‘Ready for school checklist’ for kids has been published today. Use cutlery ✅ Be able to go to the toilet ✅ Willing to share toys ✅ Recognise their name ✅ Put on their own coat ✅ A head teacher in Manchester feels children get to school without the basic skills.

If parents can't be bothered to teach their kids those things, then they won't bother reading the checklist.

So the country has spent more and more money providing more and more nursery education at a younger and younger age over the last couple of decades but our children are now less ready for school than the generations who got none 🤔 should they not be more ready to start school?

I work in early years and it is quite shocking how parenting has mostly been abnegated to the state - and everyone working in childcare ( social care, education, GP’s ) need to challenge parents but lily livered ‘experts’ everywhere ! I despair; I’m nearly out !

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@GMB A lot of children are being ignored by parents looking at their phones, the early years are crucial and it’s easy to see the children that have missed out in this stage of their development

And if they can’t? My concern is mental health, neurodivergence and mental illness It’s not just bad parenting that causes this Surely schools must be inclusive and offer extra support where needed

I think alongside this there should be a study of the parents daily life. Is it that parents aren’t seeing their children due to having to work to live? We can’t expect for children to be brought up the same as when a parent could stay at home.

Can you add - be fed breakfast by their parents, - clean their teeth?

God Almighty. I'm from a working class family where both parents worked (Dad days in a factory, Mum evenings in a chippy). I could read & write aged 4. I was out of nappies at 10 months. WTH are parents doing these days?!

Wash hands ✅ Clean teeth ✅ Hold a pencil and be able to draw simple shapes✅ Use safety scissors to cut out paper✅ Be able to sit still and listen to a story✅ Able to sing the most common nursery rhymes ✅

These are all things that formed part of the Health Visitor 3 year development review until it was stopped. School readiness has declined since then for sure!