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Coronavirus (COVID-19) update for childcare and play providers

Dear provider,

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken us all into uncharted waters and we recognise the huge challenges facing providers. We want to reassure you that we’re not undertaking routine inspections at the moment, and when the pandemic is over and we resume inspections, we will not be considering retrospectively those actions taken in the best interests of people who use services.

We would only take action where we identify willful neglect or deliberate harm.

It is important you continue to risk assess and document your decisions.

We have established a dedicated coronavirus information area of our website where you can find all our statements and frequently asked questions.

IMPORTANT - Notify us of closures or cases  You can now notify us using CIW Online if you have had to close your service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please ensure you tell us, and also state why you have closed, in order to help parents and carers of vulnerable children or key workers to find childcare during this time. You can find the relevant notification under 'leadership and management'.  Please also ensure you notify us of any suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus. You can find more information in the frequently asked questions on our website.

Our statements

31 March 2020

Thank you for the commitment and hard work during these unprecedented times

23 March 2020

Our approach to Registration and Variation applications

Our registration teams will prioritise the following areas of work in this order:

• All registration and variation work that supports providers to provide services as a result of COVID-19.
• All registration and variation work that will bring additional capacity to the sector.
• Registration of services operating without registration
• High-risk registrations or variations, for example, relating to the purchase of services in administration.
• All other registration and variation work.

16 March 2020

We paused routine inspections from 5pm on 16 March

• We will continue to inspect any service where we have significant concerns about the safety and well-being of people.

10 March 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for our registered care providers

• We will be focusing our activity where it is needed most to ensure people receive safe care – this means concentrating on those areas where we see that the risk to the quality of care is the highest and where we can make the biggest difference.
• We will support providers by looking at how we can act flexibly and proportionately.
• We will honour our duty of care to our colleagues in CIW.

Frequently asked questions We are receiving a high volume of questions from providers and want to ensure that the latest information is on our website. Keep checking our frequently asked questions page regularly for updates. We will continue to email providers with key changes and updates.

We are no longer accepting information by post Please phone or email us if you need to get in touch. If you need to provide information to us please phone on 0300 7900 126 or email us a photograph/scanned copy of your information to ciw@gov.wales. For more information, please read this news item about the change.

The latest guidance information from Welsh Government and UK Government

Please note the following guidance is published on the UK Government or Welsh Government websites and is therefore updated by those organisations.

Childcare and play services

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Educational settings guidance
• Coronavirus and childcare provision: Frequently asked questions
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): What you need to know about access to schools and childcare

Financial support

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): support for businesses
• Business Wales: COVID-19 Support for Business

Additional resources

The following links, which you can also find on our website, contain useful information which has been compiled and/or published by other organisations.

• Learning Disability Wales: Resources for people with a learning disability
• Social Care Wales: Coronavirus and our work, what you need to know
• The National Assembly’s Research Service: Coronavirus: help and information for people in Wales

Inspectors to telephone providers CIW will be contacting all care providers to support you through this difficult time. Our call will be to ‘check in’ with them, not to ‘check-up’. You can find out more via our website.

Publications affected by COVID-19 pandemic A number of areas of our work have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. We will be pausing the publication of any national, local authority or regulatory inspection reports, and the following events have been cancelled or postponed: Our attendance at the Royal Welsh Show Our planned joint provider events with Social Care Wales.

Oherwydd nifer a brys y cyfathrebiadau y mae angen i ni eu hanfon at ddarparwyr ar hyn o bryd o amgylch y pandemig coronafeirws, mae rhai cyfathrebiadau yn cael eu hanfon yn Saesneg yn unig. Ar ein gwefan a'n sianeli cyfryngau cymdeithasol, rydym yn parhau i ddarparu cynnwys Saesneg a Chymraeg cyn gynted ag y gallwn. Ymddiheuriadau am unrhyw anghyfleustra y gallai hyn ei achosi.

Due to the volume and urgency of communications we need to send to providers at the moment around the coronavirus pandemic, some communications are being sent in English-only. On our website and social media channels, we are continuing to provide both English and Welsh content as quickly as we can. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Hawlfraint y Goron / Copyright © 2020 Arolygiaeth Gofal Cymru / Care Inspectorate Wales. Cedwir pob hawl / All rights reserved.

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