http://www.parentsoutloud.com/ofsted-have-lost-their-way/ Helping provide a voice for Parents Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:05:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= http://www.parentsoutloud.com/ofsted-have-lost-their-way/comment-page-1/#comment-321 Joan Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:03:22 +0000 http://www.parentsoutloud.com/?p=731#comment-321 As a grandmother and concerned member of the public associated with Fulltime Mothers I am appalled that on 16th April on Radio 4 Ed Balls described Ofsted’s “Satisfactory” rating as unacceptable without an immediate commitment to change things. I don’t know if Marie forwarded to you a reply from Christine Gilbert to criticism including Chris Woodhead’s comments that they are “a waste of money” but I will forward it to you to make sure you see it. My main worry is about babies in day nurseries. If Satisfactory = Not Good Enough, many babies are being put at risk. This is an intolerable situation. Ms Gilbert’s answer is to change things from September this year. And how long will that take? Every hour is important in a baby’s life because of their rapid development in the early months. This period is crucial and can affect a child for the rest of its life. Research over the past 16 years has convinced me that the only babies who benefited from group care were ghetto children destined for lives of crime in the poorest neighbourhoods; constantly monitored by university professors and kept in strictly controlled conditions these infants showed real progress. Conditions in such closely watched nurseries bore little resemblance to the average daycare units used by most parents in this country. The government used these studies to claim that “Childcare benefits All”. The fact is that Childcare benefits the Treasury. Leaving babies in inadequate care is unforgiveable. Further details are on my web page below : Problem Children and Childcare Headlinestp://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/woolyweb/jmbw/index.html As a grandmother and concerned member of the public associated with Fulltime Mothers I am appalled that on 16th April on Radio 4 Ed Balls described Ofsted’s “Satisfactory” rating as unacceptable without an immediate commitment to change things. I don’t know if Marie forwarded to you a reply from Christine Gilbert to criticism including Chris Woodhead’s comments that they are “a waste of money” but I will forward it to you to make sure you see it.
My main worry is about babies in day nurseries. If Satisfactory = Not Good Enough, many babies are being put at risk. This is an intolerable situation. Ms Gilbert’s answer is to change things from September this year. And how long will that take? Every hour is important in a baby’s life because of their rapid development in the early months. This period is crucial and can affect a child for the rest of its life. Research over the past 16 years has convinced me that the only babies who benefited from group care were ghetto children destined for lives of crime in the poorest neighbourhoods; constantly monitored by university professors and kept in strictly controlled conditions these infants showed real progress. Conditions in such closely watched nurseries bore little resemblance to the average daycare units used by most parents in this country. The government used these studies to claim that “Childcare benefits All”. The fact is that Childcare benefits the Treasury.
Leaving babies in inadequate care is unforgiveable. Further details are on my web page below : Problem Children and Childcare Headlinestp://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/woolyweb/jmbw/index.html

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