The inside story as huge nursery for 120 children reopens
Snapdragons on Gloucester Road has remained open to key workers' children since lockdown – now a far bigger challenge begins
Conor GogartyChief reporter
Snapdragons nursery manager Lucy Durcan with a youngster (Image: James Beck/Freelance)
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Caring for more than 100 toddlers in the middle of a pandemic might not be everyone's idea of a good time.
But Lucy Durcan has been full of excitement for today (June 1), when the Horfield nursery she manages will fully open for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown in March.
Although around 120 children are set to come through the doors of Snapdragons on Gloucester Road again, it will be far from business as usual.
Lucy admits it has at times felt like "a bit of an overload" to make sure everything fits with the Government's guidance for reopened nurseries.
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The 33-year-old says staff's "tireless" work means all the necessary measures are in place, from children being put in different "bubbles" to a hard-line ban on play-dough.
She said: "We're really looking forward to having more children back and team members coming back off furlough. We've missed them all so much."
Over the last two months, a skeleton staff of eight – down from a full team of 36 – have been caring for around 20 children of key workers each day at Horfield Snapdragons.
"It's been very different," Lucy said. "We've had to learn to adapt as we've gone, trying to socially distance as much as we can.
"We've been splitting the children into bubbles by age. When we reopen fully, the over-threes will be in bubbles of eight.
"The over-twos will be in groups of four and the under-twos in groups of one to three."
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Not all of the UK's social distancing staples, such as keeping two metres apart, are possible in a nursery, Lucy says.
She added: "It's not realistic to be two metres apart with very small children. They need cuddles, emotional care, nappies changed, so it's just not possible.
"Mainly it's about making sure there is as little contact as possible. That's where the bubbles come in.
"Staff don't have to wear PPE (personal protective equipment) but we're encouraging a change of clothes when we get into the nursery, and wearing fresh clothes every day.
"Children travelling by bus should be changing into new clothes once they get here as well."
'It could be quite frightening'
Paige Lippiatt runs an exercise (Image: James Beck/Freelance)
Lucy believes face-masks would not be practical because of the children's ages.
"They need to be able to see your facial expression, and watch your mouth when you're talking," she said.
"It could be quite frightening and unsettling for them to be seeing us with face-masks."
The site, huge for a nursery, has five main playrooms and five outdoor spaces, which makes separation of the bubbles easier.
"We're going to have markings outside to encourage parents to socially distance while waiting to pick up," Lucy added.
"Parents can't come in. One key worker will bring a child down and feed back to the parent collecting.
"The younger ones don't really understand what's going on, they just know there are differences. Older ones might have questions and be a bit unsettled at the beginning.
"Our job is to make them feel secure inside their bubble. We've had some children return after two months away and it's really been overwhelming to see them come back so excited to be here."
The activities
Snapdragons is still allowing children to take part in a wide range of activities.
Lucy said: "We've turned a bit more to following their lead and interests, but they've been getting up to all sorts over the last few weeks.
"They've been planting, freezing flowers in water, experimenting with watching ice melt, doing obstacle courses – the only thing they haven't done is play with malleable materials, because of coronavirus."
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The manager has been touched by the "incredible" gratitude of key workers – many on the Covid-19 frontline at Southmead Hospital or Bristol Royal Infirmary – whose children Snapdragons has cared for during the lockdown.
Asked if she ever has fears for her safety, Lucy replied: "For me, it's just been about doing what we're supposed to be doing, with more hygiene routines and sticking to the guidance.
"We're all here for the children and really proud to do it."
Snapdragons also has nurseries in Redland, Shirehampton and Keynsham, as well as two in Bath.
Horfield