Two-year-olds forced into school classes

Having two-year-olds in nursery classes of 26 children overseen by only two members of staff is causing concern in Northern Ireland. The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) expressed its disquiet last week that many two-year-olds across the province were now in settings that were developmentally inappropriate for them. Fern Turner, NAHT regional officer for Northern Ireland, said, 'Some of these children are in mixed classes of two- and three-year-olds, but there are other classes made up of mainly two-year-olds with just one qualified teacher and a classroom assistant.