Childminders in England have been ordered to close by the Government to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced yesterday that all schools colleges and early year settings across the country will be shut 'until further notice' from Friday.
Some schools will remain open so that children of key workers can still attend.
But there was confusion among the thousands of childminders in the country as to whether they were included in the closures.
Some thought they would be able to remain open if they looked after a small number of children while others who had children of key workers in their care were confused as to whether or not they would remain open.
The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years posted information on their website which read: "In England from Monday 23 March all schools and all registered early years and childcare settings will be asked to close to support further social isolation efforts.
"The Department for Education has made clear that these closures will be for all children except those of key workers or children who are deemed vulnerable (either because they have a social worker or they have an EHCP). "The definition of key worker will be published shortly but is broad and includes not only the children of emergency services workers but also people working in retail and childcare.
"We will share more with our England members when further details are published shortly."
In Wales all schools are to close from Friday but registered childcare and play settings will remain open at this time.
Chief Executive at PACEY, Liz Bayram, said: “The decision to close schools in England and Wales and, in England only, childcare settings too will not have been made lightly and is part of the UK’s on-going effort to defeat this terrible virus.
"We know our members and other childcare providers will be extremely worried about how they can survive if they are temporarily closed due to Covid 19 or forced to close down for all but vulnerable children or children of key workers.
"The support already announced by government will help but far more is needed to ensure childcare providers can survive this period of closure and rebuild the service so many families rely on to balance work and home, once we have beaten COVID-19."
Schools across the UK were preparing to close to all pupils except those of key workers in a bid to halt the disease's spread.
GCSEs and A-levels in both England and Wales will be cancelled - although the Prime Minister said there are plans for students to receive qualifications.
In Scotland and Wales, all schools will close for an early Easter break by Friday. A decision on whether exams will sit in Scotland has not yet been taken.
Schools in Northern Ireland will shut and it is expected pupils will not sit summer exams.
Universities have called for clarity on the implications of cancelling exams with Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, saying: "Students should not lose out on the opportunity to go on to university this year because of the challenges posed by the pandemic.
"We are committed to working closely with the government, UCAS, examination regulators and school leaders on the practical implications of this and hope there will be clarity on this for students, parents, teachers and university admissions staff as soon as possible."
