One in five Brits will break the six-person rule on Christmas day if the government enforces it, with just a third agreeing that the rule should stay in place to avoid a surge in COVID-19 cases, according to a new survey.
The survey of more than 2,700 parents by Childcare.co.uk also discovered that over two thirds are anticipating having to home-school their children before the end of the year, with over half confirming that their child has already been affected by school closures since returning last month.
Further results from the survey revealed that a third (33%) of schools have had positive COVID-19 infections and over half (57%) of children have already been affected by school closures since returning last month.
In addition, two fifths (40%) of parents shared that they’ve had to rely on family members/friends to look after their children due to a sudden school closure within the last month, whereas one in ten (8%) have hired a childcare provider to care for or teach their child at the last minute.
The poll also asked parents about the current rule of six that is being enforced in the UK. Results show that almost half of parents (43%) believe children under the age of 12 should be exempt from the ruling in England, whereas a tenth (10%) think that children under the age of 18 should be excused.
Richard Conway, founder of Childcare.co.uk, said: “Despite the Prime Minister’s announcement last week on what the next steps will be to tackle the pandemic, it is still unclear what the Christmas holidays will look like, and naturally that’s got a lot of people talking and speculating. We decided to shed some light on the current narrative from a parent’s perspective.
“The results were quite surprising, as it’s clear that a lot of British families are willing to break any rules so they can celebrate the way they want. Hopefully, the government will announce what guidelines will be in place soon, so families can start to prepare and rearrange their festive plans.”
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