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.
'Nursery schools aren't equipped to deal with two-year-olds. The nursery curriculum is structured and designed for three-year-olds and isn't appropriate for younger children at an earlier stage of development.
'The provision has to suit the stage of a child's development. What children of this age need is different than what is available in nursery schools at present.'
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