Seven days of nursery bashing includes new Ofsted consultation and Elizabeth Truss and Michael Gove winning prizes for being idiots

It’s been a good seven days of nursery and toddler slating, kick started by Ofsted’s announcement that Early Years providers may only be good or outstanding.

Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has launched a consultation on changes to the way childcarers and nursery schools are inspected, aiming on improving the quality of provision.

Proposed changes that would come into force from September 2013, includes ditching the satisfactory rating and replacing it with ‘requires improvement’.

Nurseries and pre-schools judged as requiring improvement will have the frequency of inspections increased. They will then have four years to reach a ‘good’ level. Those that fail to reach this level will be judged as inadequate.

Childminders will also fall into the new framework, despite early years minster Elizabeth Truss proposing that individually they should be able to increase ratios further to four children aged one to five years and two children under the age of one. That would be six children aged under five being looked after by one individual.

Other ridiculous statements made this week includes Truss calling for even more structure for toddlers in ‘chaotic’ nurseries because of them”running about with no sense of purpose.” She also managed to throw in a dig about them having no manners.

Education secretary Michael Gove also stuck his two-penneth in, claiming children should have longer school days and shorter holidays.

Sir Michael Wilshaw said: “Parents, whatever their circumstances, want their children to access good quality childcare and get a good early education that sets them up well for statutory schooling. Yet too many providers are not good enough, particularly in the most deprived areas. We must be tougher on weak settings. From September 2013, nurseries and pre-schools judged less than good will need to improve rapidly. I want the new designation of ‘requires improvement’ to act as a catalyst to get all early years providers to good as soon as possible.”