Clegg is calling for nurseries to open longer hours

[Simona]

Has Clegg lost the plot??
Cms do open for longer than 10 hours but there is no mention of cms in the article
But what got me is this statement by Clegg


''To encourage longer opening hours, the Lib Dems will recommend that Ofsted not award ‘outstanding’ unless the availability of flexible hours to parents is high''

So outstanding is nothing to do with good practice but on opening hours????
I am speechless !

Lib Dems call for nurseries to open for longer | Nursery World

[Rick]

that is horrendous

I hope he regrets that statement whilst munching into his caviar and oysters tonight

[lilac_dragon]

Really haven't heard anything that ridiculous before, and lets face it there's been some really stupid comments lately.

[Amandak28]

Im in dis belief! What a plonker!

Obviously standard of care is no longer a priority... X

[Ripeberry]

Plain simple bullying! I'll work the hours that I WANT! If agencies come in and tell us what hours to work, then they can stick it where the sun doesn't shine. I'm getting so angry with everything. It's all going to explode in the next 3-4 weeks!

[Simona]

Plain simple bullying! I'll work the hours that I WANT! If agencies come in and tell us what hours to work, then they can stick it where the sun doesn't shine. I'm getting so angry with everything. It's all going to explode in the next 3-4 weeks!

Lets see which representing association is going to respond to this first...and what will the response be?

[lozzy23]

What a plonker!

That was the first thing I thought when I read this. Absolutely ridiculous. arghhh madness.

[caz3007]

They just have no idea do they

When you read on here and in FB groups about CM who work from 6am to 8.30pm some days and they don't get any recognition

[Mrsh3103]

I regularly work 14 hour days!!!! Does that mean I'll get outstanding? obviously it's about the opening hours & not the care so I'll stuff them in play pen, do no planning, obs etc & still get the grade
Haha

[Simona]

Dear Mr Clegg

following your statement today I am beginning to see the similarities between you and the Minister for Childcare.
You have two things in common: you are not aware of the existing provision in childcare and have very little knowledge of child development.

You both want to attract women votes at the next GE but forget that 98% of the EY workforce is made up of women who will, hopefully, remember your opportunistic stance in the childcare reforms

Let me clarify one or two things for you Deputy Prime Minister
1. Day nurseries do work 10 hrs per day and 51 weeks of the year
2. Cms, who you have conveniently left out of your statement, work on average 10 hrs per day while some care for children up to 12 hrs, offer overnight care while being the most flexible in the workforce
3. Proposing that providers be denied an 'outstanding' grade because they are not flexible enough, shows the real side of this govt, which you are supposed to be a main influence on.
You are so terrified of losing power any sound bites will do
Your party's recommendation that providers be not awarded an 'outstanding' is frankly insulting and immoral
4. Do we take it that all cms can now expect to be 'outstanding' not on quality but on 'open all hours' policy?
5. As an MP I know you work long hours while enjoying long breaks looking after your constituency affairs.
I would be delighted to extend my care to 12 hrs per day if I could take long breaks to do my 'paperwork' which are my affairs!
6. Unlike MPs I work for little remuneration while you enjoy a fat salary which, I believe, MPS want to be increased by £10,000 per annum up to £70,000+
If you were to suggest a comparable increase for cms I would be delighted to keep the children overnight and allow parents to work any shift they like
7. While I subsidise your fat pay I also subsidise Free Education for children which is really the duty of the state to provide and my rate of £3.50 ph to educate children is really not morally justified in our rich society
8. Your coalition govt is supposed to be the party of the 'family'
You envisage parents working all hours so they can contribute to your failing economy and bring much needed tax to your depleting coffers
Providers will be punished unless they respond to your devious need to score political points so if they respond to your request they would in turn be neglecting their children.

Where is the family in all this and where, may I ask, do you see the benefits for children being outside of their family for such long hours a day?
You show little knowledge of children's emotional needs and what makes them happy or indeed what would make them unhappy little people.
I would recommend you afford parents the right to choose what is best for their children, which you were afforded, when you selected the best school for your children because it suited your family!

The only honourable thing you could do now is to retract your 'threat' and offer a profound apology.

Yours sincerely

[Rachel23]

Dear Mr Clegg

following your statement today I am beginning to see the similarities between you and the Minister for Childcare.
You have two things in common: you are not aware of the existing provision in childcare and have very little knowledge of child development.

You both want to attract women votes at the next GE but forget that 98% of the EY workforce is made up of women who will, hopefully, remember your opportunistic stance in the childcare reforms

Let me clarify one or two things for you Deputy Prime Minister
1. Day nurseries do work 10 hrs per day and 51 weeks of the year
2. Cms, who you have conveniently left out of your statement, work on average 10 hrs per day while some care for children up to 12 hrs, offer overnight care while being the most flexible in the workforce
3. Proposing that providers be denied an 'outstanding' grade because they are not flexible enough, shows the real side of this govt, which you are supposed to be a main influence on.
You are so terrified of losing power any sound bites will do
Your party's recommendation that providers be not awarded an 'outstanding' is frankly insulting and immoral
4. Do we take it that all cms can now expect to be 'outstanding' not on quality but on 'open all hours' policy?
5. As an MP I know you work long hours while enjoying long breaks looking after your constituency affairs.
I would be delighted to extend my care to 12 hrs per day if I could take long breaks to do my 'paperwork' which are my affairs!
6. Unlike MPs I work for little remuneration while you enjoy a fat salary which, I believe, MPS want to be increased by £10,000 per annum up to £70,000+
If you were to suggest a comparable increase for cms I would be delighted to keep the children overnight and allow parents to work any shift they like
7. While I subsidise your fat pay I also subsidise Free Education for children which is really the duty of the state to provide and my rate of £3.50 ph to educate children is really not morally justified in our rich society
8. Your coalition govt is supposed to be the party of the 'family'
You envisage parents working all hours so they can contribute to your failing economy and bring much needed tax to your depleting coffers
Providers will be punished unless they respond to your devious need to score political points so if they respond to your request they would in turn be neglecting their children.

Where is the family in all this and where, may I ask, do you see the benefits for children being outside of their family for such long hours a day?
You show little knowledge of children's emotional needs and what makes them happy or indeed what would make them unhappy little people.
I would recommend you afford parents the right to choose what is best for their children, which you were afforded, when you selected the best school for your children because it suited your family!

The only honourable thing you could do now is to retract your 'threat' and offer a profound apology.

Yours sincerely

Well said. Hit the nail on the head there!!!!

[Amandak28]

Dear Mr Clegg

following your statement today I am beginning to see the similarities between you and the Minister for Childcare.
You have two things in common: you are not aware of the existing provision in childcare and have very little knowledge of child development.

You both want to attract women votes at the next GE but forget that 98% of the EY workforce is made up of women who will, hopefully, remember your opportunistic stance in the childcare reforms

Let me clarify one or two things for you Deputy Prime Minister
1. Day nurseries do work 10 hrs per day and 51 weeks of the year
2. Cms, who you have conveniently left out of your statement, work on average 10 hrs per day while some care for children up to 12 hrs, offer overnight care while being the most flexible in the workforce
3. Proposing that providers be denied an 'outstanding' grade because they are not flexible enough, shows the real side of this govt, which you are supposed to be a main influence on.
You are so terrified of losing power any sound bites will do
Your party's recommendation that providers be not awarded an 'outstanding' is frankly insulting and immoral
4. Do we take it that all cms can now expect to be 'outstanding' not on quality but on 'open all hours' policy?
5. As an MP I know you work long hours while enjoying long breaks looking after your constituency affairs.
I would be delighted to extend my care to 12 hrs per day if I could take long breaks to do my 'paperwork' which are my affairs!
6. Unlike MPs I work for little remuneration while you enjoy a fat salary which, I believe, MPS want to be increased by £10,000 per annum up to £70,000+
If you were to suggest a comparable increase for cms I would be delighted to keep the children overnight and allow parents to work any shift they like
7. While I subsidise your fat pay I also subsidise Free Education for children which is really the duty of the state to provide and my rate of £3.50 ph to educate children is really not morally justified in our rich society
8. Your coalition govt is supposed to be the party of the 'family'
You envisage parents working all hours so they can contribute to your failing economy and bring much needed tax to your depleting coffers
Providers will be punished unless they respond to your devious need to score political points so if they respond to your request they would in turn be neglecting their children.

Where is the family in all this and where, may I ask, do you see the benefits for children being outside of their family for such long hours a day?
You show little knowledge of children's emotional needs and what makes them happy or indeed what would make them unhappy little people.
I would recommend you afford parents the right to choose what is best for their children, which you were afforded, when you selected the best school for your children because it suited your family!

The only honourable thing you could do now is to retract your 'threat' and offer a profound apology.

Yours sincerely

Well said totally agree :-)

[FussyElmo]

Clegg jumping in the ratio argument was only to try and win some votes.

This badly thought rubbish is nothing more than an vain attempt to hold on to some power. Shame someone didn't tell him how things worked first

[SYLVIA]

Outstanding for longer hours? That has just upset every childcare provider who has put in so much time and effort to gain that grading! He needs to watch his back after saying thing like that. Not only is he making a mockery of all outstanding settings, he is also saying that what Ofsted consider to be worthy of that grade stands for nothing

[lizann]

my oh my what ever next unbelievable

[sarah707]

How very insulting

[Simona]

How very insulting

Not my letter I hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...although it is meant to insult his opportunism and crass remarks
When I have had a good night sleep I may tweak it a bit and send it to him

[sarah707]

Not my letter I hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...although it is meant to insult his opportunism and crass remarks
When I have had a good night sleep I may tweak it a bit and send it to him

Not your letter!! The suggestion that longer hours = a better grade

[Simona]

Not your letter!! The suggestion that longer hours = a better grade

Only teasing you!!!

[Simona]

Morning all!
After a good night sleep my letter to Mr Clegg will be tweaked to remove sarcasm and anger but it will be sent to him nonetheless!

My reason is that I strongly believe his recommendation to downgrade the workforce unless it opens for more hours is insensitive and made just to score political points....to me it is the last blow and one very much below the belt!

Clegg won praise for his backing of our campaign against ratios but I never believed his retreat was genuine...he stepped in at the right time and got lots of brownie points for it but now he is showing his true colours

Thank you for reading my letter...I will let you know when it has been sent later on today in a more engaging and professional format