MPs attack 'smoke and smack' policy

Last week the Education and Skills Select Committee rounded on the Government for singling out childminders as the only form of registered provision allowed to smoke and smack, describing the decision as 'the most controversial aspect' of its national standards for daycare and under-eights childminding in England. It has also recommended that Ofsted publish two studies by December 2003, one on the exposure of children and childminders to tobacco smoke, and the other on the extent of the use of physical chastisement of young children by childminders.

The committee's criticisms are voiced in its annual report on the work of Ofsted, which took over the registration and inspection of childminders in England last year. The report said, 'It remains our concern that smoking causes cancer and heart disease. There is powerful evidence that exposure to second-hand smoke is also harmful. While we would accept that adults should decide for themselves whether or not to smoke, we would support a co-ordinated approach to reducing the harm done to children by tobacco smoke. We regret that the national standards for childminders do not match the standards applicable to other childcare settings in banning smoking in front of children.'