Rule of six: UK Government, relating to England – NACCC comment
In the last few days the media have been heavily reporting the new “Rule of six”, which is a government strategy aimed at clarifying current guidance and ultimately lessening the risk of the transmission of Covid 19.
NACCC have reviewed information available to us and are currently of the view that this does not apply to child contact centres, because:
- Strictly speaking the centre is not a social gathering, you are providing health and social care services.
- It is a place of work, whether paid or voluntary.
- Because you have made an assessment of the risks and have measures in place to lessen these (social distancing, reduced numbers, PPE, one-way systems, cleaning regimes, training and so on).
Therefore, NACCC are of the view that Child Contact Centres should continue the excellent work they do, in recognition of the fact that children need the structure, routine, predictability and most of all to be able to spend time with their loved ones. It is of course important that we do this work safely and that people are reassured by the measures that we have in place. People who are unwell, not reassured or otherwise affected really should not be using centres at this very uncertain time.
In order to ensure that your work is not interrupted or challenged, you might choose to check locally and at least letting people know of your plans. You might choose to do this my making yourself aware of and known to your local “Covid Warden” if or when this system launches. Additionally, you might also want to contact the local police (not 999) to make them aware of your work and the fact that families will be attending the centre.
This link provides information relating to the Rule of six for centres in England, from the government.
This link to a BBC Article provides a really helpful summary of the new guidance.
Where there are local restrictions the government is producing advice for each individual local area. This can be accessed here and the NACCC Guidance is that this guidance should be followed.
It is also important to know whether you have children or parents living in areas affected by “local lockdowns”, even if the centre is not in one. In this scenario the advice is likely to be that people should not be travelling out of the area.
