Nursery World - This manuy children need that many adults

I was dismayed to read about the Government's latest ideas on ratios in pre-school settings. It is another nail in the coffin of sessional groups. Obviously they are being dismissed in favour of full daycare.

Obviously they are being dismissed in favour of full daycare.

How can simply having a qualified teacher in charge be a reason for higher ratios? Qualifications are no substitute for practicality. How can so few staff properly look after and nurture so many young children?

In my view, you can never have too many staff. There is always someone who needs an adult's attention, and two people cannot physically or safely be responsible for 26 children.

I have been a qualified teacher for 40 years and have been in pre-school education for 15 years, the last 11 running my own sessional group. I could not even contemplate this situation - we would have to give up all the outings, which are very often spur-of-the-moment ones to the park or library. It would all have to be so planned, which is going against the ethics of pre-school education.

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