SHARING THE LOAD
We had an excellent Ofsted report complimenting our pre-school on our outside area with its free-flow access and praising us for making painting available outside every day. But we were also told that the practice of the children getting the worst of the paint off of their hands in a shared bowl is a health and safety risk and must be stopped.
All the staff felt totally demoralised and upset at this. We felt like we'd come to the end of the road and it was time to call it a day.
Luckily for us, our spirits were raised by the local Hilton Hotel group. We'd asked them for a raffle prize and they in turn wanted to know more about the pre-school and decided to pay us a visit. This resulted in not only a raffle prize but a complete makeover of the outdoor area, complete with outdoor sink and running water!
During one weekend, Trevor, Liz and an entire army of volunteers from the hotel painted, built, repaired, gardened, and purchased new equipment to produce a completely made-over outdoor area. It was like all our Christmases had come at once! We can't thank them enough.
Now we cannot wait for our next inspection. No doubt by that time Ofsted will decide that shared water play now constitutes a health and safety issue...
Terrie Stockwell, manager, Rainbow Pre-school, Stansted, Essex
Letter of the Week wins £30 worth of books
THE WRONG RATIOS
I read with interest the article on ratios (Analysis, 29 May). I am increasingly concerned about the emphasis on a ratio of 1:13 with the three-to-five age group.
I work in a nursery within a state primary school. We have a total of 104 children split into two sessions of 52, with a ratio of 1:13. We are an experienced and dedicated team, consisting of a qualified teacher and three level 3 nursery nurses, including myself.
I think the 1:13 ratio is workable if you assume that all children are typical three- or four-year-olds. However, in many state primary schools this is not the case. A substantial number of the children at our nursery have social, behaviour and learning difficulties, and many speak little or no English. Consequently, in most sessions at least two members of staff need to invest a lot of time and attention in those children, essentially leaving two members of staff supervising up to 40 or 50 children between them.
We are told there is no extra funding for staff (unless a child has a statement, which rarely occurs in nursery), and we have been told that we cannot reduce our numbers. This situation is unacceptable and unsafe, but I am told it is replicated in other city schools elsewhere.
How do the Government expect even the most experienced staff to deliver high-quality care and education, plus treat every child as a unique individual with personalised learning targets, in such circumstances? I love my job and am very positive about the EYFS, Every Child Matters and inclusion generally, but I'm totally frustrated when some children get more time and attention and care at the expense of other children because of ratios. I feel more discussion is needed about the fluidity of staff in relation to children's actual needs in a given situation.
Mandy Gingell, senior nursery nurse, Wimbledon Park Primary School, London
PICTURE TELLS A STORY
I would like to draw your attention to the picture in the 'Fully staffed' article (15 May) and the message this picture is sending out to readers. The cloth looks absolutely disgusting. Surely no practitioner would use a cloth like that to wipe a child's hands? Surely the child would have been encouraged to go to the bathroom to wash their hands with soap and water, and develop their personal hygiene skills?
I asked several members of staff to look at the picture and ask them what they could see. They all remarked on the state of the cloth.
I feel you should consider the messages your pictures are sending out to readers.
Dawn Rutherford, lead tutor for the Foundation Degree in Early Years and Learning Support, Sutton Coldfield College, West Midlands
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