Nursery World - Downward pressure on those at the bottom

I was incensed to read an advertisement in my local newspaper from a school looking for a 'qualified and skilled classroom assistant', who is 'NNEB/BTec qualified'. This is a blatant attempt at cheap labour to save money by combining appalling conditions - term-time, hourly rate of pay, short-term contracts - with low pay. The practice is unacceptable to classroom assistants and nursery nurses.

This is a blatant attempt at cheap labour to save money by combining appalling conditions - term-time, hourly rate of pay, short-term contracts - with low pay. The practice is unacceptable to classroom assistants and nursery nurses.

What is the point of doing a two-year, full-time nursery nurse course, only to find these jobs in schools are simply not available or have been re-introduced as classroom assistants with a rate of pay which does not reflect the professional qualification? If a school advertised for a nursery nurse but attached a BEd/PGCE stipulation, teachers would be up in arms at the insult. No doubt this would not be allowed, but nor should this. At the very least it should be illegal to advertise in this way.

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