Guidance from the DfE.
Early years provision should remain open and continue to allow all children to attend full time or their usual timetable hours irrespective of the national lockdown restrictions.
Funded hours, extended hours and hours at setting should be recorded as follows;
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- pupils who are in attendance during census week – hours should be recorded as normal.
- pupils are absent because they are self isolating – hours should be recorded as the number of hours the pupil would normally be expected to attend during census week.
- parents have chosen not to send their child to nursery, e.g. fear of child catching coronavirus – hours should be recorded as the number of hours the pupil would normally be expected to attend during census week.
- nursery provision has had to temporarily close or be partly closed due to circumstances such as staff infections or isolation periods – hours should be recorded as the number of hours the pupil would normally be expected to attend during census week.
- parent has requested a change to the funded hours entitlement taken – schools must record the revised funded hours.
- the nursery provision has chosen to close – hours should be recorded as zero.
- the child is not attending because the school has chosen to restrict nursery provision to certain groups of children (e.g. vulnerable children and children of key workers) – hours should be recorded as zero.
DfE website with guidance on completing the school census in respect of early years hours.