FussyElmo
13-02-2013, 07:04 AM
Not for the ratios, not for agencies, not for the startiong school at 2 but for the children. As she said the children because they have too not because they want too.
I received this moving testimony from a childcare worker in an EU country I would have considered forward thinking. It is moving to read and tells us, we (the UK) lead the way with our ratios…the government should be celebrating our best practice, not looking longingly abroad….She has asked me to keep her country and name anonymous…
My name is xxx and I am a nursery teacher working in xxx.
I follow your Facebook page and I really enjoy when I see things your kids do and how you work. Congratulations!
Few weeks ago I saw an article you shared, “Nursery plan will let each career look after six children”. My first thoughts on that were “Wow! Way to go, England!”, but then I started to read it and realized that your actual ratio is 4:1!! I was amazed because, well, here in xxx we are far from that (I work in a private nursery with kids aged 2 and we are two teachers and 20 toddlers, which by the way is considered a luxury because there are nurseries with 20:1 ratio) and having 6 kids to take care for sounds science fiction to me. Yes, we manage well and our children are happy and we love them, but I don't think we can offer every child an individual approach they deserve and that makes me so sad, sometimes even wanting to quit.
I don't want to talk badly about xxx, it's not a hell for kids and there are so many wonderful things people do here for our little ones, but I think the public system should give more support to kids of all ages and especially to those aged 0 – 3, and one of the first steps should be lower ratios, like in England now.
What I am trying to express with this message is my support to you and your vision of child care. In Europe we need people like you. The argument “they are managing well in other EU countries” is wrong. As Jennie said on BBC (what a beautiful interview!), we “sit a group of children on a carpet and contain them” and that's not fair. It should not be like that, it's taking their childhood away from them.
I wish you all the best and I hope UK will find other, fairer, ways to cut costs.
Lots of love xxx
I emailed her back to ask how she copes with the ratios she work to, here is her reply.
“How do I cope on those ratios? Well, if I try to give each child an opportunity to do something when he or she wants to, respecting their rhythm, listening to what they are really saying to me, my 20 toddlers end up fighting and crying, I end up exhausted and after I come home from work I need like at least an hour to recover.
If I make 20 toddlers do one thing at the same time, like "everybody should paint now", at the end they end up resigning themselves to it, I am not that tired but I know that they are painting because they have to, some of them are enjoying it nevertheless, some of them will end up hating it, and they learn to be quiet because "it's better to shut up and not say anything and do whatever we are told to even if I don't like it because that seems to be what the adults want from me"..
And then I think about our society, all the injustice happening and we people letting it happen and minding our own business because it's easier not to say anything and not to stand up for our truth and it seems that's what the authority wants from us...”
Makes you really think doesn’t it… Jennie x
So lets fight this proposal for evry single children out there. It doesnt matter how you fight it just one letter from everyone may be enough. Signing the petition/s sign both who give a rats who wrote them. The children wont. Pass the information to every cm/nursery out there.
Ps i copied and pasted from Kids Allowed
I received this moving testimony from a childcare worker in an EU country I would have considered forward thinking. It is moving to read and tells us, we (the UK) lead the way with our ratios…the government should be celebrating our best practice, not looking longingly abroad….She has asked me to keep her country and name anonymous…
My name is xxx and I am a nursery teacher working in xxx.
I follow your Facebook page and I really enjoy when I see things your kids do and how you work. Congratulations!
Few weeks ago I saw an article you shared, “Nursery plan will let each career look after six children”. My first thoughts on that were “Wow! Way to go, England!”, but then I started to read it and realized that your actual ratio is 4:1!! I was amazed because, well, here in xxx we are far from that (I work in a private nursery with kids aged 2 and we are two teachers and 20 toddlers, which by the way is considered a luxury because there are nurseries with 20:1 ratio) and having 6 kids to take care for sounds science fiction to me. Yes, we manage well and our children are happy and we love them, but I don't think we can offer every child an individual approach they deserve and that makes me so sad, sometimes even wanting to quit.
I don't want to talk badly about xxx, it's not a hell for kids and there are so many wonderful things people do here for our little ones, but I think the public system should give more support to kids of all ages and especially to those aged 0 – 3, and one of the first steps should be lower ratios, like in England now.
What I am trying to express with this message is my support to you and your vision of child care. In Europe we need people like you. The argument “they are managing well in other EU countries” is wrong. As Jennie said on BBC (what a beautiful interview!), we “sit a group of children on a carpet and contain them” and that's not fair. It should not be like that, it's taking their childhood away from them.
I wish you all the best and I hope UK will find other, fairer, ways to cut costs.
Lots of love xxx
I emailed her back to ask how she copes with the ratios she work to, here is her reply.
“How do I cope on those ratios? Well, if I try to give each child an opportunity to do something when he or she wants to, respecting their rhythm, listening to what they are really saying to me, my 20 toddlers end up fighting and crying, I end up exhausted and after I come home from work I need like at least an hour to recover.
If I make 20 toddlers do one thing at the same time, like "everybody should paint now", at the end they end up resigning themselves to it, I am not that tired but I know that they are painting because they have to, some of them are enjoying it nevertheless, some of them will end up hating it, and they learn to be quiet because "it's better to shut up and not say anything and do whatever we are told to even if I don't like it because that seems to be what the adults want from me"..
And then I think about our society, all the injustice happening and we people letting it happen and minding our own business because it's easier not to say anything and not to stand up for our truth and it seems that's what the authority wants from us...”
Makes you really think doesn’t it… Jennie x
So lets fight this proposal for evry single children out there. It doesnt matter how you fight it just one letter from everyone may be enough. Signing the petition/s sign both who give a rats who wrote them. The children wont. Pass the information to every cm/nursery out there.
Ps i copied and pasted from Kids Allowed