School as child care

[Differentforgirls]

From another thread.

A poster said that state schools are there for helping parents to work. Therefore teachers are childminders. Teachers!

I think schools are there to educate our children and, though the staff go above and beyond these days, that is their primary function.

AIBU?

Yes. I was wrong to that particular poster but she got her own back!

Ok. Childminders/Nurseries. Ratios 1:3, 1:5, 1:8, 1:10, depending obviously on children ages.

Teachers ratios 1:30. Tell me how a primary teacher can do his/her job while providing child care?

They are there to educate.

For the record and aimed at the people who insulted my son in their race to insult me, my son is a secondary teacher. Not a primary teacher.

Providing childcare to 10 year olds is very different to providing it for babies, as I'm sure you already know.

Answer the question you've been asked multiple times. Who IS providing childcare in the classroom?

Teachers are not childminders but they are caring for children. They are responsible for them while they are in school. Otherwise parents would have to be present throughout the school day.

Why is that such an offensive concept?

If teachers are not responsible for the children throughout the school day, who is?

We are talking four year olds in England.

Who is looking after them while they are in school?

It’s like everything I post goes completely over your head so sorry, ignoring you now. Take care.

Eh?
I’ll take that as you not wanting to answer my questions. It’s like you can’t cope with being challenged. Hilarious.

and FYI I train primarily school teachers

So who is providing their care while they are in school?

Surely someone that values education likes to learn and broaden their mindset and knowledge, values critical thinking and the opinion of others. So why are you shutting posters down or ignoring them when they try to have a discussion as you have invited them to here?

Are you a university lecturer?

Yes

It's childcare whilst teaching. If you choose to be a teacher you are aware of this element of the role. This differs greatly by school year, so those that have issues would probably be better off with college or university year groups. Lots of teachers love the younger years.

I'm a primary school teacher. I am a graduate and my profession is education. There are other people (childminders, nannies, nursery staff) whose profession is childcare and whose status in society should be greater than it is. Not least because they are making a massive contribution to the early education of children.
However, the primary purpose of schools is to educate children. Of course, the children are in my care too and it's very important to me and my colleagues that they are well looked after during the school day. It's also fantastic that the provision of education in this country gives parents time in the day to work. However, the fact remains that children go to school to learn and people need to go into parenthood understanding that outside school hours they will be responsible for the care of their children.

Kudos. Really admire you for that actually.

I view teachers as educators. However within that I see child care as a part of that education. While a teacher is in charge of a class of children they are educating them AND providing care for the children.

The two are not mutually exclusive for me.

Childcare provided by nursery staff are also educators not "merely" providing child care.

In answer to your earlier question as to when nursery workers started to need qualifications

Nursery workers in the UK started needing regulated, mandatory qualifications to meet staff-child ratios following the Childcare Act 2006, which introduced the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in 2008 While the NNEB certificate was established in 1945,

So quite some time ago.

I do not think it is as black and white as you clearly want it to be op.

👏👏👏👏

Thank you.
it’s a job I can only do because DS goes to school and we use some wraparound care.
I take his education very seriously while also appreciating that I can work while he is being cared for by responsible teachers and TAs at school.

I didn’t ask about qualifications, I asked about degrees.

I‘m fully aware of the qualifications needed to be an early years worker.

I don’t think anyone disagrees with this.

You say in jest, this seems a thing that applies to non working parents too.

I know that teachers and all education staff are caring.

FWIW, over the course of my 43 years working I have worked in Early Years, Primary, Secondary, ASN, Behavioural Units, Community Learning and Youth and Family Learning.

However, I am now apparently a woman who relies on a man and whose son is useless as a teacher.

I didn’t say that’s who you were so not sure why you kept putting it in your replies to me.

Ok. Sorry.

I think that’s what bothers me tbh. The double standards.