Nursery World - Editor's view (168)

Congratulations to the nursery nurses of Hounslow, London, who have fought off the threat of cuts to their jobs in reception classes proposed by the council (see News, page 9). In the very short time allocated for consultation on the cuts, they waged a brilliantly organised campaign, securing press and radio coverage, collecting thousands of signatures, and mobilising their community to write letters of support and turn out for a highly successful march. What is most heartening is the level of backing from parents, who obviously appreciate the work the nursery nurses do and understand how important it is in contributing to their children's care and education.

What is most heartening is the level of backing from parents, who obviously appreciate the work the nursery nurses do and understand how important it is in contributing to their children's care and education.

If the nursery nurses' jobs had been axed, this would have made a mockery of the Foundation Stage in leaving the reception classes without the numbers of adults needed to implement it and perhaps short of specialist expertise in the early years.

The Hounslow story highlights the need for staff:child ratios to be fixed for the whole of the Foundation Stage and across all early years settings. Otherwise reception classes will never be fully integrated into the Foundation Stage curriculum.

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