The news that pre-school settings will be able to use hotel-style 'star ratings' took many of us by surprise. What with prospectuses, Ofsted reports, local hearsay and our profession's general open-door policy, what more could a star-rating system tell parents that they can't see with their own eyes?
Certainly details such as extended opening hours, purpose-built premises and fabulous equipment will be obvious. The qualities that really affect a child's experience of pre-school are the things parents probably won't read about in the prospectus or the Ofsted report or even see on a fleeting visit - the quality of relationships and interactions children have in the setting. These will not be visible in a star rating scheme As a pre-school tutor, I have watched children shuffle into luxurious purpose-built nurseries with looks of resignation on their faces, and I have seen children rushing eagerly into draughty church halls, full of joyful anticipation. I have seen children surrounded by fabulous play equipment who are not allowed to use it until they have finished their 'work', and seen children thoroughly engaged in building a space station out of nothing but cardboard boxes and parcel tape for an entire morning, sharing equipment, measuring and planning - challenging work at any age.
Research papers tell us how pre-schoolers learn, and I know why good pre-school education needs to be the way it is - flexible, fun, messy, exciting. I understand the importance of child-centred working practices, and the need for close observation of children. I also know that if you really want to know about a setting, you have to get involved, get to know the workers, do a little 'undercover' work as a rota parent.
But if I didn't have these privileges, would the star-rating system help me to choose the pre-school education I want? Or would I be in danger of being wooed by some government official's idea of 'quality', which has more to do with furniture, carpets and architecture than warm relationships and appropriate learning activities?
