Childcare provision for Penarth's key workers doing essential work through the coronavirus outbreak has changed to a hub-based system to help create a sustainable model going forward.

Fourteen hubs will be available across the Vale of Glamorgan. Whilst the number of sites offering the provision has reduced, the hub model is based on local school clusters working together to deliver the childcare provision for their area.

This will enable them to redeploy and rota teaching and support staff to keep the hubs open for a sustained period, and provide the best possible quality of provision given the circumstances.

Fourteen hubs will mean that the number of pupils attending will remain relatively low in order to ensure that we are able to maintain safe social distancing measures.

All hubs provide childcare for households where both parents/carers are key workers or for single-family households where the parent/carer is a keyworker. Evidence of this will be required.

Childcare provision for these families will operate from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm, 7 days a week, and will provide breakfast, lunch and an evening snack to all children.

It remains the case that the hub childcare provision should only be used as a last resort where all other options have been exhausted by parents and carers, and wherever possible, children and young people should remain in the safety of their own homes. The wellbeing and safety of both staff and pupils are absolutely paramount.

You can check your eligibility here.

Apply Online:

A centrally managed application process has been put into place in order to allocate qualifying children a place at one of the Hubs.

Apply for: 01 - 05 April 2020 | Apply for: 06 - 12 April 2020

Applications should be submitted weekly by parents, no later than Friday at 4.00 pm for the following week (Monday to Sunday). This is to ensure that appropriate planning and resources can be put in place to accommodate all children.

The council have published some further guidance for parents who are employed in key worker roles. Five things you need to know about sending your child to school, key workers and social distancing are available here.