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DfE announces that early years teachers will need to have same level of qualifications as those working in primary schools Charlie Taylor says nothing is more important in early education and childcare than the quality of staff who are delivering it. Photograph: Feli Clay for the !uardian Early years teachers will need to have the same level of qualifications as those working in primary schools in the future under plans to reform pre"school education# it has $een announced. Teachers working with young children will $e e pected to meet new standards similar to those that classroom staff are e pected to meet# the Department for Education %DfE& said. They will also $e e pected to pass the same literacy and numeracy tests taken $y trainee teachers. The move is part an overhaul of childcare qualifications that ministers say will help raise standards for young children. 'nder the reforms# pre"school staff will either $e early years teachers or early years educators. From ne t (eptem$er# early years teachers will $e e pected to $e educated to the same level as a primary school teacher# while educators will $e asked to hold a qualification equivalent to an )"level. Charlie Taylor# chief e ecutive of the *ational College of Teaching and +eadership# said: ,There is nothing more important in early education and childcare than the quality of the staff who are delivering it. The workforce supporting our $a$ies# young children and their parents should $e well qualified# well respected and well led., Education minister Eli-a$eth Truss said: ,!ood quality early years education# which is teacher"led# has $een shown to $e $eneficial for children# especially those from low"income $ackgrounds. .t makes a difference to young children/s lives and ena$les them to learn and grow.,
Do nurseries harm children or not? Either way it's all the poor's fault
)ll this contradictory advice a$out child development is enough to drive confused parents to drink /!nomes who stay at home in their own gardens with their mothers have fewer emotional pro$lems./ Photograph: Dan FitwoodG!etty .mages 1 ford 'niversity/s department of child and adolescent psychiatry has discovered that children who spend time in nurseries are more likely to develop $ehavioural and emotional pro$lems. This will confuse and depress working parents and encourage them to drink more. Perhaps the department is on a commission from a winery. 9onestly# cavemen academics didn/t keep having these studies a$out parenting. )nd yet their children evolved and invented all the lovely wine. Bmmmm. >hat type of nurseries are the department of child and adolescent psychiatry on a$out anyway0 Canna$is ones0 1r ones that sell those gnomes that wouldn/t look out of place in splatter films# and come alive at night to mis$ehave and move plant pots around# torture cats and urinate everywhere0 That/s what gnomes do if they/re in nurseries. >hereas gnomes who stay at home in their own gardens with their gnome mothers $ehave much $etter and have fewer emotional pro$lems. There/s no place like gnome. 1r so says the study. Though it does cast dou$t on the value of gnome schooling. ./m not reading any more of these contradictory studies. >eren/t we all told $y a different study that it was $etter for our children to mi with other children0 .f children aren/t supposed to $e in nursery# according to this study# and not $e at home $ecause of that other study# is there a third option that/s $eing kept secret $y the super"rich0 )re there some other children in a different place# away from all of ours0 )re they in a chocolate factory0 1r in +oompaland0 1r in a cave $eneath the medieval !erman town of 9amelin0 The report# in the <ournal Child: Care# 9ealth and Development# comes free with a set of 1 ford +anding $randed wine glasses# and found that the strongest influence on children came from within the home itself. Does it0 >hy are they $laming nurseries then0 ./m completely lost now. .t must $e all this wine. .t also found that children from poor families with high levels of parental stress were most at risk of emotional pro$lems $y the time they go to school. ./m certainly at risk of emotional pro$lems $y the time my children go to school. +uckily there/s all this wine. (o# poverty leads to childhood emotional pro$lems. Predicta$ly# it/s the poor/s fault again. Bight it $e possi$le to get through <ust one week without $laming the poor for everything0 .t/s starting to really depress me now. )nd that only makes me drink. ./m $eginning to think this government and the rightwing press have some sort of agenda when it comes to 5ritain/s poorest. Climate change0 .t/s the poor/s fault# warming their outstretched hands on those $ra-iers# and not separating out their household waste properly. There is no waste. )nd no household. @ou/re supposed to recycle that $o 6 not live in itH ) meteorite lands in ;ussia# in<uring 2#::: people. That/ll $e the poor again# up there in space# $eing poor# trying to find themselves alternative renewa$le energy resources to heat up their tinned food. Bichael Douglas and Catherine Ieta"Cones/s marriage crisis0 Cones $lames the pro$lem on Douglas/s historic addiction to staring at people poorer than himself. >hich was everyone. There is no mention in the study of the $ehavioural and emotional pro$lems of the children of the rich# who spend their childhoods $eing cared for $y others until they/re old enough to $e sent off to $oarding schools and whipped. Perhaps this would e plain the ca$inet/s lack of emotion and ina$ility to play well with others# such as women and the general pu$lic0
Childcare providers re<ect these findings. )nand (hukla# of the Family and Childcare Trust# said: ,;esearch shows children who attend nursery are $etter prepared for school and have $etter social skills such as co" operation with peers., Plus# their parents drink less 1 ford +anding $ecause they haven/t got them all day. (o 6 and ./m no 1 ford academic so $ear with me 6 from what . can work out# we shouldn/t put our children into nurseries $ecause they will have emotional and $ehavioural pro$lems# $ut we shouldn/t stay at home with them either. .f we could also try not to $e poor# stressed out or have any mental health pro$lems ourselves# that would $e great. Eli-a$eth Truss# the education and childcare minister# said that large num$ers of children in childcare were ,running around, with ,no sense of purpose,. (hould a child have a sense of purpose0 ./m ED and . haven/t got one. .f . did# . pro$a$ly wouldn/t have had children in the first place. )nd then . wouldn/t need all this wine# hidden in different rooms all around the house. )nd in my $ag. Cohn >ilmot# second Earl of ;ochester# famously said: ,5efore . got married . had si theories a$out raising childrenA now# . have si children and no theories., )nd he wasn/t even poor. By own father# who had nine children# only gave me one piece of parenting advice: ,Don/t read anything., 5ut my father is a Catholic and very suspicious of any $ooks that aren/t in untranslata$le +atin. )ll parents feel guilty all the time a$out every decision they make concerning their children/s lives. >e/re all winging it. The ma<ority of children in nurseries and with childminders are there $ecause their parents have to work and have no other option. These studies make us feel even more confused than we do already. . $lame the poor. >hat are we supposed to do0 >here/s that wine0
England we seem grimly determined to cling on to the erroneous $elief that starting sooner means $etter results later., (ir Bichael >ilshaw# the head of 1fsted# said the $est nurseries and primary schools had a ,systematic# rigorous and consistent approach to assessment right from the very start,. David Cameron has previously championed well$eing policies and has supported +ayard pu$licly# saying the work of such academics was not ,airy fairy,. L This article was amended on 2M (eptem$er D:2=. )n earlier version said children must $e enrolled in a school $y the age of five. They must $e receiving education# $ut do not have to $e enrolled in a school.
released a $riefing note that endorsed a quote from the Pre"school +earning )lliance which accused the education department of cynicism and of producing a ,work of fiction,. Clegg said: ,The proposals to increase ratios were put out to consultation and were roundly criticised $y parents# providers and e perts alike. Bost importantly# there is no real evidence that increasing ratios will reduce the cost of childcare for families. ,The argument that this will help families with their weekly childcare $ill simply does not stack up. . cannot ask parents to accept such a controversial change with no real guarantee it will save them money 6 in fact it could cost them more., +i$ Dem sources denied that Clegg was em$arking on a tit"for"tat revenge amid worsening coalition relations. They said that the deputy prime minister# who regards child care as one of the coalition/s main priorities# simply $elieves the Truss plan will fail to achieve its stated goals. Truss proposed to allow child minders to increase the num$er of under"ones they can look after from three to four. This would increase from four to si for children over the age of two. The rules for three"year"olds would remain the same 6 eight or 2= children per adult depending on whether a graduate was present. Clegg said Truss/s calculations were flawed $ecause they were $ased on ,unrealistic occupancy and opening times, 6 that child care operators would fill 2::K of their places and $e full all year round. 9e also pointed out that most of the savings identified $y Truss were $ased on providers using current freedoms which are mainly unused at the moment. The deputy prime minister# who was furious with Truss for pu$licising their private disagreement# also sanctioned a rare $riefing on their internal discussions. 9is office pu$lished emails with Truss/s private secretary who agreed that the final policy would $e agreed $y the ca$inet/s home affairs committee# chaired $y Clegg# after the consultation. Truss had accused Clegg of reneging on an agreement to accept her policy. +i$ Dem sources said that when Clegg asked Truss to have a rethink last month she simply wrote a letter to all the relevant ministers reiterating her plans. *eil +eitch# chief e ecutive of the Pre"school +earning )lliance whose criticisms of Truss were cited $y Clegg# said: ,>e are a$solutely delighted that the deputy prime minister has intervened and listened to the concerns and evidence gathered $y the sector# parents and early years e perts which dismantled the arguments for taking forward this ill"advised plan., Custine ;o$erts# chief e ecutive of the Bumsnet we$site who had called for a rethink# said: ,Bumsnet users will $e mightily relieved to hear that the proposed changes to childcare ratios are to $e scrapped. Parents were unconvinced that the suggested changes would lead to lower childcare costs $ut did $elieve that the quality of care would $e adversely affected. Put simply four $a$ies under one or si under twos is a lot for even the most e perienced childcare worker to manage., Coalition tensions will $e worsened on another front today when Tory sources make clear they will ensure that local communities will effectively $e a$le to $lock new onshore windfarms. Ed Davey# the +i$ Dem climate change secretary# will say that a new package of measures will offer incentives to local communities to encourage them to accept wind farms. 5ut the Tories are making clear that new planning rules will give communities greater clout in $locking them.
1ne of the $ig questions is who is going to pay the additional wages to employ this level of e pertise on a larger scale0 Putting up childcare fees would defeat the o$<ect and put early years provision out of the reach of many families# and at a time when parents are already struggling to afford the fees. .t needs a strong government to take a lead and to ensure that the remuneration reflects the importance of the <o$. Perhaps the first step should $e recognising the professional status of early years graduates. )t the 'niversity of >orcester 6 one of only eight national providers of the E@P( programme " 4?K of our early childhood graduates gain employment within si months of leaving us. @et this is not reflected in our position in any media"created university /league ta$les/ $ecause of the D+9)/s classifications. There needs now to $e an acknowledgement of the rigour of the E@P( programme that these students undertake# which includes the study of aspects such as the law around children and families# e pertise in the $irth to five age range# safeguarding children# leading delivery of the Early @ears Foundation (tage# child development and psychology# and health and welfare. This level of e pertise must $e viewed more favoura$ly than is currently the case. Early childhood professionals are educators# carers# family support workers# and so much more 6 taking on multi"faceted roles requiring a full understanding of the holistic needs of children and their families. They must $e valued for their knowledge as well as the responsi$ility entrusted in them $y parents and society in general. Karen Hanson is principal lecturer and head of the Centre for Early Childhood in the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester
*ews coverage of the worst cases underlines his point 6 children who suffer from acute and sustained neglect can die. 5ut even where it doesn/t have such desperate outcomes# neglect can cause profound damage to children as they grow up. )n *(PCC study pu$lished last year shows that 2:K of 22" to 2?"year"olds had suffered from severe neglect. ;esearch carried out $y the 'niversity of (tirling for )EC shows that although teachers and nursery staff are $ecoming more aware of neglect# they often feel unsure what to do when they suspect it is happening. The study# Child *eglect in D:22# found that four out of five professionals in universal services 6 including primary schoolteachers# pre"school and nursery staff 6 have suspected children of $eing neglected# and 33K of primary and EMK of pre"school and nursery staff said ,the most helpful improvement in tackling child neglect would $e if they were a$le to report less serious suspicions $efore they $ecame worse,. .f a child comes into class $ruised or with a cigarette $urn# it/s easy to see there/s a potential pro$lem. 5ut neglect manifests over time# and often in su$tle ways. Teachers may feel reluctant to report the small things that worry them if they don/t feel confident their concerns will $e taken seriously at senior level. They can also $e an ious a$out getting it wrong. The emotional and practical demands on teachers# even with good support# can $e considera$le. 1rla# a year D teacher at the school# says she spent much of last year in almost daily contact with the specialist team $ecause of one child who had ,lots of issues,. (he points out that eliciting information can $e more comple when a child reaches an age where ,they $ecome aware that if they tell you things# things can happen Oto their familyP,. .n this school# having e pert staff availa$le takes the strain of making a difficult <udgment call away from teachers and means the information is shared with e perienced people who know what to do. (topping neglect from escalating $y $eing ,pre"emptive and active, has $ecome the priority# says Coanne. Every new mem$er of staff gets a 4:"minute session on safeguarding. ,>e also do an inset dedicated to safeguarding every year# and we take people through a case scenario# e plain how it was handled and then we/ll talk a$out what might have $een done differently., ) ro$ust reporting system is also vital for prevention and for $uilding an evidence $ase for referrals. There are pink slips that teachers can fill in and hand to Coanne or her team. (taff feel that it is worth reporting the o$servations that niggle $ut don/t necessarily shout ,neglect,# e plains Clare. ,.f they are getting five or si or 2: of those pink slips for a child# or for si$lings# she can start to $uild up a picture#, she says. >ith deep cuts affecting many services such as $reakfast clu$s and play schemes that might once have picked up on a family struggling to cope# this school"$ased resource is all the more crucial# says Coanne/s colleague# Emma. The team offers intensive coaching to adults who may not have e perienced good parenting themselves. They also put on sessions open to all# such as Parent !ym and the Family and (chools Together programme# to $uild trust $etween staff and parents. Early intervention# which can $e done not <ust $y social workers# $ut potentially in schools# should $e a statutory requirement in cases of neglect# says Felly. 9e points out that its cost"effectiveness has $een proved# and ,with resources reducing rapidly# you/re more likely to resource what your statutory duties are,. 5ecause of the school/s work# its local authority referral rates have dropped# $ut $oth Coanne and Emma are angry that social services are so stretched that the ,thresholds, at which any action is taken are continually# they say# $eing raised. The )EC research shows that a large num$er of social workers are worried a$out how neglect is dealt with 6 more than E:K felt that the point at which they were a$le to intervene in cases was too late# and 7:K thought that cuts to services would make the situation worse. Bore than half said that for children whose cases meet current thresholds# lack of resources was a $arrier to them $eing a$le to act effectively.
,.t/s desperate ... ./m sure the local authority wouldn/t like me to say that# $ut desperate# that/s what it is#, says Coanne. (he points out that making the case to social services that a child is $eing neglected can $e much harder than reporting other types of a$use# $ecause neglect tends to $e a slow"$urn# corrosive narrative rather than a single# e treme incident. 9aving to convince an administrative officer staffing the phones# rather than a qualified social worker# does not# she says# help matters to progress quickly. )t the 'niversity of (tirling# Professor 5rigid Daniel# who supervised the )EC research# says she was struck $y the e tent of the safeguarding role teachers take on. ,People are quite clear that they do have responsi$ility#, she says. ,There was a lot of an iety around neglect ... $ut people also know that underlying it is a $igger concern 6 you/re trying to stem a tide caused $y much $igger issues# such as mental health# su$stance misuse and domestic a$use., ,. think you should take ultimate responsi$ility#, says the south +ondon head. ,(chools are the frontline# and not <ust when things go wrong# $ut all the time# proactively and not <ust responsively., L )ll names of those working in the primary school have $een changed
millennium development goals simply didn/t recognise this dynamic. *ow . think we do# and so Othe BD!sP should $e amended., The +ancet series asserts that the payoff from concerted# integrated action around ECD would $e enormous. ,Early childhood is the most effective and cost"effective time to ensure that children are well prepared#, say the authors of paper ... 9owever# many governments appear reluctant to make the initial investment in under"five schooling. The 1rganisation for Co"operation Development %1ECD& estimates a minimum of 2K of !*P needs to $e spent to ensure quality early child development servicesA 1ECD governments spend an average of D.=MK. (ome central and eastern European and (outh )merican countries $udget :.EK for pre"school education# while the figure is as low as :.2K in Fenya# *epal and Ta<ikistan. *icaragua and (enegal spend less than :.:DK. ,'nless governments allocate more resources to quality early child development programmes for the poorest segment of the population# economic disparities will continue to e ist and to widen#, warns the paper. 'nicef# (ave the Children# the )gha Fhan Foundation# (tep $y (tep and the >orld 5ank are among those $acking ECD initiatives# $ut many $ilateral donors show signs of retreat# and the poorest governments are not spending enough. This latest report# however# $rings with it an in<ection of new science to support policies and funding. >e cannot afford to wait until D:2M to act on the evidence in support of early childhood development. Gordon Alexander is the director of the office of research at Unicef's innocenti research centre
not part of their childhood memories. ,For parents who like to feel that they have a reasona$le level of control over their young children/s activities# keeping up with all these changes can seem daunting., Flewitt/s study# funded $y the Economic and (ocial ;esearch Council# concludes that parental $eliefs had a huge impact on how children used digital media# with some children developing sophisticated skills# while others lacked $oth skills and confidence. Practitioners in nurseries and pre"schools are in an ideal position to $ridge the growing gap# she says. 5ut they are not given the support they need. ,There is a lack of guidance on how to support literacy with digital technologies#, says Flewitt. The e ception was with children with learning difficulties or physical difficulties# as practitioners had realised new technology could really help. ,.f early years education continues to focus e clusively on traditional forms of literacy# then it will $e failing to provide all children with the skills they will need at school and in their future lives#, she says. Dr ;ichard 9ouse# senior lecturer in psychology at ;oehampton 'niversity and founder of 1pen Eye# which campaigns against the Early @ears Foundation (tage# often called the ,nappy curriculum,# is one of those who $elieves younger children should not $e using digital technologies. 9e points to ,an increasing $ody of research which shows that early e posure to these technologies actually compromises healthy child development in all kinds of negative ways,. 9e $elieves the tendency to not engage with new technologies is a conscious decision ,made $y highly e perienced practitioners with an intuitive feel for what is developmentally appropriate# rather than $eing the fear"driven# reactionary viewpoint that the researchers seem to $e assuming,. +iteracy e pert (ue Palmer# author of the $estseller To ic Childhood# says Flewitt is ,completely misguided,. ,Too much engagement with this quick"fi technology is making it more difficult for some children to learn to read and write#, she says. ,+earning to read and write is not easy. .t is a long# slow process. >e already have pro$lems with children not $eing a$le to hold a pen or pencil. 5ut we are giving our kids instant gratification all the time with .CT and it makes it harder for them to persevere with something that takes a while to learn., )nd in any case# ,)ny digital skills that pre"school children learn will $e out of date $y the time they are teenagers#, she says. Dr Cohn (ira<"5latchford# honorary professor at the 'niversity of (wansea centre for child research# $elieves the iPad and other new mo$ile touchscreen technologies have enormous potential in supporting children/s literacy. ,!enerally speaking# if technologies are suita$le for three" to five"year"olds# adults don/t find them too challenging., 9e agrees that ,there is an articulate $ut relatively small minority of parents who are very concerned a$out children/s screen time,# $ut $elieves the new technologies will change attitudes. ,The new mo$ile technologies often encourage interaction rather than the solitary and sedentary activity encouraged $y arcade games#, says (ira<"5latchford. Began Pacey# chief e ecutive of Early Education# a national organisation for early years practitioners# says: ,Technology in the early years is a very emotive area. There does seem to $e a middle"class attitude that technology is not always good. 5ut it is all a$out moderation and conte t.,
Bore child a$use cases discovered# no solution found Viet a! et "rid#e $ %ore and !ore child a&use cases have &een &rou#ht out into the open recently' Watchdo# a#encies( educators( parents and psycholo#ists have &een analy)in# the cases and discussin# the solutions for years( &ut no i!prove!ent has &een !ade' Jietnamese have $een once again stunned $y the images of the children violently $eaten $y the $a$ysitters of Phuong )nh private nursery school in 9CB City. They cannot understand why the women could $ehave so rudely to the small children. The child a$use had not $een discovered $y the local authorities# parents or neigh$ors until one day a man provided the video clip to the police. The parents of the a$used children only knew a$out what happened after local newspapers showed the images# e tracted from a video clip provided $y a citi-en to the police. The images turned up on a series of we$sites on Decem$er 2? and have $een spread out rapidly. The mother of +e Tuan Fhang# one of the children# said she sometimes saw the $lack and $lue $ody of the $oy after he returned from the school. 9owever# she thought the $oy fell into the ground when playing. (he could not imagine that a small innocent child could $e $eaten so ruthlessly. The mother of the three year old *guyen Tran 9oa $urst into crying when watching the video clip. Q. cannot imagine that my child suffered like this.R The $oySs life has changed a lot since they he $egan going to the school. 9e does not have good sleep at night# $ut sometimes wakes up# cries and vomits. 9e likes to $e put in stocks# strangles his mother and laughs. The two $a$ysitters *guyen +e Thien +y and +e Thi Dong Phuong have $een arrested $y the police. Jietnamese people have asked to punish the $a$ysitters heavily for their Qunpardona$le offences.R 9owever# even if +y and Phuong are heavily punished $y the laws# the worries a$out the $ad pre"school education quality still e ist. .t is highly possi$le that more child a$use cases and more wicked $a$ysitters like +y and Phuong would $e found in the future. The child a$use cases have $een $lamed on the local authorities who did not know what happened in their localities and did not take actions quickly to prevent the offences. Especially# people $elieve that half the responsi$ility needs to $e $lamed on the parents# who did not take care for the children well enough to discover the pro$lems soon. 9owever# e perts have pointed out that the core pro$lem is in the fact that Jietnam is seriously lacking nursery schools. 1nly few new schools are set up every year# while the num$er of children has $een increasing so rapidly. )s a result# parents have to send their children to household run nursery classes# the ma<ority of which are $adly equipped and unlicensed. )ccording to +e 9ong (on# Director of the 9CB City Education and Training Department# 2D non"state owned schools# 2=: licensed household run classes and 7E unlicensed classes# which were inspected recently# could not meet the requirements in terms of the material facilities and teaching staff. The department then asked the local authorities to stop the operation of the classes if the owners cannot upgrade the classes. 9owever# no one $elieves that the classes would shut down. 1nce the demand is still high# the classes would still $e running despite their $ad conditions.