Nursery in market town that failed its ethnic diversity test
A NURSERY in a small country town has been penalised by government inspectors for failing to teach threeyear-olds about ethnic diversity.
Town and Country Kiddies Nursery had its rating reduced from ‘outstanding’ to ‘good’ by Ofsted, which said children did not have the chance to ‘learn about people who are different’.
Officials are even said to have criticised staff for not having enough pictures of black and Asian people on the walls.
Parents have reacted angrily to the report, which was published earlier this week. One branded its findings ‘pathetic’, while another said it was ‘politically correct nonsense’.
The nursery, which looks after around 60 children in the small rural town of Market Rasen in Lincolnshire, caters to a mainly white British community.
Yesterday, staff said they had been punished for living in an area ‘ where there isn’t a great deal of cultural diversity’. Ofsted has now withdrawn its critical report after a public outcry, and is reviewing the case.
Clare Worrell, 36, who sends her 16-month- old twins Henry and Grace to the nursery, said: ‘Ofsted have nothing to base this report on. I do not know one ethnic minority family in Market Rasen – there’s only white people around here. It’s a great nursery and they shouldn’t be penalised for this.’
Another mother, whose two-yearold daughter has been attending the nursery for a month, added: ‘It has a brilliant reputation – Ofsted’s comment that it isn’t ethnically diverse enough is pathetic.
‘How can the nursery be diverse when there are hardly any ethnic minority families in the area?’
One parent said that the nursery had an ‘inclusive atmosphere’ and that ‘staff break their backs to help every kid’, adding that the report is ‘a kick in the face... and yet another example of politically correct nonsense’.
Another insisted that young children ‘treat each other the same whatever their skin colour’, adding: ‘How can you teach two or threeyear-olds about racism?’
According to the 2011 census, 96 per cent of Market Rasen’s 5,417 residents are white British. Just 17 identified as Indian ethnicity, 19 as Chinese and 22 as black, African, Caribbean or black British. Louise Davies, who owns the nursery, said ethnic diversity is simply not something the town’s residents encounter day-to-day.
She said: ‘There are things they [the inspectors] would like us to do over and above – children having understanding of other people and different cultures.
‘It comes with living in a community where there isn’t a great deal of cultural and ethnic diversity. They’re not seeing that day-to-day, unlike nurseries in London. One of the things the inspectors said was that we needed to put more pic- tures of people from other ethnic cultures on the walls.’
Ofsted changed the rules on grading schools and nurseries last September, meaning they have to meet additional criteria to get an ‘outstanding’ rating.
In the wake of anti-radicalisation regulations drawn up by the Government, schools and nurseries must now teach ‘fundamental British values’ – which includes respect for other cultures.
Ofsted’s report about Town and Country Kiddies Nursery said: ‘Staff do not provide enough opportunities for children to develop a strong sense of belonging at the nursery and to learn about people who are different to themselves.’
However Miss Davies added: ‘We need to provide childcare for people to go to work and not worry about an ideology that Ofsted have.’
An Ofsted spokesman said: ‘The regional director is seeking to speak to the owner about her concerns, and we have withdrawn the report while we review the case.’
The row comes 18 months after Middle Rasen Primary School, which is a mile away from the nursery, was criticised by Ofsted for effectively being too English.
Inspectors said the school was ‘ not yet outstanding’ because pupils’ cultural development was limited by a ‘lack of first-hand experience of the diverse make-up of modern British society’.