Nursery World - Meet the parents (1)

The Government has put feckless parents back on the public agenda. Wendy Wallace tries to find out just who it is they're talking about 'Luke, get out here. I ain't got all f***ing day.' These words and others in a similar vein, hurled across a Year One classroom by a fellow parent at the dawdling end of the school day, used to shock me and my son, then aged six. The speaker was a young woman with three small boys of whom my son's classmate, Luke, was the oldest. She was sometimes late at collection time and sometimes had a bone to pick with the class teacher about headlice or bullying. One day she arrived with a black eye and later she pulled the boys out of the school. Was she one of those yob parents against whom Estelle Morris wants to see tough action?

'Luke, get out here. I ain't got all f***ing day.' These words and others in a similar vein, hurled across a Year One classroom by a fellow parent at the dawdling end of the school day, used to shock me and my son, then aged six. The speaker was a young woman with three small boys of whom my son's classmate, Luke, was the oldest. She was sometimes late at collection time and sometimes had a bone to pick with the class teacher about headlice or bullying. One day she arrived with a black eye and later she pulled the boys out of the school. Was she one of those yob parents against whom Estelle Morris wants to see tough action?

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included