The educators, families and children at Sweetpeas have had to adapt more than once since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a brief summary of changes we had to adapt to at different times since the start of 2020:

• Increased cleaning routines (ongoing).

• Families staying outside the service, greeting children at the front door (as of May 2022, we have resumed families entering our services in the afternoons and for special events).

• Service NSW COVID Safe Check-in tool - educators and families check in via QR Code (no longer required as per NSW guidelines).

• Masks - these have been in and out of our lives since 2020, but July 2021 was the first time it was mandatory for educators to wear masks while teaching and caring for young children. Educators may still choose to wear masks if unwell, or if they may have been in contact with a person who is COVID positive.

• Remote learning - some of our children have gone through periods in isolation or lockdown and we adapted to this through a mix of digital resources and prepared learning from home packs in 2020 and 2021. At this time there is no plan to continue this program in 2022.

• Increased temperature checks on children when they appear unwell (ongoing).

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Sweetpeas educators strive to keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 news, advice and guidelines. Below are some of the sources we use to stay up to date:

• COVID-19 guidelines for ECEC services - https://education.nsw.gov.au/early-childhood-education/coronavirus/advice-for-services-and-providers

• Latest COVID-19 updates - https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/infectious/covid-19/pages/default.aspx

• COVID-19 vaccination in NSW - https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/vaccine/Pages/default.aspx (All Sweetpeas educators have had a minimum of two COVID-19 vaccinations)

• Childcare, school exclusions, and COVID-19 - https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-childcare-school-exclusions-faqs

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Covid resources for children:

• Hello Friends! and Hello Again! (COVID-19 Play School Specials) - https://www.abc.net.au/abckids/shows/play-school/covid-19/12114308

• Kids, Coping and COVID19! - https://www.abc.net.au/kidslisten/ideas/health-and-wellbeing/corona,-kids-and-coping!-5-tips-from-early-education-to-make-yo/12107214

• The #covibook for children in multiple languages - https://www.mindheart.co/descargables

• Emerging Minds - Supporting children during the COVID-19 pandemic - https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/supporting-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak