RULES IMPOSED ON NURSERY TEACHERS... A BIT OTT? sorry rant

[MrsBigD]

we had our parent interview at the nurserie dd will go to soon for 2.5h a day yesterday and it seems a very nice place, with the teacher and the nurse being absolutely charming and down to earth.

One thing that utterly baffeled me was to find out the reason why they want kids potty trained an to be able to dress themselves... they're not allowed to 'interfere' with them and are actually not even supposed to touch them at all, i.e. not even holding hands or cuddling them to comfort them (which they don't quite adhere to as kids need to be comforted)! All this is for fear of 'molestation accusations'.

IMHO this is taking being PC way to far. If I were a nursery teacher I'd probably be insulted by this rule as imho it sort of implies that everybody is a suspected potential pervert. What a great vote of confidence that is! NOT!

DD just turned 3 and she's sort of potty trained and very apt at getting her clothes off... good luck to them though once she does pe as well... getting chaned twice should make it interesting. I better invest into some clothes with velcro!

Rant over

was just thinking... do I write my 'against no cuddles' to the school, the educational board, politicians or the press?

Sort of feeling a bit premenstrual today so the perfect time to write a 'complaint' letter

hehehe I just might!

Does anybody know who/which body has come up with the 'no cuddles rule' and/or what it's officially called?

Also do you think I'd be phrasing it correctly if I state something along the lines of :
'In my opinion most parents would be appalled if their children were not to be comforted when required' and that 'physical contact is one of the most important developmental factors in small children'?

In our school Year 5 and 6 girls and boys change in different rooms.

Hi Lockets, sorry about earlier. DD asleep in bed - peaky still. Lovely to see you and dd, albeit briefly. xx
sorry to hijack thread

This has been going on for ten years or so. When i was training we were told not to kiss the children and not to cuddle them too much.

And i appreciate that, cos i there are some people you don't mind your child kissing but there are others that ............!

I think that this has accelerated due to the world we live in, and accusations that are made. And although all parents here don't see a problem with it, it only takes one to feel differently and the nursery could be in a very awkward situation.

I have never worked in a nursery that actually claimed to not cuddle or help children in toilets, but it was discussed in staff inductions to only help as much as is needed in toilets. And the cuddling rule was useful to prevent certain members of staff from "favouring" particular children and not providing equal care amongst the children.

Needless to say those members of staff didn't last long anyway!!

Mrs BigD i don't think anyone has actually come up with such a rule.

I'm sure Ofsted would never state such a thing for the very reason that you are saying it is part of meeting the needs of children.

But you can read Ofsted guidlines on their website, its been a while since i have used them so can't think off the top of my head, but you may find some wobbly sentence in there where people have interpreted this "rule".

thanks Fran will have a read on ofsted and if I can't find anything I'll have a chat with the school ;)

Secretely I've got the theory regarding 'not helping on toilet' that some teachers and assistants either don't have the time or resources or in worse case scenario inclination to do 'toilet business'. No offense intended for you teachers and helps on here

daft question... LEA?

no but I'm sure I can find it... I love to search the net
better be off and spend some time with dh now that the kids are in bed so he does'nt feel like a 'mumsnet' widower!

no luck so far. Ah well I'll just ask the school when i'm there for dd's first day

But LEA have little to do with private day nurseries.

And i agree it is an easy cop out for underfunded, understaffed pre-schools.

lockets - am in Ealing

let us know what you find out MrsBigD - am feeling appalled enough to write a complaint letter myself or even start a petition

Yes your lea is ealing. I'm in acton and have to deal with the same lea...pretty useless and offer a lot less than lots of other surrounding boroughs.
The leaving children in soiled pants incident that I related earlier was at a PRIVATE montessori nursery in acton.

sofieames re the soiled trousers. Unbelievable that! especially for a private nursery!

csa - I'll keep you posted

I think I'll send and inquisitory email to Ofsted inquiring if they know who 'put this rule in place' so I know who to write to or start a petition against

ha! found the LEA for Ealing... it's now called 'Ealing Grid for Learning' - who comes up with these names!? Saying that when I was temping for Ealing Council they had this whole new restructuring thing going on '(something) 2005). Oh and EGfL is based at the Ealing Council location... Sofiames that would explaine why they're useless

o.k. the deed is done... have emailed Ofsted and LEA with a quick note enquiring on who actually came up with the 'no cuddles' idea...

we shall see how long it'll take to get any kind of response...

Since I've become a mum I've turned into a right troublemaker