Media watch

Childcare was in the spotlight last week for the second time in a month upon the publication of Ofsted's Early Years report, following hot on the heels of the BBC documentary 'Nurseries Undercover: The Real Story'. The tabloids could barely contain their glee. The Daily Mail in particular rejoiced in making 'bad nurseries' news again with 'Suffering of the nursery children' splashed across its front page. The Times said, 'Childcare providers are being closed down at the rate of one a week because they are not meeting new national standards', and focused on the need for parents to be vigilant and act as 'Ofsted's eyes and ears'. The Guardian echoed this with 'Keep watch on childcare, parents told'. It also included examples of 'horror stories from the inspectors' with details of complaints against nurseries and childminders investigated in the past year. On a more poignant note, the Independent covered the story of 79-year-old widower Giorgio Angelozzi from Rome and his search for 'a family willing to adopt him as a "granddad au pair"'. Tired of being alone, he is willing to pay his new family 500 euros (335) a month. According to the paper, his plight highlights the problem of Italy's aging population and low birth rate. 'The warm, welcoming Italian family of old is vanishing, they fear,' it said.