The appointment of Elizabeth Truss could divide opinion among the early years and childcare sector.
On the one hand the new minister for early years has at least shown an interest in tackling problems to do with the affordability and availability of childcare for families. In fact, you could say she has a keen interest in it.
According to the Daily Mail, parents have taken to Mumsnet to voice their despair and their belief that Peppa is ‘making their children naughty’.
By closing a college nursery, at a time when many people face job losses, it seems rather ironic that East Durham College – a community college that on its website advertises courses to help people back into work – will be responsible for making 18 nursery staff redundant and leaving working parents with no childcare little option but to quit their jobs – just in time for Christmas. Read more »
Many parents will be wondering what’s next on the hit list, as the row over the Chancellor’s decision to axe child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers rumbles on. Read more »
Free schools are increasingly looking like a policy idea dreamt up by ministers who are making it up as they go along and that pretty much anything goes.
Including it seems employing people to teach children who may or may not be teachers. It seems that for free schools, employing qualified teachers could actually be an optional requirement. Where do we go from here?
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‘A little bit of dirt is good for you’, didn’t our grannies used to say that when we were young? In fact there are plenty of theories that the rise in allergies and asthma in young children is because they are no longer exposed to germs in the same way as previous generations.
Now Boots is full of hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial wipes and even the ‘quality’ papers run regular scare stories highlighting our daily exposure to new strains of bacteria and fuelling our phobias.
