We need all the parents we can get

In an answer to a query in the Sunday Times on 7 April, Chris Woodhead, the former chief inspector of schools at Ofsted, said, 'There is an unfortunate tendency to believe that early years education is a difficult, intellectually challenging business that requires a PhD in child development and must only be attempted by trained professionals; parents need not apply. This is arrogant twaddle.' For once, to my great surprise, I agree with him. The 29-year-old pre-school I work for will be marked down in Ofsted inspections and the Investors in Children accreditation scheme because the majority of workers here...