What do teachers do in the nursery?

TEACHERS come in for a lot of stick and – while it may rankle, given their holiday perks – I will admit that most have got a pretty hard job and it is one which should be held in high regard in society.

But surely the cushiest number in teaching is in the nursery? I mean, just what do nursery teachers actually do?

I only ask because the Scottish Government is coming in for criticism for not meeting a manifesto pledge which was widely interpreted as meaning that all pre-school children would have a nursery teacher in their class every day.

Not so says the SNP. "Access" to a nursery teacher can mean seeing one just once a week, with nursery nurses taking the bulk of the responsibility for the children. And if there are school nursery classes without a permanent nursery teacher then it's probably the fault of the local authority looking to cut staff costs.

But do children as young as three and four really need a nursery teacher at all? What do they bring to the classroom that is so different from nursery nurses who are specifically trained in dealing with children at that age?

Admittedly, as a parent with a child in a local authority nursery, there is something comforting about the idea that there is a teacher in charge of the nursery; a kind of security. Yet as we are constantly being told that children at that age learn best through play, there is little in the way of structured learning going on. So quite why teachers need to be there is surely up for debate?

The nursery teachers will say, of course, that because they are educated to degree level they are more able to help children develop socially, emotionally and physically as well as ensuring they have good language, literacy and numeracy skills to start school. But student teachers only spend between two and six weeks in a nursery placement while training, yet after this time, and once graduated, they are apparently qualified to run a nursery.

Nursery nurses – especially those who've been in the business for some time – will say there's nothing a nursery teacher can do that they can not. They are not there just to bake cakes and sing songs but, like the teacher, to encourage learning in the children, record their progress and – perhaps most importantly – flag up developmental problems when they arise.

They can just as easily provide the national curriculum; the "management" of the nursery could therefore be handled by the school head or deputy.

Nursery teachers then are going to have to prove their worth if they are to survive. Those who have stuck to teaching in the pre-school years are no doubt as expert in their field as nursery nurses, but if they are looking for support from their colleagues to save their status they could be on a sticky wicket.

Nursery nurses can be paid £15,000 a year less than a nursery teacher and in some schools are treated like second-class citizens as a result of the strikes in 2004.

No matter what the union may claim, the nursery nurses in Edinburgh ended up with a pay rise that amounted to almost nothing when it came with increasing their working hours and not paying for school holidays – not a problem teachers have to suffer.

And during the 13-week strike, most nursery nurses received no support at all from their teacher colleagues and, on return to work, found that, so bitter was the divide, they were no longer allowed a coffee break or a biscuit in the staff room as they were for teaching staff.

Nursery teachers now have to prove that they offer a lot more than nursery nurses if their numbers are to increase, and their position to be secure.

It doesn't take a teaching degree to work out that while they cost more than nursery nurses to employ, and there's no statutory obligation to have qualified teachers in nurseries, for councils struggling to meet budget restraints, not employing nursery teachers is a no-brainer.

Panda politics
YOU might not think that the giant pandas of China and the customers of the newly-nationalised Bradford & Bingley had much in common – except for being on a list of endangered species perhaps.

But it seems that this global financial crisis reaches further than could be imagined and the black and white bamboo-munchers in China could be the latest victims of the catastrophe.

Apparently, Gordon Brown, given that he's trying to save the British economy and his own skin with it, has somehow not yet had a moment to sign off the deal which would bring pandas to Edinburgh Zoo for the first time.

Although the zoo itself has signed a letter of intent with the Chinese government to bring the animals to the UK on loan for ten years in order to help with a worldwide breeding programme, they are a political gift and, as such, the Prime Minister needs to accept them on behalf of the country.

Brings a whole new meaning to the term bear markets.