30 May 2003 - Smoking and Smacking U Turn

Children's charities and childcare associations have warmly welcomed the U-turn by the Department for Education and Skills on allowing childminders in England to smack the children in their care and smoke in front of them.
Sure Start minister Catherine Ashton announced last week that as part of a review of the national standards for under-eights daycare and childminding, childminders will no longer be allowed to smack or smoke in front of children, even if they have written consent from parents. This brings the standards for childminding in line with those for other care settings in England. Childminders already work under such a ban in Wales and Scotland.
Baroness Ashton said, 'It is important that we acknowledge the professionalism of childminders who do such a valuable job in supporting our children by giving them standards equal to those of other childcare professionals.' The move reflects current practice in England. Ofsted has now carried out transitional inspections of all childminders and has found that 99 per cent of them do not have parental agreement to smack, while 98 per cent do not have agreement to smoke.
Gill Haynes, chief executive of the National Childminding Association, said, 'We are delighted that the Government has now listened to the views of childminders on these extremely important issues. NCMA childminders have repeatedly argued that professional childcarers do not need to resort to smacking - and Ofsted's 72,000 transitional inspections show that parents don't want it either.'
Under the proposed changes, which will be implemented from September 2003, childminders will also be able to look after more than one child under one year old if they have appropriate training and experience. Mrs Haynes said, 'This is another illustration of the Government's recognition of the quality of care and learning that registered childminders can provide for families.'
The review of the standards will create a level playing field for childcare providers in the private and voluntary sectors and independent and maintained schools. From September, childcare in independent and maintained schools will be registered and inspected by Ofsted, just like all other childcare provision. Rosemary Murphy, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, which has been campaigning to end the exemption from regulation of childcare in schools, welcomed the move, particularly in light of the recent growth in the number of independent schools providing care for children as young as six weeks old.
Mrs Murphy said, 'NDNA is delighted that the Government has listened to the sector and this loophole is to be closed. Leaving childcare in schools exempt from regulation has meant that staffing ratios can sometimes be very low, causing a major risk to children's safety and well-being and creating an unfair business advantage. With the prospect of thousands of extended schools in the state sector over the next few years, this issue is a matter of urgency.'
As part of the review, consultation will take place in the early summer on the detailed regulations and on draft documentation on the proposed changes. Baroness Ashton said that while there were 'no immediate plans to introduce legislation to register nannies', she was considering proposals which 'balance our commitment to quality and safety with parental control over private childcare arrangements'.
Tricia Pritchard, professional officer for the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses, said she was disappointed there were no plans to register nannies, but would await the DfES proposals with interest. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and childcare charity Daycare Trust also called for nannies to be registered.

www.nurseryworld.co.uk


20 May 2003 - Busted! Myths of having a working mum

Young children whose mothers go out to work do not suffer as a result, a decade-long study has found.
The survey shows that in terms of psychological well-being and behaviour, young children of working mothers do just as well as those with mothers who stay at home.
For 10 years, researchers from Bristol University have tracked the development of 14,000 children in the south west of England.
A study of children in their first three years of life found that those who were looked after in nurseries suffered "no measurable psychological or behavioural ill effects because of their mothers' absence".
The result of the ongoing battle between mothers who work outside and those who are at home is officially a draw, they concluded.
The researchers looked at the development of children up to the age of three in terms of how active they were and in terms of their emotionality - how likely they were to be moody or fussy for example.
They found no difference between the development of children of working mothers and of those who stayed at home - an active baby would develop into an active child, for example.
They measured the stimulation babies received and found that this was the same whether they were in day care or were looked after by their mothers at home.
Mothers were much more likely than fathers to spend time playing with their children.
Professor Dieter Wolke, from the research project, said women who went out to work still spent 50% of their time playing with their children or talking or singing to them.
Although fathers generally spent less time with their children, this increased the more hours a mother worked, Professor Wolke said.
"The findings did not surprise me, as they reflected what has been found in some other studies," he said.
"People are not going to make decisions on this. Women are going out to work more and more, they have the education and will continue to go back work."
He said he did not agree with advocates of the concept of "quality time," - the idea of setting aside time to fully devote to a child - because young children were not predictable.
"You can't switch them on and off. If they are in the mood they will engage with you but if they are not, they won't," he said.

www.bbc.co.uk