority. You can then raise these concerns to Chloe Allwater and Naiomi Edrwards at the People Directorate’s Childcare workstream.

You can find the latest information about critical worker provision on the DfE’s website.