Education to provide childcare during cooling off week?

The various government departments involved in education are going to examine whether they can provide emergency childcare during the extra week of Christmas holiday introduced to combat the pandemic says Flemish education minister Weyts (nationalist).

Many parents are racking their brains to decide what to do with their children during the additional holiday for children in kindergarten and primary school during the week ahead of Christmas. It won’t be easy for so many people to find childcare at the drop of a hat.  Parking the kids with grandparents isn’t advised during a pandemic. 

“The cooling off week is a holiday” says the minister.  “As much as possible, it’s relatives who should look after children”.

The Flemish wellbeing, local government and education departments intend to liaise to see how emergency care can be provided for the children of parents who can’t sort it.

In a separate development it’s also emerged that the governments have also closed indoor play areas as part of the measures to combat corona.  This came as a surprise to many as no government minister mentioned the forced closure on Friday.

Parents, who encounter difficulties finding childcare for their children during the week of 20 December, will qualify for temporary unemployment benefit and can file an application with the state employment agency.  Employees will receive 70% of their wages (with a ceiling of 2,840.84 euros a month) plus a supplement of 5.74 euros a day.

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