Nursery World - The nanny state looms

I was reading through Nursery World (17 November) and contradictions were worryingly apparent. There was the 'outrage in the media' about the Birth to Five 'curriculum', the report on quality assurance, the feature about Rudolf Steiner and then the feature on attachment. I believe in the Childcare Bill ideology that 'children's earliest experiences of learning should be happy and positive', but not only their learning experiences - their life experiences too. I know that the 'family'

I believe in the Childcare Bill ideology that 'children's earliest experiences of learning should be happy and positive', but not only their learning experiences - their life experiences too. I know that the 'family'

can be perceived as a social construct, but I think that most societies believe that it is a good model for providing a secure social and emotional environment in which to raise children.

Yet this is not the message you could get from some of the Government's strategies. Yes, I agree that any childcare available should be of good quality, with training, inspections, CRB checks, quality assurance and so on, but not that the 'nanny state' should take over at the expense of a child's emotional well-being. It is easy to pay lip service to 'working with parents' and 'meeting parental needs', but what about the needs of the families? With 'extended childcare services' are we adding to the stress of the family and destroying relationships?

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